Which counties in Virginia are adding jobs fastest?

Goochland County (+39.2%), Pulaski County (+27.4%) and Lexington (city) (+23.0%) added private-sector jobs fastest in Virginia between 2018 and 2023.

Data as of 2023 · updated November 5, 2026

See the ranking All Virginia counties

Want Pro for Virginia? Get notified

All 133 ranked Virginia counties

Virginia counties ranked by private-sector job growth
Rank	County	Change 2018–23	Private jobs 2023	Residents
1	Goochland County	+39.2%	24,730	29,187
2	Pulaski County	+27.4%	13,327	33,586
3	Lexington (city)	+23.0%	4,728	7,769
4	Suffolk (city)	+20.8%	27,824	104,699
5	Henry County	+20.8%	12,670	49,242
6	Scott County	+20.1%	4,193	21,200
7	Frederick County	+19.8%	31,079	99,955
8	Floyd County	+19.7%	2,960	15,789
9	Louisa County	+19.4%	8,738	42,924
10	Botetourt County	+19.2%	12,180	34,144
11	Carroll County	+18.9%	4,848	29,299
12	Grayson County	+18.1%	1,566	15,230
13	Loudoun County	+16.4%	192,220	449,749
14	Powhatan County	+16.2%	6,397	32,591
15	King and Queen County	+13.6%	719	6,743
16	Mathews County	+13.6%	1,196	8,529
17	Greene County	+13.2%	3,133	21,958
18	Dinwiddie County	+13.0%	6,313	28,896
19	Prince William County	+11.9%	120,091	502,966
20	Appomattox County	+11.7%	2,634	17,172
21	Craig County	+11.3%	425	4,800
22	Augusta County	+11.2%	22,743	78,940
23	Greensville County	+10.5%	2,367	11,181
24	Arlington County	+10.4%	159,716	243,931
25	Fluvanna County	+9.9%	2,983	28,975
26	Fairfax County	+9.3%	696,002	1,167,873
27	Pittsylvania County	+9.1%	8,947	59,490
28	Hanover County	+8.9%	52,652	116,423
29	Middlesex County	+8.7%	2,444	10,841
30	Manassas (city)	+8.6%	17,903	44,332
31	Surry County	+8.5%	1,467	6,603
32	Chesapeake (city)	+7.7%	100,552	255,332
33	Spotsylvania County	+7.4%	34,160	155,388
34	Roanoke County	+7.2%	31,143	97,150
35	Warren County	+7.1%	11,889	42,740
36	Orange County	+6.9%	7,277	40,083
37	Fredericksburg (city)	+6.6%	21,521	30,393
38	Clarke County	+6.6%	3,106	15,609
39	Buena Vista (city)	+6.5%	2,141	6,672
40	Caroline County	+6.5%	4,315	34,413
41	Fauquier County	+6.3%	20,078	76,503
42	Charlottesville (city)	+6.0%	35,960	44,388
43	Brunswick County	+6.0%	2,356	15,727
44	Gloucester County	+5.9%	7,878	40,097
45	Giles County	+5.7%	3,774	16,564
46	Rockingham County	+5.4%	29,517	89,316
47	Rockbridge County	+5.3%	5,356	22,663
48	Lancaster County	+5.1%	4,238	10,995
49	Chesterfield County	+4.9%	124,728	397,148
50	Sussex County	+4.7%	1,975	10,755
51	Richmond (city)	+4.6%	129,898	237,257
52	Stafford County	+4.6%	35,383	170,803
53	Washington County	+4.5%	18,465	53,898
54	Accomack County	+4.3%	9,186	33,859
55	Franklin County	+4.0%	13,569	55,526
56	Newport News (city)	+3.9%	94,131	183,230
57	Harrisonburg (city)	+3.6%	26,378	50,839
58	Amelia County	+3.5%	2,014	13,632
59	Virginia Beach (city)	+3.3%	165,136	453,737
60	Mecklenburg County	+3.2%	9,366	30,747
61	Montgomery County	+2.7%	32,210	98,434
62	Halifax County	+2.6%	9,748	33,447
63	Fairfax (city)	+2.3%	26,981	26,772
64	Culpeper County	+2.2%	13,506	57,666
65	New Kent County	+2.2%	3,471	28,022
66	Bedford County	+1.8%	16,604	83,059
67	Norfolk (city)	+1.7%	109,272	231,013
68	Rappahannock County	+1.6%	1,123	7,439
69	Albemarle County	+1.3%	42,901	118,356
70	Cumberland County	+1.1%	823	10,352
71	Northampton County	+1.0%	2,939	11,879
72	Northumberland County	+0.9%	1,615	12,557
73	Campbell County	+0.9%	17,025	55,629
74	Petersburg (city)	+0.7%	11,824	33,734
75	Lynchburg (city)	+0.3%	57,019	81,347
76	Henrico County	+0.2%	183,459	342,775
77	Charlotte County	+0.1%	1,762	11,401
78	Prince Edward County	−0.0%	6,986	22,391
79	Salem (city)	−0.2%	19,148	25,816
80	Alleghany County	−0.4%	2,492	14,546
81	Madison County	−0.8%	2,354	14,237
82	Charles City County	−0.8%	1,635	6,623
83	Danville (city)	−0.9%	23,835	41,647
84	Bland County	−1.1%	1,282	6,151
85	Wythe County	−1.5%	9,944	27,983
86	King George County	−1.6%	5,319	29,646
87	Portsmouth (city)	−1.6%	25,089	96,777
88	Manassas Park (city)	−1.6%	3,201	16,560
89	Buckingham County	−1.6%	1,863	17,137
90	Nelson County	−1.8%	3,265	14,920
91	Page County	−2.0%	4,172	23,762
92	Amherst County	−2.0%	5,959	31,962
93	Waynesboro (city)	−2.3%	8,886	23,951
94	Tazewell County	−2.4%	11,435	38,635
95	Franklin (city)	−2.6%	3,369	8,478
96	Alexandria (city)	−2.6%	79,745	160,662
97	Staunton (city)	−2.7%	10,209	26,801
98	Covington (city)	−3.2%	3,344	5,680
99	Bath County	−3.4%	1,825	4,076
100	Essex County	−3.4%	3,180	10,654
101	Shenandoah County	−3.5%	12,260	45,839
102	Williamsburg (city)	−3.6%	8,937	15,861
103	Dickenson County	−3.9%	1,878	13,236
104	Wise County	−4.2%	7,407	34,824
105	Bristol (city)	−4.6%	8,370	16,418
106	Lee County	−5.0%	2,329	21,642
107	Isle of Wight County	−5.1%	9,183	41,321
108	Hampton (city)	−5.8%	39,322	137,315
109	Emporia (city)	−5.9%	3,805	5,447
110	Martinsville (city)	−6.3%	9,013	13,849
111	Highland County	−6.3%	325	2,318
112	Buchanan County	−6.6%	4,687	18,492
113	York County	−7.0%	18,725	71,374
114	Radford (city)	−7.1%	3,907	17,243
115	Norton (city)	−7.7%	3,952	3,477
116	Smyth County	−8.0%	8,169	28,882
117	Russell County	−8.5%	5,324	25,332
118	Falls Church (city)	−8.9%	10,152	15,159
119	Winchester (city)	−9.1%	24,157	28,272
120	Colonial Heights (city)	−9.3%	8,953	18,738
121	James City County	−9.5%	25,793	83,326
122	Roanoke (city)	−10.6%	66,628	99,111
123	Southampton County	−12.0%	1,893	18,110
124	Nottoway County	−12.2%	2,991	15,796
125	Galax (city)	−12.8%	4,771	6,670
126	Poquoson (city)	−13.4%	1,285	13,292
127	Patrick County	−13.5%	2,996	17,424
128	King William County	−14.1%	3,036	19,617
129	Westmoreland County	−14.6%	2,149	19,715
130	Lunenburg County	−16.7%	1,415	12,058
131	Prince George County	−17.0%	8,507	43,936
132	Richmond County	−18.3%	1,819	9,294
133	Hopewell (city)	−23.7%	5,277	23,261

How this is ranked

The change in paid employees of private employers in mid-March between 2018 and 2023 (Census Bureau County Business Patterns). Government jobs and the self-employed are not counted. Counties with fewer than 1,000 residents, or without a figure for the same period as the others, are not ranked.

Source: U.S. Census Bureau, County Business Patterns. Figures come from public federal statistics and are informational only, not investment advice. Check the source before relying on a number. Methodology: how ranks and figures are built. More on every layer: data sources and licences.

Get the report for any Virginia county — $99

The County Growth and Demographics Report for any county as a PDF, from federal data: population and migration, housing and rents, permits, private employers and jobs, unemployment, ranks in the state and the country, and neighbouring counties, with a source next to every number. Pay once, no subscription.

Choose a county — $99

Every purchase also includes a CSV of every table in the report, ready for a spreadsheet.

Not useful? Email us within 14 days for a full refund
Sold by Simply Stats LLC (NC)
Secure Stripe checkout (Apple Pay/Google Pay)
Instant PDF download
PDF + CSV of every table

Refund terms: Terms. · How we compute every number

Questions

Which county in Virginia has the fastest job growth?

Goochland County: +39.2%, ahead of Pulaski County (+27.4%) and Lexington (city) (+23.0%), of 133 Virginia counties ranked.

How is this ranking calculated?

More county rankings for Virginia

Private-sector job growth in other states

Across the U.S.