See COVID-19's Impact on Virginia »
See COVID-19's Impact on Virginia »
Cases: 2,159,648 | Deaths: 22,504(Craig Hudson/The Washington Post/Getty Images)
(Craig Hudson/The Washington Post/Getty Images)
Overview of Virginia
- Area
- 42,775 SQ. MI.
- GDP
- $557 Billion
- College Educated
- 47.6%
- Population
- 8,535,519
- Capital
- Richmond
- Median Income
- $36,470
- Area
- 42,775 SQ. MI.
- GDP
- $557 Billion
- College Educated
- 47.6%
- Population
- 8,535,519
- Capital
- Richmond
- Median Income
- $36,470
Rankings Scorecard
- #12Health Care
- #12Education
- #13Economy
- #39Infrastructure
- #8Opportunity
- #18Fiscal Stability
- #9Crime & Corrections
- #19Natural Environment
In 1607, 100 English settlers arrived in what is now Virginia to find a robust realm of Native American tribes. They founded their own fort on the southern shore, later known as Jamestown.
While the colony prospered on tobacco farming, with indentured servants and enslaved Africans sustaining the economy, its Native American ranks were devastated by a “war of extermination” that reduced their numbers from 20,000 to 3,000. Later, as the colony flourished, descendants of those settlers started planning their own independence from England.
After the election of Abraham Lincoln, Virginia became the eighth state to secede from the Union, on April 17, 1861. In the following days, Union Army forces crossed the Potomac River to seize Alexandria, a slave port at the time, to prevent the Confederate Army from having a base so close to Washington.
The surrender of the Army of Northern Virginia that signaled the end of the war was signed at the courthouse in Appomattox on April 9, 1865.
Following the Civil War, Virginia remained generally rural and resisted social changes. The state Legislature enacted a Racial Integrity Act in 1924 barring marriages of “whites” and “coloreds.” In the case of Loving vs. Virginia, the U.S. Supreme Court overturned the state’s interracial marriage ban in 1967.
Virginia still possesses its own North-South divide, with the rural, mountainous reaches of the Blue Ridge Mountains and southwestern valleys and southeastern Tidewater region offsetting the sprawling suburban Washington, D.C., corridor of the northeastern counties.
Virginia’s economy is as diverse as the shipbuilding on the southern shore, the farming and tobacco-growing of rural areas, seafood harvesting along the Atlantic coast and rivers, the apple-growing capital of Winchester in the northwest, wineries spread among the countryside and the technology companies of the suburban Washington corridor.
Virginia Rankings
Health Care | #12 |
---|---|
Education | #12 |
Economy | #13 |
Infrastructure | #39 |
Opportunity | #8 |
Fiscal Stability | #18 |
Crime & Corrections | #9 |
Natural Environment | #19 |
Health Care | #12 |
---|---|
Education | #12 |
Economy | #13 |
Infrastructure | #39 |
Opportunity | #8 |
Fiscal Stability | #18 |
Crime & Corrections | #9 |
Natural Environment | #19 |
Health Care Access | #14 |
---|---|
Health Care Quality | #17 |
Public Health | #14 |
Health Care Access | #14 |
---|---|
Health Care Quality | #17 |
Public Health | #14 |
Population Without Health Insurance
National Average: 12.9%
Preventable Hospital Admissions
National Average: 4,378
Obesity Rate
National Average: 32.1%
Higher Education | #17 |
---|---|
Pre-K - 12 | #10 |
Higher Education | #17 |
---|---|
Pre-K - 12 | #10 |
Debt at Graduation
National Average: $28,996
High School Graduation Rate
National Average: 85.3%
NAEP Math Scores
National Average: 282
Business Environment | #14 |
---|---|
Employment | #5 |
Growth | #24 |
Business Environment | #14 |
---|---|
Employment | #5 |
Growth | #24 |
Venture Capital per GDP
National Average: $6.05
Job Growth
National Average: 1.4%
Net Migration
National Average: 0.2%
Energy | #38 |
---|---|
Internet Access | #40 |
Transportation | #28 |
Energy | #38 |
---|---|
Internet Access | #40 |
Transportation | #28 |
Renewable Energy Usage
National Average: 11.2%
Average Commute Time
National Average: 27.6
Roads in Poor Condition
National Average: 19.9%
Affordability | #28 |
---|---|
Economic Opportunity | #11 |
Equality | #5 |
Affordability | #28 |
---|---|
Economic Opportunity | #11 |
Equality | #5 |
Cost of Living Index
National Average: 100.0
Median Household Income
National Average: $65,712
Poverty Rate
National Average: 12.3%
Long-Term Fiscal Stability | #12 |
---|---|
Short-Term Fiscal Stability | #33 |
Long-Term Fiscal Stability | #12 |
---|---|
Short-Term Fiscal Stability | #33 |
Government Credit Rating
National Average: N/A
Budget Balancing
National Average: 1.042
Liquidity
National Average: 2.5
Corrections | #18 |
---|---|
Public Safety | #10 |
Corrections | #18 |
---|---|
Public Safety | #10 |
Incarceration Rate
National Average: 419
Juvenile Incarceration
National Average: 85
Violent Crime Rate
National Average: 379
Air & Water Quality | #4 |
---|---|
Pollution | #32 |
Air & Water Quality | #4 |
---|---|
Pollution | #32 |
Days with Unhealthy Air Quality
National Average: 104
Drinking Water Violation Points
National Average: 2.08
Industrial Toxins
National Average: 959
Virginia in Photos: Richmond, Arlington, Williamsburg, Luray
Best States Methodology
The overall Best State ranking from U.S. News & World Report shows how each of the 50 U.S. states ranks in 71 metrics across eight categories.
Rankings Scorecard
- #12Health Care
- #12Education
- #13Economy
- #39Infrastructure
- #8Opportunity
- #18Fiscal Stability
- #9Crime & Corrections
- #19Natural Environment
Explore the Data
- Compare
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