Draft:Economy of the Richmond metropolitan area

Economy of the Richmond metropolitan area

View of Downtown Richmond from the James River.
Statistics
GDP	$123.878 billion (2024)
GDP per capita	$90,411 (2024)
Population below national poverty line	11.0% (2024)
Gini coefficient	0.4618 ± 0.0078 (2024)
Labour force	718,282 (June 2026)
Unemployment	3.4% (June 2026)
Average gross salary	$74,922 (2024)
Public finance
Revenue	$1.0898 billion (City)
Spending	$1.0880 billion (City)

The economy of the Richmond metropolitan area has historically been centered on transportation, manufacturing, government, finance, and professional services. Founded as a trading settlement in 1737 at the falls of the James River, Richmond developed into a commercial center due to its position at the head of river navigation, subsequent canal and railroad connections, and its designation as the capital of Virginia in 1780. During the nineteenth century, Richmond became a center of industry, with the largest flour mill in the world and one of the world's largest iron foundries. The city also served as the second-largest slave-trading market in the United States and was the capital of the Confederate States of America from 1861 to 1865.

Following the decline of flour milling and iron manufacturing during the late nineteenth century, Richmond's economy increasingly shifted toward tobacco manufacturing, corporate headquarters operations, finance, government, and legal services. During the twentieth century, the city also became a center of aluminum manufacturing through Reynolds Metals Company and developed chemical, food-processing, packaging, insurance, and healthcare-related industries.

As Virginia's capital, Richmond is a center of state government and the legal profession, housing the Virginia General Assembly, Supreme Court of Virginia, numerous state agencies, and the United States Court of Appeals for the Fourth Circuit. The city is also home to the Federal Reserve Bank of Richmond and numerous financial institutions, insurance companies, law firms, healthcare providers, and educational institutions. Fortune 1000 corporations headquartered in the metropolitan area include Performance Food Group (80), CarMax (162), Altria (221), Markel (270), Dominion Energy (272), Accendra Health (407), Genworth Financial (510), ARKO (557), Brink's (653), Everforth (787), Universal Corporation (940), NewMarket Corporation (991).

In the twenty-first century, the metropolitan economy has become increasingly diversified, with major sectors including government, finance, insurance, law, healthcare, higher education, logistics, information services, manufacturing, and corporate management.

History

Colonial History

Part of the former James River and Kanawha Canal has been repurposed as the Richmond Canal Walk.

Richmond was established in 1737 by William Byrd II at the falls of the James River. The settlement developed as a trading center because the falls marked the head of navigation for ocean-going vessels while also providing access to Virginia's interior. Agricultural products from central Virginia were transported downstream for export, while imported goods were distributed inland.

Transportation improvements strengthened Richmond's commercial position. George Washington supported navigation improvements on the James River, contributing to the development of the James River and Kanawha Canal system. During the nineteenth century, railroads supplemented and eventually superseded canal transportation, establishing Richmond as a transportation hub within the Upper South.

In 1780, Virginia relocated its capital from Williamsburg to Richmond under Governor Thomas Jefferson. During the American Revolutionary War, British forces under Benedict Arnold occupied and burned portions of the city in 1781.

Antebellum Industry

By the mid-nineteenth century, Richmond had developed into a major center of flour milling, tobacco processing, iron manufacturing, and trade.

Grain Milling and Global Flour Exports

The Gallego Flour Mills, the largest flour mill on the world, after burning in 1865 at the end of the American Civil War.

Richmond's flour industry was among the largest in the United States. Major milling operations included Gallego Flour Mills, which at one time was described as the largest flour mill in the world, and Haxall Mills. Richmond millers developed milling and packaging methods that enabled flour to withstand shipment through tropical climates without spoiling.

Flour produced in Richmond was exported throughout South America, particularly Brazil, as well as to the American West Coast, Europe, including England, and Australia. Ships returning from these markets frequently carried coffee and spices, contributing to Richmond's emergence as a major coffee market. By 1860, the city was the leading coffee-trading center in the United States.

Coal Mining

Ruins of the ventilation house for the Grove Shaft, Midlothian, Virginia. The Richmond Coalfield was the first coalfield to be mined commercially in the United States of America.

The Richmond Coalfield was the first coalfield to be mined commercially in the United States of America. Discovered around 1701, commercial production began around 1748. Production was centered in the village of Midlothian, Virginia, established to serve the various mines in the area. With the rise of numerous coalfields in Appalachia, in particular the Pocahontas Coalfield in Western Virginia, coupled with the difficulties in mining the field, the mines eventually closed by 1927. Overall production is estimated at more than 8,000,000 short tons (7,300,000 t). The mines supplied coal and coke for the Tredegar Ironworks in Richmond.

Iron Manufacturing

The Tredegar Iron Works, the largest iron foundry in the American South, in 1865.

Iron manufacturing formed another major component of Richmond's economy. Tredegar Iron Works became the largest iron works in the South and the third-largest in the United States. Richmond foundries produced rails, locomotives, machinery, industrial equipment, and military materiel for domestic and international markets.

Tobacco Warehousing

Richmond served as a major tobacco-processing and warehousing center. Large quantities of Virginia tobacco passed through the city's warehouses before being shipped to domestic and foreign markets. By the 1840s, Richmond had emerged as the largest tobacco production center on Earth.

Slave Trade

An 1862 painting by Lefevre James Cranstone depicts a slave market auction in Richmond.

Richmond was the second-largest slave-trading center in the United States during the antebellum period and served as a major hub in the domestic slave trade.

Confederate Capital

Main article: Richmond, Virginia, in the American Civil War

Then the Confederate Capitol and Treasury Department (left), these were two of the only buildings to survive the 1865 Evacuation Fire at the end of the American Civil War. Today they serve as the Virginia State Capitol and the courthouse for the United States Court of Appeals for the Fourth Circuit.

Richmond served as the capital of the Confederate States of America from 1861 to 1865. It was chosen as the Confederate capital in part due to its iron and grain production, with the city producing much of the Confederacy's munitions. As Confederate capital, Richmond was the capital and second-largest city of the world's fourth largest economy in 1861. During the evacuation of the city in April 1865, fires destroyed much of Richmond's commercial district.

Reconstruction and Industrial Transformation

Following the Civil War, Richmond underwent extensive reconstruction and industrial redevelopment. Although many of the city's traditional industries survived, changes in transportation, technology, and resource geography altered Richmond's position within the national economy.

Decline of Iron Foundries

During the late nineteenth century, Richmond's iron industry faced increasing competition from emerging steel-producing regions in the Midwest. These areas benefited from large-scale steel production methods as well as access to more extensive coal and iron ore deposits, while the Richmond Coalfield declined. While large integrated ironworks declined in importance, Richmond remained a center for cast-iron production.

The legacy of this industry remains visible throughout the city. Numerous historic neighborhoods contain cast-iron porches, balconies, fences, gates, and finials produced by local foundries during the late nineteenth and early twentieth centuries.

Decline of Flour Milling

Richmond's flour milling industry also declined during the late nineteenth century. The opening of the Great Plains to large-scale wheat cultivation shifted grain production westward, encouraging the development of milling centers closer to agricultural regions. As a result, Richmond gradually lost its position as one of the nation's leading flour-exporting cities.

Tobacco's Mechanized Revolution

A Richmond tobacco warehouse in 1918.

In 1880, James Albert Bonsack patented a cigarette-rolling machine that significantly increased cigarette production while reducing manufacturing costs. The invention transformed cigarette manufacturing into a mass-production industry and accelerated the growth of Richmond's tobacco sector.

Numerous tobacco manufacturers established operations in Tobacco Row along the James River, including Allen & Ginter and companies associated with the Lucky Strike brand. By the late nineteenth and early twentieth centuries, Richmond had become one of the principal tobacco-manufacturing centers in the United States.

Diversified Manufacturing

In addition to tobacco manufacturing, Richmond developed a broader industrial base. The C. F. Sauer Company established food-processing operations in the city and became known for products including spices, extracts, and condiments. The company later became associated with Duke's Mayonnaise, one of the best-known mayonnaise brands in the United States.

Gilded Age Prosperity

Built by tobacco magnate Lewis Ginter in 1895, the Jefferson Hotel is a symbol of Richmond's Gilded Age prosperity. The hotel featured a life-size Carrara marble sculpture of Thomas Jefferson, then-exotic palm trees from Central and South America, numerous antiques, Turkish and Russian baths, electric elevators, and alligators in the lobby fountain. Ginter's legacy in Richmond also remains through his namesake residence, the Ginter Park community, and the Lewis Ginter Botanical Garden.

Economic growth during the late nineteenth and early twentieth centuries contributed to the construction of numerous civic, commercial, and residential landmarks. Major projects included Main Street Station (1901), Broad Street Station (1917), Old City Hall (1894), the Mosque Theater (1927), Maymont (1893), a number of prominent church buildings, early downtown office towers associated with banks and insurance companies, such as the First National Bank Building (1913), and the Central National Bank building (1930), and hotels such as the Jefferson Hotel (1895) planned by Lewis Ginter, the Hotel Richmond (1904), William Byrd Hotel (1925), and Hotel John Marshall (1929).

Richmond's streetcar system, shown here crossing the Mayo Bridge over the James River in 1918, was the world's first large-scale electric streetcar system when it opened in 1888.

Richmond also played a significant role in the development of urban transportation. In 1888, the Richmond Union Passenger Railway introduced what is generally regarded as the first successful large-scale electric streetcar system. The streetcar network contributed to the development of streetcar suburbs including Ginter Park and Sauer's Gardens.

African-American commerce

African Americans moved from rural counties in the South to cities, especially in the North but also to Southern cities like Richmond. Jackson Ward emerged as the center of Black commerce, often referred to as a "Black Wall Street". Maggie L. Walker, a Black woman, started the first female-owned bank in the U.S. in Jackson Ward in 1902.

Tobacco, Aluminum, and Modern Manufacturing

Marlboro cigarettes, the world's most popular brand making up 40% of cigarettes sold in the United States, are manufactured at the world's largest cigarette factory in Richmond.

Manufacturing remained an important component of the metropolitan economy throughout the twentieth century, particularly in tobacco products, aluminum, chemicals, and food processing.

Tobacco manufacturing continues to be a major industry. Currently, the American tobacco market is dominated by two companies, which together produce 80% of the nation's cigarettes. Altria Group, headquartered in Richmond, is the successor to Philip Morris, and manufactures brands including Marlboro, Chesterfield, and Parliament, as well as Black & Mild cigars. Reynolds American, headquartered in Winston-Salem, North Carolina, manufactures brands including Camel, Newport, Pall Mall, and Natural American Spirit. As of 2017, Marlboro (40% of all cigarettes sold in the U.S.), Newport (14%), Camel (8%), and Pall Mall (7%) were the four best selling cigarettes in the United States.

The tobacco industry also contributed indirectly to the growth of Richmond's aluminum sector. Richard S. Reynolds Sr., nephew of R. J. Reynolds (founder of Reynolds American), founded Reynolds Metals Company, which headquartered in Richmond by 1938. Demand for aluminum foil packaging for tobacco products contributed to the company's early growth.

Reynolds Wrap aluminum foil, invented and manufactured in Richmond from 1947 to 2009, can be found in around 95 percent of American households.

In 1947, Reynolds Metals introduced Reynolds Wrap aluminum foil. The product became one of the most widely used household consumer products in the United States and has been reported to be present in approximately 95 percent of American households.

J. Sargeant Reynolds, grandson of Richard S. Reynolds Sr., served as Lieutenant Governor of Virginia from 1970 until his death in 1971. J. Sargeant Reynolds Community College was named in his honor.

Reynolds Metals became the second-largest aluminum producer in the United States and the third-largest globally, behind Pittsburgh-based Alcoa and Montreal-based Alcan. Following its acquisition by Alcoa in 2000, the company's headquarters functions were gradually eliminated from Richmond, and its manufacturing operations departed the city in 2009, laying off over 500 workers.

Modern Economy

Manufacturing

This 1958 building was built to serve as the headquarters of Reynolds Metals. Since the acquisition of that company by Alcoa in 2000, it has served as the headquarters of Altria.

Altria remains one of Richmond's largest corporate employers. The company is headquartered in the 300,000-square-foot former Reynolds Metals headquarters complex and operates a 1,600,000-square-foot manufacturing facility in Richmond that has been described as the world's largest cigarette factory, producing nearly half of all cigarettes sold in the U.S. The company's 450,000-square-foot research facility is also in Richmond, although it has been sold to VCU Health.

Universal Corporation, headquartered in Richmond, supplies leaf tobacco to manufacturers worldwide. Altria is among its largest customers.

NewMarket Corporation, headquartered in Richmond, manufactures petroleum additives and specialty chemical products.

Sauer Brands maintains both manufacturing operations and corporate headquarters in Richmond.

Early 20th century sign at the Sauer Brands spices factory in Richmond.

Government and Legal Services

While the Virginia General Assembly has daily floor sessions in the 1788 Virginia State Capitol, this adjacent 2023 building, the thirty-second tallest building in Richmond at 215 feet, hosts individual offices for lawmakers, their aides, and legislative committee rooms.

Government constitutes a major sector of the metropolitan economy due to the city's status as Virginia's capital.

Richmond is home to the Virginia General Assembly, the Supreme Court of Virginia, and numerous executive agencies, including the Virginia Department of Transportation (VDOT), Department of Motor Vehicles (DMV), Virginia Department of Education, Virginia Department of Housing and Community Development, Virginia Housing, Virginia Department of Health, and Virginia Lottery.

The city is also home to the United States Court of Appeals for the Fourth Circuit. One of the thirteen federal appellate courts, the Fourth Circuit serves Maryland, Virginia, West Virginia, North Carolina, and South Carolina.

Richmond has developed a significant legal-services sector. Major law firms headquartered or maintaining substantial operations in the city include McGuireWoods, Williams Mullen, Hunton Andrews Kurth, and Whiteford, Taylor, & Preston. These firms are active in areas including corporate law, litigation, banking, finance, private equity, real estate, government affairs, restructuring, bankruptcy, construction, and energy regulation.

At 417 feet, this 2019 tower, headquarters of Dominion Energy, is the third-tallest building in Richmond.

Dominion Energy is among the largest corporations headquartered in Richmond. The company traces part of its historical development to electric utilities that helped power Richmond's streetcar network. The company supplies electricity across portions of Virginia, North Carolina, and South Carolina and provides natural gas service across portions of Utah, Idaho, Wyoming, West Virginia, Ohio, Pennsylvania, North Carolina, South Carolina, and Georgia.

Finance and Insurance

Richmond has historically served as one of the principal financial centers of Virginia and the Mid-Atlantic region.

At 393 feet, this 1978 tower, designed by Twin Towers architect Minoru Yamasaki and home to the Federal Reserve Bank of Richmond, is the fifth-tallest building in Richmond. In spite of its height, 49% of the building's total floor area is located underground.

The Federal Reserve Bank of Richmond serves the Fifth Federal Reserve District. In June 2025, it ranked third among the twelve Federal Reserve Banks by assets, holding approximately $539 billion of the Federal Reserve System's $6.736 trillion balance sheet, compared with approximately $3.519 trillion for the Federal Reserve Bank of New York and $706 billion for the Federal Reserve Bank of San Francisco.

Richmond historically supported numerous locally headquartered banks. Consolidation within the banking industry resulted in many institutions being acquired by larger regional and national banks, particularly those headquartered in Charlotte, North Carolina.

Metropolitan statistical area	1950	1980	1990	2020
Charlotte, NC	197,052	637,218	1,162,093	2,660,329
Richmond, VA	350,035	761,311	865,540	1,314,434

Despite Richmond having the having the Federal Reserve Bank, Charlotte outgrew Richmond to become the financial center of the Fifth District, with its metropolitan area growing from 56.29% of Richmond's in 1950 to 202.39% of Richmond's in 2020. This was due to differences in 20th century financial legislation between the states. Virginia's relatively restrictive banking regulations limited branch expansion and kept many banks focused primarily on local and regional markets. North Carolina, by contrast, permitted statewide branch banking decades before many other states, allowing banks headquartered in Charlotte to build large deposit bases, achieve economies of scale, and acquire competitors throughout North Carolina. When interstate banking and branching were broadly authorized through the Riegle–Neal Interstate Banking and Branching Efficiency Act of 1994, Charlotte's banks were uniquely positioned to expand aggressively across the Southeast and eventually the nation. Institutions such as NCNB, which evolved into Bank of America, and First Union, later absorbed into Wells Fargo, used their scale and acquisition experience to become national banking giants.

At 333 feet, this 1974 tower is the sixth-tallest building in Richmond, and was built to replace the 1913 headquarters of Richmond-based First & Merchants Bank. After reconsolidation throughout the industry, the bank and building have come under Charlotte-based Bank of America.

Richmond nevertheless remains a major financial center. Major financial institutions with significant Richmond-area operations include Capital One, Truist Financial, Bank of America, Wells Fargo, Atlantic Union Bank (headquartered in Richmond), SouthState Bank, and TowneBank.

Markel Group is headquartered in the Richmond metropolitan area, in Glen Allen. Markel has frequently been compared to a "mini-Berkshire Hathaway" due to its combination of specialty insurance operations, investment holdings, and ownership of non-insurance businesses.

The Markel Group's former headquarters building, built in 1965 in the Willow Lawn area, has become a local landmark because of its distinctive corrugated aluminum exterior. While architect Haigh Jamgochian stated that the design was inspired by a foil-wrapped baked potato, it connects to Richmond's historical role in aluminum foil manufacturing.

Genworth Financial is headquartered in Richmond and is known for long-term care insurance and mortgage insurance products.

Harris Williams, headquartered in Richmond, is an investment bank specializing in middle-market mergers and acquisitions advisory services.

Corporate and Business Services

At 425 feet, the 2026 CoStar tower, shown under construction in 2025, is the second-tallest building in Richmond.

The metropolitan area is home to a diverse collection of corporate headquarters and business-services firms.

Major corporations with headquarters in the metropolitan area include (excluding those mentioned elsewhere in the article like Altria, Markel, Dominion Energy, Accendra Health, Universal Corporation, and NewMarket Corporation):

• Performance Food Group, one of the nation's largest food-distribution companies.
• CarMax, the largest used-vehicle retailer in the world.
• ARKO Corp., among the nation's largest convenience-store operators.
• Brink's Company, a provider of armored transportation, cash management, and secure logistics services.
• Everforth, Inc., active in information technology and digital engineering services.
• The Martin Agency, an advertising agency known for campaigns including "Virginia is for Lovers", the GEICO Gecko, and the GEICO Caveman.

Business in Richmond continues to be in a state of flux. WestRock was a company headquartered in Richmond that ranked as the largest packaging company and 194th-largest company overall in the United States in 2018. Following mergers and corporate restructuring, the company relocated its headquarters functions outside the city. However, after it moved out, CoStar Group, ranked as the 879th-largest company in the United States and headquartered in Arlington, Virginia, acquired the old WestRock building, in addition to offices across the river that house CoStar operations like Apartments.com and Homes.com. . It is now building a 425-foot building "HQ2" in Richmond next to the old WestRock headquarters.

Healthcare

At 278 feet, the 2021 Adult Outpatient Pavilion is the fourteenth-tallest building in Richmond, and the tallest in the VCU Medical Center.

Healthcare is one of the largest and fastest-growing sectors of the metropolitan economy.

VCU Health serves as a major academic medical center and healthcare provider. The system has been the site of a number of medical innovations, including the performance of a robotic living-donor liver surgery procedure and the use of MRI technology to evaluate coronary artery blood flow. Near to VCU Medical Center is the Virginia BioTechnology Research Park, which includes Altria's research center and the headquarters for the United Network for Organ Sharing, an organization which maintains the nation's organ transplant waiting list. Altria's research center has recently been sold to VCU. There has been controversy in the past over Altria's influence over VCU Health research.

Richmond is also a center for medical-supply distribution and healthcare logistics. Owens & Minor, now operating as Accentra Health, distributes medical and surgical supplies nationwide.

McKesson Medical-Surgical Solutions, a division of Texas-based McKesson, maintains headquarters operations in Richmond and has been identified as a future standalone Fortune 1000 company following a planned separation from McKesson Corporation.

HCA Healthcare maintains significant administrative and healthcare operations in the region.

At 285 feet, this 1985 tower is the thirteenth-tallest building in Richmond, and is anchored by HCA Healthcare. Buildings anchored by Wells Fargo and Bank of America reflect off the glass, while a nearby building on the left is anchored by Williams Mullen, reflecting the roles of healthcare, finance, and law in the Richmond economy.

Education and Research

Higher education and research institutions constitute an important sector of Richmond's economy.

VCU students celebrate their men's basketball team advancing to the Final Four in 2011. VCU Athletics contributes significantly to the local economy.

Virginia Commonwealth University is a major public research university and one of the region's largest employers. The university is known for programs in the arts, advertising, medicine, dentistry, pharmacy, and health sciences. The VCU School of the Arts is ranked as the best public fine arts school in the United States and second-best overall (behind Yale) as of 2026. Brandcenter, VCU's advertising program, is ranking as the top advertising program in the United States and number two globally, behind the Film Academy Baden-Württemberg in Germany. VCU School of Medicine is Virginia's second-oldest, opened in 1838, the medical campus also has the state's only dental school, in addition to schools for public health, nursing, pharmacy, and health professions school.

The University of Richmond contributes to the metropolitan economy through undergraduate education, graduate programs, business education, research activity, and employment. The University of Richmond School of Law is influential.

Tourism and Recreation

Tourism contributes significantly to the metropolitan economy through heritage tourism, outdoor recreation, cultural institutions, conventions, sporting events, and retail activity. The city's location along the James River has made it a regional destination for outdoor recreation. The river contains one of the only urban stretches of Class III and Class IV whitewater rapids in the United States, supporting rafting, kayaking, fishing, hiking, and cycling activities. Sites include Brown's Island, Belle Isle, the Canal Walk, and the Flood Wall.

Richmond's historical attractions draw visitors interested in colonial, Revolutionary War, Civil War, and African-American history. Sites include the Virginia State Capitol, the White House of the Confederacy, Maymont, Hollywood Cemetery, the Edgar Allan Poe Museum, St. John's Church, and numerous landmarks within Shockoe Bottom and Jackson Ward. Hollywood Cemetery serves as the burial place of Presidents James Monroe and John Tyler, as well as Confederate President Jefferson Davis.

The metropolitan area also contains a number of cultural and educational attractions, including the Virginia Museum of Fine Arts (the 54th-largest art museum on Earth and 19th-largest in the U.S.), the Virginia Museum of History & Culture, the Science Museum of Virginia, the Children's Museum of Richmond, the Institute for Contemporary Art, the Virginia War Memorial, and the Lewis Ginter Botanical Garden.

Convention and business travel represent an important component of the visitor economy. The Greater Richmond Convention Center hosts trade shows, professional conferences, sporting events, and public exhibitions. Downtown Richmond contains a concentration of hotels, corporate headquarters, government offices, and legal and financial institutions that generate substantial business-travel activity. There also numerous office parks in the suburbs.

Retail and entertainment districts are distributed throughout both the city and suburbs. Urban destinations include Carytown, Shockoe Slip, and the rapidly growing Scott's Addition district, which has emerged as a major center for restaurants, breweries, entertainment venues, apartments, and office development. Suburban commercial centers range from the older Willow Lawn to the newer Short Pump Town Center, which attract shoppers from across Central Virginia.

Sports and recreation also contribute to the regional economy. Richmond hosts the Richmond Flying Squirrels, numerous collegiate athletic events, road races, cycling competitions, and youth sporting tournaments. VCU Rams athletics generate significant visitor spending and media exposure for the region.

The 2018 Institute for Contemporary Art is named the Markel Center after a major donor.

Corporate sponsorship is reflected in the naming of several cultural institutions and venues, including Altria Theater, (and its Dominion Stage). Dominion Energy Center (and its Genworth Education Center), the Markel Center at the VCU Institute for Contemporary Art, CarMax Park, and the CoStar Center for Arts and Innovation at VCU.

Statistics

Gross domestic product (GDP) by industry comparison

Richmond GDP by industry vs U.S. sector share (thousands of current U.S. dollars)

Industry	GDP (Richmond)	% of Richmond total	% of U.S. sector total
All industry total	123,877,617	100%	0.42%
Private industries	108,022,764	87%	0.42%
Agriculture, forestry, fishing and hunting	117,851	0%	0.04%
Mining, quarrying, and oil and gas extraction	183,084	0%	0.05%
Utilities	1,249,566	1%	0.28%
Construction	6,438,905	5%	0.49%
Durable goods manufacturing	2,376,875	2%	0.16%
Nondurable goods manufacturing	8,431,922	7%	0.62%
Wholesale trade	7,851,715	6%	0.46%
Retail trade	7,078,046	6%	0.38%
Transportation and warehousing	3,873,256	3%	0.39%
Information	2,057,946	2%	0.13%
Finance and insurance	9,806,662	8%	0.44%
Real estate and rental and leasing	18,366,135	15%	0.45%
Professional, scientific, and technical services	9,339,100	8%	0.4%
Management of companies and enterprises	4,603,132	4%	0.85%
Administrative and support and waste management and remediation services	5,375,052	4%	0.59%
Educational services	957,603	1%	0.29%
Health care and social assistance	9,563,266	8%	0.43%
Arts, entertainment, and recreation	957,692	1%	0.29%
Accommodation and food services	2,916,430	2%	0.3%
Other services (except government and government enterprises)	2,673,517	2%	0.43%
Government and government enterprises	15,854,852	13%	0.48%

Largest private employers

Location is headquarters or location with most employees. Data as of November 2025.

In the early 1990s, Altria was the area's largest private employer with over 10,000 employees. By 2025 it had fallen to 3,850 employees and ninth place.

Employer	Number of employees	Industry	County/city
Capital One	14,000	Financial services, call center	Goochland
VCU Health	13,500	Health care	Richmond
HCA Virginia Health System	11,200	Health care	Chesterfield
Bon Secours Richmond	8,516	Health care	Henrico
Virginia Commonwealth University	7,832	Public four-year university	Richmond
Dominion Energy	5,433	HQ; energy services	Richmond
Amazon	5,100	Online retail	Henrico
Truist	4,549	Banking	Richmond
Altria Group	3,850	HQ; tobacco products, R&D	Henrico
United Parcel Service	2,805	Package distribution	Chesterfield
Federal Reserve Bank of Richmond	2,700	Federal reserve bank	Richmond
Elevance Health, Blue Cross Blue Shield	2,655	Health Insurance	Henrico
Wells Fargo	2,582	Banking	Richmond
CarMax	2,475	HQ; used auto sales	Goochland
DuPont	2,436	Chemicals and fibers	Chesterfield
CoStar Group	2,400	HQ2, Real estate information and analytics	Richmond
Bank of America	1,921	Banking	Richmond
Markel Group	1,886	HQ; Specialty insurance	Henrico
Verizon Communications	1,700	Telecommunications	Richmond
University of Richmond	1,578	Private four-year university	Richmond
General Dynamics	1,450	Call center	Chesterfield
Estes Express Lines	1,345	HQ; Trucking, air freight	Richmond
T-Mobile USA	1,316	Telecommunications	Henrico
Thermo Fisher Scientific	1,300	Biolab services; clinical research; manufacturing	Henrico
AdvanSix	1,269	Polymers	Hopewell
Kings Dominion	1,000	Amusement park	Hanover
The Results Companies	936	Call center for business process management	Chesterfield
GE Power	928	Parts for power generating machinery	Chesterfield
SuperValu	890	Wholesale food	Hanover
SimpliSafe	836	Customer support to home security systems	Henrico
Performance Food Group	819	HQ; food products distribution	Goochland
Patient First	805	HQ; Healthcare urgent care centers	Henrico
Genworth Financial	800	HQ; insurance	Henrico
Hillphoenix	791	Refrigerated display cases	Chesterfield
Hunton Andrews Kurth	788	HQ; Legal Services	Richmond
Long & Foster	760	Residential and commercial real estate sales	Richmond
McKesson Medical-Surgical	756	Wholesale medical-surgical supplies	Henrico
WestRock	750	HQ; Packaging materials	Richmond
Atlantic Union Bank	726	HQ; banking	Richmond
Virginia State University	681	Public four-year university	Chesterfield
Mondelez International	680	Snack manufacturing	Henrico
Comcast	675	Call center, cable TV and Internet provider	Henrico
Allianz Global Assistance	650	Travel insurance	Henrico
YMCA of Greater Richmond	631	Non-profit fitness and recreational services	Richmond
Wegmans	624	Retail wholesale grocery distribution	Hanover
McGuireWoods	620	HQ; Legal Services	Richmond
Accendra Health	609	HQ; wholesale medical supplies	Henrico
Elephant Insurance	600	Insurance services	Henrico
TForce Freight	600	HQ; Less-than-truckload freight carrier	Richmond
Westminster Canterbury Richmond	600	Retirement community	Henrico
Teleperformance	590	Financial services customer support	Henrico
Walmart	575	Warehouse and distribution center	Dinwiddie
Southern States Cooperative	574	HQ; agribusiness cooperative	Henrico
Virginia Credit Union	572	HQ; financial services	Chesterfield
Ukrop's Homestyle Foods	567	HQ; Chilled prepared foods and baked goods-manufacturing	Henrico
Everforth	556	HQ; Information Technology	Henrico
Kinsale Capital Group	545	HQ; Specialty insurance	Henrico
Goodwill of Central Virginia	533	Non-profit training center; retailer	Richmond
EAB	500	Educational / IT service provider	Henrico
HHHunt	500	HQ; Single and multi-family home builder	Henrico

See also

• Economy of the United States
• Economy of Virginia
• Richmond, Virginia
• Economy of Norfolk, Virginia

External links

• RVA.gov, the website for the Government of Richmond, Virginia
• ChamberRVA, the regional chamber of commerce for Greater Richmond
• Richmond Metropolitan Convention & Visitors Bureau