Virginia's Economy: Defense, Technology, and Agriculture

Virginia has one of the strongest and most diverse state economies in the US — anchored by federal spending and defense contracting in Northern Virginia, a major port complex in Hampton Roads, and significant technology sector growth.

Defense and Federal Contracting
Northern Virginia — Fairfax, Arlington, Loudoun, and Prince William Counties — is the world's densest concentration of defense and intelligence contractors. The Pentagon (Arlington — the world's largest office building) houses the Department of Defense. The NSA, CIA (Langley), DHS, and dozens of federal agencies have major Northern Virginia presences. Booz Allen Hamilton, Leidos, General Dynamics IT, SAIC, Northrop Grumman, and Raytheon Technologies all have Virginia headquarters or major campuses. This federal ecosystem generates Virginia's extraordinary per capita income in the DC suburbs.

Technology (Amazon HQ2)
Amazon's HQ2 (Amazon's second headquarters) opened in Arlington's Crystal City/National Landing area beginning 2020 — planned for 25,000 employees and $2.5 billion in investment. The presence of Amazon has accelerated Northern Virginia's tech sector growth. Microsoft, Google, and dozens of cloud and cybersecurity companies have significant Virginia operations.

Port of Virginia (Hampton Roads)
One of the largest container ports on the East Coast — the Port of Virginia (Newport News, Norfolk, Portsmouth) handles 3+ million container equivalent units per year. The port is the deepest natural harbor on the US East Coast and one of the few able to accommodate post-Panamax container ships.

Agriculture
Virginia is the leading producer of tobacco in the eastern US (though acreage has declined significantly), a major poultry and turkey producer (Rockingham County in the Shenandoah Valley), and the home of the fastest-growing wine region on the East Coast (the Monticello AVA in Albemarle County and the Northern Neck AVA). Virginia cured ham (country ham) is a culinary tradition.

Tourism
Colonial Williamsburg, Shenandoah NP, Virginia Beach, and the Civil War battlefield circuit generate significant tourism revenue. Virginia ranks in the top 10 nationally for arts and cultural tourism.