According to the Bureau of Economic Analysis, Virginia had the most counties in the top 100 wealthiest in the United States at sixteen counties based upon median income in 2007. Northern Virginia is the highest-income region in Virginia, having six of the twenty highest-income counties in the United States, including the two highest as of 2008. According to a 2013 study by Phoenix Marketing International, Virginia had the seventh-largest number of millionaires per capita in the United States, with a ratio of 6.64%.
Virginia has the highest defense spending of any state per capita, providing the Commonwealth with around 900,000 jobs. Approximately 12% of all U.S. federal procurement money is spent in Virginia, the second-highest amount after California. Many Virginians work for federal agencies in Northern Virginia. Many others work for government contractors, including defense and security firms, which hold more than 15,000 federal contracts.
Virginia has the highest concentration of technology workers of any state, and the fourth-highest number of technology workers after California, Texas, and New York. Computer chips became the state’s highest-grossing export in 2006, surpassing its traditional top exports of coal and tobacco combined, reaching a total export value of $717 million in 2015.
Tourism in Virginia supported an estimated 210,000 jobs and generated $21.2 billion in 2012. Arlington County is the top tourist destination in the state by domestic spending, followed by Fairfax County, Loudoun County, and Virginia Beach.
As of 2007, agriculture occupied 32% of the land in Virginia and about 357,000 Virginian jobs were in agriculture, with over 47,000 farms, averaging 171 acres. Though agriculture has declined significantly since 1960 when there were twice as many farms, it remains the largest single industry in Virginia. Tomatoes surpassed soy as the most profitable crop in Virginia in 2006, with peanuts and hay as other agricultural products. Although it is no longer the primary crop, Virginia is still the fifth-largest producer of tobacco nationwide.
Virginia is the largest producer of seafood on the East Coast, with scallops, oysters, blue crabs, and clams as the largest seafood harvests by value, and France, Canada, and Hong Kong as the top export destinations. Wineries and vineyards in the Northern Neck and along the Blue Ridge Mountains also have begun to generate income and attract tourists. Virginia has the fifth-highest number of wineries in the nation.
Transportation:
As of 2011, the Virginia Department of Transportation owns and operates 57,867 miles of the total 70,105 miles of roads in the state, making it the third largest state highway system in the United States.
Virginia has Amtrak passenger rail service along several corridors, and Virginia Railway Express (VRE) maintains two commuter lines into Washington, D.C. from Fredericksburg and Manassas. The Washington Metro rapid transit system serves Northern Virginia as far west as communities along I-66 in Fairfax County, with expansion plans to reach Loudoun County by 2017
Virginia has five major airports: Washington Dulles International and Reagan Washington National in Northern Virginia; Richmond International; and Newport News/Williamsburg International Airport and Norfolk International serving the Hampton Roads area.