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Manufacturing Compass

Virginia manufacturing

Private-sector manufacturing (NAICS 31–33), annual average for 2023. Source: U.S. Bureau of Labor Statistics, Quarterly Census of Employment and Wages.

01Core measures

Virginia manufacturing in 2023

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

Establishments

8,762

Worksites, annual average of quarterly counts

U.S.
392,201
Share of U.S.Calc
2.2%

Employment

243,842

Jobs, annual average of monthly counts

U.S.
12,868,061
Share of U.S.Calc
1.9%

Total wages

$17.4 billion

Nominal dollars, sum of four quarters

U.S.
$1.1 trillion
Share of U.S.Calc
1.6%

Average weekly wage

$1,370

Nominal dollars per job

U.S.
$1,588
vs. U.S.Calc
−13.7%

Average annual pay

$71,224

Nominal dollars per job

U.S.
$82,575
vs. U.S.Calc
−13.7%

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
    45,919
    Establishments
    422
    Avg. annual pay
    $78,953
    Pay vs. U.S.Calc
    −10.9%
    Location quotient
    0.98
  • 311Food manufacturing
    Employment
    32,629
    Establishments
    793
    Avg. annual pay
    $56,242
    Pay vs. U.S.Calc
    −5.2%
    Location quotient
    0.71
  • 332Fabricated metal product manufacturing
    Employment
    19,336
    Establishments
    979
    Avg. annual pay
    $73,546
    Pay vs. U.S.Calc
    +4.9%
    Location quotient
    0.51
  • 326Plastics and rubber products manufacturing
    Employment
    15,773
    Establishments
    241
    Avg. annual pay
    $71,422
    Pay vs. U.S.Calc
    +7.3%
    Location quotient
    0.81
  • 333Machinery manufacturing
    Employment
    15,149
    Establishments
    619
    Avg. annual pay
    $74,222
    Pay vs. U.S.Calc
    −11.7%
    Location quotient
    0.51
  • 325Chemical manufacturing
    Employment
    14,599
    Establishments
    587
    Avg. annual pay
    $91,768
    Pay vs. U.S.Calc
    −18.6%
    Location quotient
    0.62
  • 321Wood product manufacturing
    Employment
    14,225
    Establishments
    466
    Avg. annual pay
    $55,336
    Pay vs. U.S.Calc
    −8.6%
    Location quotient
    1.28
  • 334Computer and electronic product manufacturing
    Employment
    12,299
    Establishments
    804
    Avg. annual pay
    $116,637
    Pay vs. U.S.Calc
    −23.6%
    Location quotient
    0.43
  • 312Beverage and tobacco product manufacturing
    Employment
    12,277
    Establishments
    527
    Avg. annual pay
    $56,855
    Pay vs. U.S.Calc
    −3.1%
    Location quotient
    1.38
  • 327Nonmetallic mineral product manufacturing
    Employment
    9,398
    Establishments
    464
    Avg. annual pay
    $65,141
    Pay vs. U.S.Calc
    −10.4%
    Location quotient
    0.85
  • 339Miscellaneous manufacturing
    Employment
    8,524
    Establishments
    974
    Avg. annual pay
    $71,975
    Pay vs. U.S.Calc
    −7.5%
    Location quotient
    0.52
  • 335Electrical equipment, appliance, and component manufacturing
    Employment
    8,357
    Establishments
    229
    Avg. annual pay
    $74,301
    Pay vs. U.S.Calc
    −8.3%
    Location quotient
    0.76
  • 322Paper manufacturing
    Employment
    7,977
    Establishments
    132
    Avg. annual pay
    $75,791
    Pay vs. U.S.Calc
    −3.7%
    Location quotient
    0.84
  • 337Furniture and related product manufacturing
    Employment
    7,841
    Establishments
    433
    Avg. annual pay
    $49,969
    Pay vs. U.S.Calc
    −11.1%
    Location quotient
    0.83
  • 323Printing and related support activities
    Employment
    7,448
    Establishments
    583
    Avg. annual pay
    $52,429
    Pay vs. U.S.Calc
    −10.9%
    Location quotient
    0.76
  • 331Primary metal manufacturing
    Employment
    4,222
    Establishments
    94
    Avg. annual pay
    $82,291
    Pay vs. U.S.Calc
    −4.5%
    Location quotient
    0.43
  • 313Textile mills
    Employment
    2,876
    Establishments
    58
    Avg. annual pay
    $48,779
    Pay vs. U.S.Calc
    −14.3%
    Location quotient
    1.21
  • 314Textile product mills
    Employment
    2,582
    Establishments
    170
    Avg. annual pay
    $45,116
    Pay vs. U.S.Calc
    −12.9%
    Location quotient
    0.97
  • 315Apparel manufacturing
    Employment
    1,173
    Establishments
    111
    Avg. annual pay
    $44,294
    Pay vs. U.S.Calc
    −20.5%
    Location quotient
    0.50
  • 324Petroleum and coal products manufacturing
    Employment
    984
    Establishments
    51
    Avg. annual pay
    $76,712
    Pay vs. U.S.Calc
    −44.3%
    Location quotient
    0.35
  • 316Leather and allied product manufacturing
    Employment
    256
    Establishments
    26
    Avg. annual pay
    $36,380
    Pay vs. U.S.Calc
    −36.6%
    Location quotient
    0.37

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/2023/a/industry/31_33.csv
Retrieved
October 12, 2026 (UTC)
Period
Annual average, 2023 (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