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Manufacturing Compass

Virginia manufacturing

Private-sector manufacturing (NAICS 31–33), annual average for 2024. Source: U.S. Bureau of Labor Statistics, Quarterly Census of Employment and Wages.

01Core measures

Virginia manufacturing in 2024

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

Establishments

8,980

Worksites, annual average of quarterly counts

U.S.
397,198
Share of U.S.Calc
2.3%

Employment

242,349

Jobs, annual average of monthly counts

U.S.
12,733,350
Share of U.S.Calc
1.9%

Total wages

$18 billion

Nominal dollars, sum of four quarters

U.S.
$1.1 trillion
Share of U.S.Calc
1.7%

Average weekly wage

$1,429

Nominal dollars per job

U.S.
$1,643
vs. U.S.Calc
−13.0%

Average annual pay

$74,332

Nominal dollars per job

U.S.
$85,461
vs. U.S.Calc
−13.0%

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
    45,724
    Establishments
    433
    Avg. annual pay
    $79,158
    Pay vs. U.S.Calc
    −15.1%
    Location quotient
    0.97
  • 311Food manufacturing
    Employment
    33,290
    Establishments
    826
    Avg. annual pay
    $58,591
    Pay vs. U.S.Calc
    −4.6%
    Location quotient
    0.71
  • 332Fabricated metal product manufacturing
    Employment
    19,544
    Establishments
    992
    Avg. annual pay
    $77,083
    Pay vs. U.S.Calc
    +5.3%
    Location quotient
    0.51
  • 326Plastics and rubber products manufacturing
    Employment
    15,499
    Establishments
    252
    Avg. annual pay
    $75,764
    Pay vs. U.S.Calc
    +9.3%
    Location quotient
    0.81
  • 333Machinery manufacturing
    Employment
    15,094
    Establishments
    670
    Avg. annual pay
    $79,298
    Pay vs. U.S.Calc
    −9.7%
    Location quotient
    0.51
  • 325Chemical manufacturing
    Employment
    14,298
    Establishments
    609
    Avg. annual pay
    $95,505
    Pay vs. U.S.Calc
    −19.2%
    Location quotient
    0.60
  • 321Wood product manufacturing
    Employment
    13,956
    Establishments
    461
    Avg. annual pay
    $56,898
    Pay vs. U.S.Calc
    −8.8%
    Location quotient
    1.28
  • 312Beverage and tobacco product manufacturing
    Employment
    12,157
    Establishments
    530
    Avg. annual pay
    $58,261
    Pay vs. U.S.Calc
    −4.7%
    Location quotient
    1.37
  • 334Computer and electronic product manufacturing
    Employment
    11,752
    Establishments
    852
    Avg. annual pay
    $130,040
    Pay vs. U.S.Calc
    −15.2%
    Location quotient
    0.43
  • 327Nonmetallic mineral product manufacturing
    Employment
    9,324
    Establishments
    465
    Avg. annual pay
    $69,020
    Pay vs. U.S.Calc
    −8.6%
    Location quotient
    0.85
  • 335Electrical equipment, appliance, and component manufacturing
    Employment
    8,836
    Establishments
    260
    Avg. annual pay
    $77,779
    Pay vs. U.S.Calc
    −9.3%
    Location quotient
    0.79
  • 339Miscellaneous manufacturing
    Employment
    8,811
    Establishments
    982
    Avg. annual pay
    $78,016
    Pay vs. U.S.Calc
    −5.1%
    Location quotient
    0.54
  • 322Paper manufacturing
    Employment
    7,950
    Establishments
    133
    Avg. annual pay
    $79,428
    Pay vs. U.S.Calc
    −2.7%
    Location quotient
    0.85
  • 337Furniture and related product manufacturing
    Employment
    7,420
    Establishments
    429
    Avg. annual pay
    $52,187
    Pay vs. U.S.Calc
    −12.0%
    Location quotient
    0.81
  • 323Printing and related support activities
    Employment
    7,235
    Establishments
    576
    Avg. annual pay
    $54,700
    Pay vs. U.S.Calc
    −10.5%
    Location quotient
    0.77
  • 331Primary metal manufacturing
    Employment
    4,188
    Establishments
    97
    Avg. annual pay
    $84,160
    Pay vs. U.S.Calc
    −5.7%
    Location quotient
    0.43
  • 313Textile mills
    Employment
    2,528
    Establishments
    55
    Avg. annual pay
    $51,437
    Pay vs. U.S.Calc
    −13.8%
    Location quotient
    1.12
  • 314Textile product mills
    Employment
    2,463
    Establishments
    164
    Avg. annual pay
    $46,974
    Pay vs. U.S.Calc
    −13.6%
    Location quotient
    0.96
  • 315Apparel manufacturing
    Employment
    1,096
    Establishments
    115
    Avg. annual pay
    $49,088
    Pay vs. U.S.Calc
    −15.3%
    Location quotient
    0.50
  • 324Petroleum and coal products manufacturing
    Employment
    941
    Establishments
    49
    Avg. annual pay
    $81,181
    Pay vs. U.S.Calc
    −42.6%
    Location quotient
    0.32
  • 316Leather and allied product manufacturing
    Employment
    244
    Establishments
    28
    Avg. annual pay
    $39,019
    Pay vs. U.S.Calc
    −34.0%
    Location quotient
    0.36

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/2024/a/industry/31_33.csv
Retrieved
October 12, 2026 (UTC)
Period
Annual average, 2024 (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