Economy

Virginia's economy is based heavily on its service industries. These include community, business and personal services, finance, real estate, and insurance, government, trade, restaurants, hotels, transportation and communication. The federal government provides a large portion of employment in Virginia, with many Virginians working for the government in either Washington, D.C., or the city's suburbs in Virginia and Maryland. The Hampton Roads area has one of the greatest concentrations of military bases in the nation. In addition, Virginia's historic sites, beaches and other attractions draw millions of tourists annually.

Virginia's leading manufactured products are beverage and tobacco products. Cigarette factories in Richmond produce most of the state's income from tobacco. Tobacco is grown in the Piedmont region and far western part of the state. Soft drinks and beer are manufactured in other parts of the state. Other important goods manufactured in Virginia are computer and electronic equipment, transportation equipment, including boats and ships, motor vehicle parts and trucks, and chemcals, particularly pharmaceuticals, paints, and synthetic fibers. Chief food products, including baked goods, dairy products, canned and preserved fruits, vegetables, seafoods, meat products, and candy, are processed in many parts of the state. Other manufactured products include paper goods, printed materials, plastics, and rubber products.

Virginia's 47,000 farms cover about a third of the state's land area. Livestock and livestock products, mainly cattle and chickens, provide about 70 per cent of all farm income. Beef and dairy cattle, broilers, and turkey are raised throughout the state but are most numerous in Rockinham County in northern Virginia. Hogs are mostly raised in eastern Virginia. Corn and soybeans are also important crops. Other leading Virginia crops include cucumbers, potatoes, tomatoes, and apples. Most of the state's apple crop comes from the Shenandoah Valley.

Commercial fishing brings in about $150 million annually in the state. Virginia ranks among the top states in crab and scallop production. Other important fish include Atlantic croaker, menhaden, summer flounder, spot, and striped bass.

Virginia is a major producer of coal, crushed stone, natural gas, cement, clay, kyanite, lime, and sand and gravel.

Forests cover nearly two-thirds of Virginia, and lumbering is a significant industry, especially in parts of the Piedmont and of the Coastal Plain. Hardwoods are the most common trees in the western part of the state. Pines and other conifers prevail on the Piedmont and the Coastal Plain.

Virginia is served by a modern highway network, which includes parts of six Interstate routes and is most extensively developed on the Piedmont and the Coastal Plain. Two of the most scenic highways in the state are Blue Ridge Parkway and Skyline Drive, the latter in Shenandoah National Park. The Chesapeake Bay Bridge-Tunnel (officially, the Lucius J. Kellam, Jr., Bridge-Tunnel), 17.6 miles (28 km) long, connects Virginia Beach with the Eastern Shore.

Nearly a dozen railways operate in Virginia. Major railroading centers include Richmond, Norfolk-Portsmouth, and Alexandria. The Port of Hampton Roads, with facilities in Newport News, Norfolk, Portsmouth, and Chesapeake, is one of the leading ports in the United States. Coal is the main export; petroleum products are the leading imports. River ports in Virginia include Alexandria, on the Potomac, and Hopewell and Richmond, on the James.

Virtually all of the state is within easy access of commercial air transportation. The two principal airports are Washington National and Dulles International, located near the national capital. There are also busy airports at Richmond, Norfolk, Newport News, and other major cities.