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US State economic profile
Virginia - Economic Profile
Statistics, economic information and rankings for the Old Dominion State
In 2026, the state of Virginia has a population of 8,930,056, having grown an annualized 0.6% over the five years to 2026, which ranks it 24th out of all 50 US states by growth rate. Virginia's gross state product (GSP) in 2026 reached $632.5b, with growth of 2.3% over the 5 years to 2026. Businesses in Virginia employed a total of 4,723,754 people in 2026, with average annual employment growth over the past five years of 1.8%. The top three sectors by total employment are Professional, Scientific & Technical Services, Real Estate & Rental & Leasing, Healthcare & Social Assistance, while the unemployment rate across the state in 2026 was 4.0%.
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State economic profile
Virginia Economic Overview
$632.5b
Gross state product
8,930,056
Population
984,735
Businesses
What is Virginia's Gross Domestic Product (GDP)?
In 2026, Virginia's GDP reached $632.5b, representing an increase of 2.3% from 2025. Virginia's GDP has grown at an annualized rate of 1.9% over the five years to 2026. Moreover, Virginia's trailing five-year GDP growth ranks it 18th out of all 50 US states.
State GDP, or Gross State Product, is a measurement of a state's output, or the sum of value added from all industries in the state. It is a common indicator used to track the health of a state's economy.
You can track trends in Virginia's GDP, and compare them to the national average, using the chart below.
State economic profile
Virginia Industry Trends
Learn about current trends affecting the most significant industries for Virginia's state economy, down to the county level. IBISWorld offers state industry research reports on over 30,000 industries across all 50 states in the US, including 640 industries in Virginia.
What are Virginia's Largest Industries by Revenue?
The largest industries by revenue in Virginia are Real Estate Loans & Collateralized Debt, IT Consulting and Credit Card Issuing, which generated $108.4b, $81.7b and $47.5b in 2026.
| Industry | 2026 revenue | |
|---|---|---|
| 1. | Real Estate Loans & Collateralized Debt | $108.4b |
| 2. | IT Consulting | $81.7b |
| 3. | Credit Card Issuing | $47.5b |
| 4. | Automobile Wholesaling | $38.8b |
| 5. | Health & Medical Insurance | $34.5b |
| 6. | Hospitals | $33.9b |
| 7. | New Car Dealers | $31.1b |
| 8. | Management Consulting | $30.4b |
| 9. | Warehouse Clubs & Supercenters | $25.9b |
| 10. | Commercial Banking | $24.4b |
State economic profile
Top Companies in Virginia
Learn about current trends affecting the top companies in Virginia. IBISWorld offers benchmarking data and tools on over 5,000 companies in the US.
Top 10 Companies Headquartered in Virginia by Employment
The largest companies by employment in Virginia are Walmart, Amazon.Com and Virginia Commonwealth University, which employed 45,106, 39,000 and 27,000 people in 2026.
| Company | 2026 employment | Share of employment | |
|---|---|---|---|
| 1. | Walmart | 45,106 | 1.0% |
| 2. | Amazon.Com | 39,000 | 0.8% |
| 3. | Virginia Commonwealth University | 27,000 | 0.6% |
| 4. | Hca Healthcare | 17,600 | 0.4% |
| 5. | Target | 13,320 | 0.3% |
| 6. | United States Postal Service | 13,050 | 0.3% |
| 7. | Capital one financial corp | 13,000 | 0.3% |
| 8. | Lowes Companies | 11,938 | 0.3% |
| 9. | Home Depot | 10,801 | 0.2% |
| 10. | Kroger | 10,672 | 0.2% |
State economic profile
Virginia Sector Statistics
In Virginia, certain sectors drive a higher share of state GDP and employ more workers than others. However, simply looking at raw numbers doesn't always tell the whole story. Factoring in the current year growth percentage, in addition to the annualized growth percentage over the past five years, will give you a deeper understanding of the economic situation.
What is Virginia's GDP by Sector?
The Professional, Scientific & Technical Services, Real Estate & Rental & Leasing and Healthcare & Social Assistance sectors contributed the most to Virginia's GDP in 2026, representing a combined 44.3% of state GDP.
GDP trends by sector are an important indicator of which sectors are contributing the most value-add to the state economy, in addition to how the state economy is evolving over time.
| Sector | GDP | Growth 2026 | Annualized growth 2021-26 |
|---|---|---|---|
| Professional, Scientific & Technical Services | 113,266,615,311 | 5.8% | 5.8% |
| Real Estate & Rental & Leasing | 90,176,622,459 | 3.5% | 3.7% |
| Healthcare & Social Assistance | 47,529,978,281 | 5.7% | 6.1% |
| Information | 45,688,160,300 | 11.5% | 11.2% |
| Manufacturing | 41,657,839,089 | -0.9% | -1.0% |
| Retail Trade | 35,681,938,352 | 4.2% | 3.6% |
| Finance & Insurance | 32,638,279,255 | 1.8% | 0.7% |
| Management of Companies and Enterprises | 24,397,615,189 | 7.5% | 8.5% |
| Administration, Business Support and Waste Management Services | 23,187,482,851 | 2.4% | 2.1% |
| Wholesale Trade | 22,725,507,428 | -0.4% | -0.8% |
| Construction | 22,583,258,696 | -1.4% | -2.1% |
| Accommodation & Food Services | 16,852,273,841 | 4.4% | 4.5% |
| Transportation & Warehousing | 16,749,720,563 | 3.4% | 3.0% |
| Other Services (except Public Administration) | 11,667,288,504 | -2.3% | -2.0% |
| Utilities | 6,574,548,166 | -2.4% | -1.5% |
| Arts, Entertainment & Recreation | 6,385,729,187 | 10.9% | 12.1% |
| Educational Services | 5,610,322,631 | 2.0% | 2.2% |
| Mining | 1,714,087,712 | 1.2% | 2.0% |
| Agriculture, Forestry, Fishing & Hunting | 1,406,718,311 | -4.3% | -3.6% |
What is Virginia's Employment by Sector?
The Professional, Scientific & Technical Services, Healthcare & Social Assistance and Retail Trade sectors contributed the most to employment in Virginia in 2026, representing a combined 41.0% of state employment.
Employment trends by sector are an important indicator of which sectors are growing or contracting most rapidly relative to the state economy as a whole.
| Sector | Employment | Growth 2026 | Annualized growth 2021-26 |
|---|---|---|---|
| Professional, Scientific & Technical Services | 794,024 | 2.4% | 2.5% |
| Healthcare & Social Assistance | 582,802 | 2.6% | 2.9% |
| Retail Trade | 561,921 | 1.5% | 1.9% |
| Accommodation & Food Services | 374,310 | 0.6% | 3.5% |
| Administration, Business Support and Waste Management Services | 350,431 | 1.4% | 1.5% |
| Construction | 303,579 | 1.7% | 2.0% |
| Transportation & Warehousing | 272,268 | 4.0% | 4.7% |
| Educational Services | 258,309 | -0.4% | 1.2% |
| Manufacturing | 257,049 | 1.7% | 1.7% |
| Other Services (except Public Administration) | 220,471 | 1.2% | 3.0% |
| Finance & Insurance | 214,636 | 0.8% | 1.1% |
| Information | 161,904 | 3.4% | 4.8% |
| Real Estate & Rental & Leasing | 146,716 | 1.0% | 1.4% |
| Wholesale Trade | 109,240 | 0.5% | 1.1% |
| Arts, Entertainment & Recreation | 78,398 | 1.4% | 4.9% |
| Utilities | 18,405 | 1.4% | 1.4% |
| Agriculture, Forestry, Fishing & Hunting | 13,068 | -0.0% | -1.1% |
| Mining | 6,223 | 0.3% | 2.2% |
State economic profile
Virginia Employment Trends
4.7m
Employment
4.0%
Unemployment
What Employment Trends are Impacting Virginia?
The state of Virginia employs 4,723,754 people in 2026, which ranks it 13th out of all 50 US states. Employment in Virginia has grown at an annualized rate of 2.4% over the five years to 2026, overperforming the national average of 1.7%. Major sectors by employment in Virginia include Professional, Scientific & Technical Services, Healthcare & Social Assistance and Retail Trade, which employed 794,024, 582,802 and 561,921 people in 2026, respectively. Virginia's unemployment rate is 4.0% in 2026, which ranks it 18th out of all 50 US states. Virginia's unemployment rate has trended upwards at a rate of 0.8% over the five years to 2026, overperforming the US economy as a whole.
Employment trends indicate the degree of tightness or slack in labor markets, in addition to the overall strength of an economy. Faster employment growth typically indicates a strong and growing economy, while lower unemployment tends to imply tightness in labor markets.
You can track unemployment trends in Virginia, and compare them to the US economy, using the chart below.
$169.2k
Per capita disposable income
What is Virginia's Per Capita Disposable Income?
Per capita disposable income, also known as disposable personal income (DPI), is the amount of money that the average person in an economy has available for spending and saving after accounting for income taxes. Virginia's DPI in 2026 was $169.2k, compared to the US average of $156.5k, which places it 9th out of all 50 US states.
Disposable income is regarded as a key economic indicator as trends in disposable income are indicative of the level of aggregate demand, the state of labor markets and the financial strength of households.
You can track trends in Virginia's per capita disposable income, and compare it to the US average, using the chart below.
State economic profile
Virginia Construction & Building Trends
$18,901.7tn
Nonresidential construction
$7.6tn
Residential construction
31,625
Building permits
What can construction trends tell you about a state’s economy?
In Virginia, non-residential construction was $18,901.7tn in 2026, which ranks it 31st out of all 50 US states. Residential construction was $7.6tn in 2026, which places Virginia 17th out of all 50 US states. The number of building permits issued in Virginia in 2026 was 31,625, representing a -4.5% annualized growth rate between 2021 and 2026.
Trends in the construction sector are important because it creates jobs, income and tax revenue for a state. In addition, construction sector activity impacts other sectors in its supply chain, including manufacturing, wholesaling, warehousing, transportation, and real estate, rental and leasing services. Therefore, construction trends are important indicators of the health of an economy.
You can track trends in the number of building permits issued in Virginia, and compare it to trends in the number issued in the United States as a whole, using the chart below.
State economic profile
Virginia Population Statistics
Which Counties in Virginia have the Largest Populations?
The counties with the highest populations in Virginia are Loudoun County, Virginia Beach City and Chesterfield County, which had populations of 449,971, 448,912 and 402,335 people in 2026.
| Region | 2026 population | Annual growth 2021-26 | Share of population |
|---|---|---|---|
| Loudoun | 450.0k | 1.0% | 5.0% |
| Virginia Beach City | 448.9k | -0.4% | 5.0% |
| Chesterfield | 402.3k | 1.6% | 4.5% |
| Henrico | 335.6k | 0.1% | 3.8% |
| Chesapeake City | 258.0k | 0.5% | 2.9% |
| Arlington | 233.6k | -0.1% | 2.6% |
| Richmond City | 231.9k | 0.4% | 2.6% |
| Norfolk City | 225.5k | -0.8% | 2.5% |
| Newport News City | 180.9k | -0.4% | 2.0% |
| Stafford | 172.8k | 1.4% | 1.9% |
| Alexandria City | 154.0k | -0.3% | 1.7% |
| Hampton City | 136.4k | -0.2% | 1.5% |
| Hanover | 117.9k | 1.1% | 1.3% |
| Suffolk City | 107.0k | 2.0% | 1.2% |
| Portsmouth City | 96.1k | -0.3% | 1.1% |
| Roanoke City | 95.3k | -0.7% | 1.1% |
| Bedford | 83.5k | 0.8% | 0.9% |
| Fauquier | 77.0k | 0.8% | 0.9% |
| Culpeper | 57.1k | 1.3% | 0.6% |
| Franklin | 56.5k | 0.6% | 0.6% |
| Shenandoah | 46.1k | 0.6% | 0.5% |
| Louisa | 44.2k | 2.5% | 0.5% |
| Warren | 43.0k | 0.9% | 0.5% |
| Isle Of Wight | 42.6k | 1.5% | 0.5% |
| Gloucester | 41.4k | 1.1% | 0.5% |
State economic profile
Virginia Demographics
In Virginia, 44.6% of the population has a Bachelors or higher. The largest ethnic group in Virginia is White, accounting for 57.4% of the state's population.
Education level in Virginia
| Education level | Share (%) |
|---|---|
| Bachelors or higher | 44.6 |
| Other | 55.4 |
Race in Virginia
| Race | Share (%) |
|---|---|
| White | 57.4 |
| Black | 18.9 |
| Hispanic | 12.3 |
| Asian | 7.8 |
| Other | 3.6 |
Virginia State industry reports
IBISWorld State Industry Reports help you quickly understand how an industry performs at the state level compared with the national level, with accurate and unbiased industry information with a local focus. Use this collection to:
- Discover key local industry trends
- Identify threats and opportunities at the subnational level
- Inform your business strategies and planning
See our list of 640 Virginia industry reports.
Other states to explore
Compare Virginia’s economy with other states in the United States.
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