The local economy of Virginia and its counties, metro areas and cities, from official US government data.
Unemployment rate
3.6%
August 2026, 3.3% a year ago
Average weekly pay
$1,665
Q1 2026, 4,118,739 jobs
New homes permitted
37,520
Last 12 months to August 2026
Net people moving in
+1,290
2022 to 2023
Newest data: -. Not seasonally adjusted: compare with the same month a year earlier. Click a row for its history.
The newest unemployment rate, pay, new home permits, moves and gas price for Virginia, updated as new official numbers come out.
Unemployment for Virginia is seasonally adjusted; for its counties, metro areas and cities it is not, so compare a month with the same month a year earlier. Pay covers all jobs that pay into unemployment insurance. Building permits count homes approved to be built, not homes sold. Moves count households by where they filed their tax returns in two years in a row.
The unemployment rate in Virginia was 3.6% in August 2026 (seasonally adjusted, preliminary), compared with 3.3% a year earlier. 4,304,756 people were employed out of a labor force of 4,465,164. Among its counties, Bath County had the lowest rate (2.5%) and Emporia city the highest (7.6%, not seasonally adjusted).
Average weekly pay in Virginia was $1,665 in Q1 2026, up 4.0% from a year earlier, across 4,118,739 jobs at 324,758 business locations.
Building permits were issued for 4,366 new homes in Virginia in August 2026 (1,897 single-family and 2,404 in buildings with 5 or more units). From January to August the total was 28,600, up 25.9% from the same months last year, and 37,520 in the last 12 months. The most homes were permitted in Fairfax County (3,280), Richmond (Independent City) (3,159), Chesterfield County (3,144) over the last 12 months.
Yes. From 2022 to 2023, 242,523 people moved to Virginia and 241,233 moved away, a net gain of 1,290 (+0.2 per 1,000 residents). Most newcomers came from Maryland, North Carolina, Florida, and most people who left went to North Carolina, Florida, Maryland.
The weekly survey does not publish a separate price for Virginia. In its region, Lower Atlantic, regular gasoline averaged $4.20 per gallon in the week of September 28, 2026.