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Manufacturing Compass

Virginia manufacturing

Private-sector manufacturing (NAICS 31–33), annual average for 2022. Source: U.S. Bureau of Labor Statistics, Quarterly Census of Employment and Wages.

01Core measures

Virginia manufacturing in 2022

Totals and averages for all private manufacturing employers in Virginia combined. They describe the industry statewide, not any individual plant or company.

Establishments

8,364

Worksites, annual average of quarterly counts

U.S.
380,711
Share of U.S.Calc
2.2%

Employment

241,792

Jobs, annual average of monthly counts

U.S.
12,759,129
Share of U.S.Calc
1.9%

Total wages

$16.6 billion

Nominal dollars, sum of four quarters

U.S.
$1 trillion
Share of U.S.Calc
1.6%

Average weekly wage

$1,317

Nominal dollars per job

U.S.
$1,529
vs. U.S.Calc
−13.9%

Average annual pay

$68,477

Nominal dollars per job

U.S.
$79,483
vs. U.S.Calc
−13.8%

Location quotient

0.72

Employment concentration vs. U.S.

U.S.
1.00

Manufacturing's share of all jobs in Virginia is 0.72 times its share of all U.S. jobs.

Calcmarks our calculations from BLS figures (formulas below). All other values are published by BLS.

02Subsectors

Where manufacturing jobs are

The 21 three-digit NAICS manufacturing subsectors, largest employment first.

  • 336Transportation equipment manufacturing
    Employment
    44,484
    Establishments
    389
    Avg. annual pay
    $75,281
    Pay vs. U.S.Calc
    −10.7%
    Location quotient
    0.99
  • 311Food manufacturing
    Employment
    31,902
    Establishments
    738
    Avg. annual pay
    $54,694
    Pay vs. U.S.Calc
    −5.4%
    Location quotient
    0.71
  • 332Fabricated metal product manufacturing
    Employment
    18,593
    Establishments
    940
    Avg. annual pay
    $70,203
    Pay vs. U.S.Calc
    +4.9%
    Location quotient
    0.49
  • 326Plastics and rubber products manufacturing
    Employment
    16,282
    Establishments
    235
    Avg. annual pay
    $69,224
    Pay vs. U.S.Calc
    +8.1%
    Location quotient
    0.83
  • 325Chemical manufacturing
    Employment
    14,968
    Establishments
    542
    Avg. annual pay
    $88,204
    Pay vs. U.S.Calc
    −19.7%
    Location quotient
    0.63
  • 333Machinery manufacturing
    Employment
    14,914
    Establishments
    578
    Avg. annual pay
    $70,301
    Pay vs. U.S.Calc
    −13.1%
    Location quotient
    0.51
  • 321Wood product manufacturing
    Employment
    14,370
    Establishments
    471
    Avg. annual pay
    $53,653
    Pay vs. U.S.Calc
    −9.4%
    Location quotient
    1.28
  • 334Computer and electronic product manufacturing
    Employment
    12,186
    Establishments
    737
    Avg. annual pay
    $115,377
    Pay vs. U.S.Calc
    −21.3%
    Location quotient
    0.43
  • 312Beverage and tobacco product manufacturing
    Employment
    12,080
    Establishments
    512
    Avg. annual pay
    $55,646
    Pay vs. U.S.Calc
    −3.6%
    Location quotient
    1.41
  • 327Nonmetallic mineral product manufacturing
    Employment
    9,177
    Establishments
    448
    Avg. annual pay
    $62,960
    Pay vs. U.S.Calc
    −9.4%
    Location quotient
    0.84
  • 337Furniture and related product manufacturing
    Employment
    8,787
    Establishments
    429
    Avg. annual pay
    $47,064
    Pay vs. U.S.Calc
    −12.6%
    Location quotient
    0.88
  • 339Miscellaneous manufacturing
    Employment
    8,425
    Establishments
    929
    Avg. annual pay
    $68,817
    Pay vs. U.S.Calc
    −8.4%
    Location quotient
    0.51
  • 335Electrical equipment, appliance, and component manufacturing
    Employment
    8,091
    Establishments
    210
    Avg. annual pay
    $69,402
    Pay vs. U.S.Calc
    −10.8%
    Location quotient
    0.76
  • 323Printing and related support activities
    Employment
    7,855
    Establishments
    605
    Avg. annual pay
    $50,246
    Pay vs. U.S.Calc
    −12.3%
    Location quotient
    0.79
  • 322Paper manufacturing
    Employment
    7,838
    Establishments
    126
    Avg. annual pay
    $75,102
    Pay vs. U.S.Calc
    −2.0%
    Location quotient
    0.82
  • 331Primary metal manufacturing
    Employment
    4,108
    Establishments
    81
    Avg. annual pay
    $78,084
    Pay vs. U.S.Calc
    −6.7%
    Location quotient
    0.43
  • 313Textile mills
    Employment
    3,049
    Establishments
    60
    Avg. annual pay
    $47,906
    Pay vs. U.S.Calc
    −12.6%
    Location quotient
    1.20
  • 314Textile product mills
    Employment
    2,394
    Establishments
    161
    Avg. annual pay
    $43,320
    Pay vs. U.S.Calc
    −13.1%
    Location quotient
    0.87
  • 315Apparel manufacturing
    Employment
    1,132
    Establishments
    108
    Avg. annual pay
    $44,305
    Pay vs. U.S.Calc
    −17.1%
    Location quotient
    0.46
  • 324Petroleum and coal products manufacturing
    Employment
    947
    Establishments
    44
    Avg. annual pay
    $73,197
    Pay vs. U.S.Calc
    −44.8%
    Location quotient
    0.34
  • 316Leather and allied product manufacturing
    Employment
    211
    Establishments
    24
    Avg. annual pay
    $34,519
    Pay vs. U.S.Calc
    −37.4%
    Location quotient
    0.30

03By year

Virginia manufacturing, 2022–2025

Wages are in nominal dollars (not adjusted for inflation). BLS cautions that QCEW is not designed as a time series, so treat year-to-year differences as indicative.

Private manufacturing in Virginia by year, annual averages, nominal dollars
YearEmploymentAvg. annual payvs. U.S.Calc
2022241,792$68,477−13.8%
2023243,842$71,224−13.7%
2024242,349$74,332−13.0%
2025236,465$79,282−11.4%

04About this data

Source, definitions, and limits

Source
BLS Quarterly Census of Employment and Wages
File
data.bls.gov/cew/data/api/2022/a/industry/31_33.csv
Retrieved
October 12, 2026 (UTC)
Period
Annual average, 2022 (final BLS data)
Industry
NAICS 2022, sector 31–33 and its three-digit subsectors
Ownership
Private employers only
Geography
Statewide; compared with the U.S. total
Citation
Source: U.S. Bureau of Labor Statistics, Quarterly Census of Employment and Wages (QCEW).

What these numbers cover

  • Jobs reported to state unemployment insurance programs, about 95% of U.S. wage and salary jobs. Self-employed workers and proprietors are excluded; people with two jobs may be counted twice.
  • Averages describe all employers combined and do not represent any single manufacturer. Where a subsector has few establishments or jobs, its averages can swing widely and are less representative.
  • Not disclosed: BLS withheld the value to protect employer confidentiality. It is never shown as zero. No BLS data: BLS publishes no figures for that combination.

Calculations

  • Share of U.S. = state value ÷ U.S. value.
  • vs. U.S. = state value ÷ U.S. value − 1.
  • Both inputs come from the same BLS file: same year, industry, and ownership. Not calculated when either value is withheld (shown as —).
  • Location quotient is published by BLS: the industry's share of all local jobs (all industries and ownerships) divided by its share nationally.

Read our methodology