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Manufacturing Compass

Virginia manufacturing

Private-sector manufacturing (NAICS 31–33), annual average for 2025. Source: U.S. Bureau of Labor Statistics, Quarterly Census of Employment and Wages.

01Core measures

Virginia manufacturing in 2025

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

Establishments

9,117

Worksites, annual average of quarterly counts

U.S.
399,936
Share of U.S.Calc
2.3%

Employment

236,465

Jobs, annual average of monthly counts

U.S.
12,579,906
Share of U.S.Calc
1.9%

Total wages

$18.7 billion

Nominal dollars, sum of four quarters

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

Average weekly wage

$1,525

Nominal dollars per job

U.S.
$1,721
vs. U.S.Calc
−11.4%

Average annual pay

$79,282

Nominal dollars per job

U.S.
$89,471
vs. U.S.Calc
−11.4%

Location quotient

0.71

Employment concentration vs. U.S.

U.S.
1.00

Manufacturing's share of all jobs in Virginia is 0.71 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
    42,994
    Establishments
    444
    Avg. annual pay
    $86,757
    Pay vs. U.S.Calc
    −12.5%
    Location quotient
    0.93
  • 311Food manufacturing
    Employment
    32,684
    Establishments
    861
    Avg. annual pay
    $61,680
    Pay vs. U.S.Calc
    −2.7%
    Location quotient
    0.69
  • 332Fabricated metal product manufacturing
    Employment
    19,893
    Establishments
    1,010
    Avg. annual pay
    $92,447
    Pay vs. U.S.Calc
    +21.1%
    Location quotient
    0.52
  • 333Machinery manufacturing
    Employment
    15,007
    Establishments
    684
    Avg. annual pay
    $82,749
    Pay vs. U.S.Calc
    −8.9%
    Location quotient
    0.52
  • 326Plastics and rubber products manufacturing
    Employment
    14,448
    Establishments
    250
    Avg. annual pay
    $79,458
    Pay vs. U.S.Calc
    +12.0%
    Location quotient
    0.77
  • 325Chemical manufacturing
    Employment
    14,127
    Establishments
    631
    Avg. annual pay
    $99,562
    Pay vs. U.S.Calc
    −19.3%
    Location quotient
    0.59
  • 321Wood product manufacturing
    Employment
    13,435
    Establishments
    472
    Avg. annual pay
    $58,643
    Pay vs. U.S.Calc
    −8.8%
    Location quotient
    1.25
  • 312Beverage and tobacco product manufacturing
    Employment
    11,921
    Establishments
    535
    Avg. annual pay
    $61,052
    Pay vs. U.S.Calc
    −4.8%
    Location quotient
    1.36
  • 334Computer and electronic product manufacturing
    Employment
    11,225
    Establishments
    858
    Avg. annual pay
    $130,849
    Pay vs. U.S.Calc
    −20.2%
    Location quotient
    0.42
  • 335Electrical equipment, appliance, and component manufacturing
    Employment
    9,799
    Establishments
    285
    Avg. annual pay
    $82,428
    Pay vs. U.S.Calc
    −8.5%
    Location quotient
    0.85
  • 327Nonmetallic mineral product manufacturing
    Employment
    9,445
    Establishments
    480
    Avg. annual pay
    $71,334
    Pay vs. U.S.Calc
    −9.4%
    Location quotient
    0.86
  • 339Miscellaneous manufacturing
    Employment
    8,759
    Establishments
    986
    Avg. annual pay
    $81,796
    Pay vs. U.S.Calc
    −5.4%
    Location quotient
    0.54
  • 322Paper manufacturing
    Employment
    8,081
    Establishments
    129
    Avg. annual pay
    $83,322
    Pay vs. U.S.Calc
    −2.1%
    Location quotient
    0.86
  • 323Printing and related support activities
    Employment
    6,984
    Establishments
    572
    Avg. annual pay
    $57,981
    Pay vs. U.S.Calc
    −8.3%
    Location quotient
    0.76
  • 337Furniture and related product manufacturing
    Employment
    6,843
    Establishments
    418
    Avg. annual pay
    $54,380
    Pay vs. U.S.Calc
    −12.5%
    Location quotient
    0.77
  • 331Primary metal manufacturing
    Employment
    4,182
    Establishments
    97
    Avg. annual pay
    $88,173
    Pay vs. U.S.Calc
    −5.6%
    Location quotient
    0.43
  • 313Textile mills
    Employment
    2,356
    Establishments
    54
    Avg. annual pay
    $54,010
    Pay vs. U.S.Calc
    −14.2%
    Location quotient
    1.09
  • 314Textile product mills
    Employment
    2,279
    Establishments
    158
    Avg. annual pay
    $51,068
    Pay vs. U.S.Calc
    −10.6%
    Location quotient
    0.92
  • 315Apparel manufacturing
    Employment
    959
    Establishments
    115
    Avg. annual pay
    $49,150
    Pay vs. U.S.Calc
    −17.7%
    Location quotient
    0.46
  • 324Petroleum and coal products manufacturing
    Employment
    811
    Establishments
    48
    Avg. annual pay
    $80,614
    Pay vs. U.S.Calc
    −43.9%
    Location quotient
    0.28
  • 316Leather and allied product manufacturing
    Employment
    232
    Establishments
    30
    Avg. annual pay
    $35,756
    Pay vs. U.S.Calc
    −40.6%
    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/2025/a/industry/31_33.csv
Retrieved
October 12, 2026 (UTC)
Period
Annual average, 2025 (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