Virginia State Fact Sheet

USDA Economic Research Service
http://www.ers.usda.gov/statefacts/

Data updated December 15, 2008

Population, Income, Education, and Employment

Population
  Rural * Urban * Total
Year
    1980 1,005,072 4,341,725 5,346,797
    1990 1,000,091 5,187,267 6,187,358
    2000 1,071,452 6,007,063 7,078,515
    2007 (latest estimates) 1,104,267 6,607,824 7,712,091

More information on Virginia population
• County-level Population Data
• Rural Population and Migration Briefing Room
• Contact John Cromartie, 202-694-5421.

Income
  Rural * Urban * Total
Per-capita income (2006 dollars)
    2005 26,147 41,388 39,193
    2006 26,341 41,754 39,540
    Percent change 0.7 0.9 0.9
 
Earnings per job (2006 dollars)
    2005 31,836 51,940 49,637
    2006 31,350 51,919 49,577
    Percent change -1.6 -0.0 -0.1
 
Poverty rate (percent)
    1979 15.9 10.9 11.8
    1989 15.7 9.2 10.2
    1999 14.0 8.8 9.6
    2007 (latest model-based estimates) 14.9 9.1 9.9

More information on Virginia poverty rates
• County-level Poverty Data
• Rural Income, Poverty, and Welfare Briefing Room
• See important notes about decennial and model-based intercensal poverty estimates
• Contact Robert Gibbs, 202-694-5423

Education (Persons 25 and older)
  Rural * Urban * Total
Percent not completing high school
    1980 56.5 33.0 37.6
    1990 41.6 21.5 24.8
    2000 31.7 16.0 18.5
 
Percent completing high school only
    1980 25.0 29.2 28.4
    1990 30.5 25.9 26.6
    2000 33.6 24.5 26.0
 
Percent completing some college
    1980 9.7 16.2 14.9
    1990 17.5 25.4 24.0
    2000 21.5 26.9 26.0
 
Percent completing college
    1980 8.7 21.6 19.1
    1990 10.4 27.3 24.5
    2000 13.1 32.6 29.5

More information on Virginia education
• County-level Education Data
• Rural Labor and Education Briefing Room
• Contact Robert Gibbs, 202-694-5423

Employment
  Rural * Urban * Total
Total number of jobs
    2005 544,591 4,209,727 4,754,318
    2006 553,177 4,305,838 4,859,015
 
Unemployment rate (percent)
    2006 4.1 2.9 3.0
    2007 4.2 2.9 3.0

More information on Virginia unemployment rates
• County-level Unemployment and Median Household Income Data
• Rural Labor and Education Briefing Room
• Contact Lorin Kusmin, 202-694-5429
 
Percent employment change
    2004-2005 1.2 2.3 2.1
    2005-2006 0.5 2.6 2.4
    2006-2007 1.5 1.5 1.5
 

* Urban and rural (metro and nonmetro) defintions are based on the Office of Management and Budget (OMB) June 2003 classification. See Measuring Rurality: New Definitions in 2003 for more information.
 
More information on socioeconomic conditions
• Rural Emphasis Page
• Contact Tim Parker, 202-694-5435.

Farm Characteristics

1992, 1997 and 2002 Census of Agriculture
 
  1992 1997 2002
Total land area (million acres) 24.90 24.90 25.34
    Total farmland (million acres) 8.30 8.75 8.62
        Percent of total land area 33.3 35.2 34.0
 
        Cropland (million acres) 4.31 4.53 4.19
            Percent of total farmland 52.0 51.7 48.6
            Percent in pasture 35.4 35.8 30.2
            Percent irrigated 1.4 1.8 2.3
 
            Harvested Cropland
            (million acres)		 2.45 2.60 2.62
 
        Woodland (million acres) 2.60 2.74 2.67
            Percent of total farmland 31.3 31.3 30.9
            Percent in pasture 25.4 23.5 23.9
 
        Pastureland (million acres) 1.10 1.14 1.41
            Percent of total farmland 13.3 13.0 16.4
 
        Land in house lots, ponds,
        roads, wasteland, etc.
        (million acres)		 0.28 0.35 0.35
            Percent of total farmland 3.4 4.0 4.1
 
Conservation practices
        Farmland in conservation or
        wetlands reserve programs
        (million acres)		 0.06 0.10 0.11
            Percent of total farmland 0.7 1.2 1.2
 
Average farm size (acres) 197 177 181
 
Farms by size (percent)
            1 to 99 acres 52.5 56.7 56.8
            100 to 499 acres 38.5 35.8 35.7
            500 to 999 acres 6.0 5.0 4.6
            1000 to 1,999 acres 2.3 1.9 2.1
            2,000 or more acres 0.7 0.7 0.8
 
Farms by sales (percent)
            Less than $9,999 60.1 65.9 67.3
            $10,000 to $49,999 25.0 21.0 20.6
            $50,000 to $99,999 4.6 4.2 3.9
            $100,000 to $499,999 8.2 6.2 6.0
            More than $500,000 1.8 2.2 2.3
 
Tenure of farmers
        Full owner (farms) 26,492 31,995 31,814
            Percent of total 62.7 64.8 66.8
 
        Part owner (farms) 12,599 13,847 13,138
            Percent of total 29.8 28.0 27.6
 
        Tenant owner (farms) 3,131 3,524 2,654
            Percent of total 7.4 7.1 5.6
 
Farm organization
        Individuals/family, sole
        proprietorship (farms)		 36,866 43,445 42,851
            Percent of total 87.3 88.0 90.0
 
        Family-held corporations
        (farms)		 1,160 1,603 1,531
            Percent of total 2.7 3.2 3.2
 
        Partnerships (farms) 3,786 3,866 2,757
            Percent of total 9.0 7.8 5.8
 
        Non-family corporations (farms) 167 184 192
            Percent of total 0.4 0.4 0.4
 
        Others - cooperative, estate or
        trust, institutional, etc. (farms)		 243 268 275
            Percent of total 0.6 0.5 0.6
 
Characteristics of principal farm operators
        Average operator age (years) 55.6 55.8 56.7
        Percent with farming as their
         primary occupation		 46.4 41.5 53.6
        Men (persons) 37,993 43,591 40,825
        Women (persons) 4,229 5,775 6,781
 

More information on farm characteristics
• Census of Agriculture
• Contact NASS Customer Service, 1-800-727-9540.

Data from the 1992 Census of Agriculture is not adjusted for coverage. See Coverage Adjustment from NASS.

Farm Financial Indicators

Farm income and value added data
  2006 2007
 
Number of farms 46,800 47,100
 
  Thousands $
       Final crop output 828,444 819,284
+     Final animal output 1,795,094 2,032,984
+     Services and forestry 824,029 938,934
=   Final agricultural sector output 3,447,567 3,791,203
 
-      Intermediate consumption outlays 1,850,255 2,002,408
+     Net government transactions 47,065 -2,630
=   Gross value added 1,644,378 1,786,165
 
-      Capital consumption 566,672 590,193
 
=   Net value added 1,077,706 1,195,972
 
-    Factor payments 414,401 396,182
         Employee compensation (total hired labor) 267,171 230,411
         Net rent received by nonoperator landlords -25,130 -18,024
         Real estate and nonreal estate interest 172,360 183,795
 
=   Net farm income 663,305 799,790
 

More information on farm income
• Farm Income Data
• Farm Income and Costs Briefing Room
• Contact Roger Strickland, 202-694-5592.

Farm balance sheet
 
• Estimation of State-level Balance Sheets has been suspended. See the Farm Balance Sheet data page for more information.
 

Top Commodities, Exports, and Counties

Top 5 agriculture commodities, 2007
  Value of receipts
thousand $		 Percent of state total
farm receipts		 Percent of US value
1. Broilers 559,430 19.0 2.6
2. Cattle and calves 429,977 14.6 0.9
3. Dairy products 371,685 12.6 1.0
4. Turkeys 298,584 10.1 8.0
5. Greenhouse/nursery 247,980 8.4 1.4
 
All commodities 2,950,380   1.0
 

More information on Virginia's top agriculture commodities
• Leading commodities for cash receipts in Excel
• Contact Roger Strickland, 202-694-5592.

Top 5 agriculture exports, estimates, FY 2007
  Rank among states Value
million $
1. Wheat and products 22 115.2
2. Poultry and products 10 102.3
3. Live animals and meat 18 94.6
4. Other 20 85.8
5. Soybeans and products 20 55.3
 
Overall rank 31 622.0
 

More information on agricultural exports
• State Export Data
• Agricultural Trade Briefing Room
• Contact Nora Brooks, 202-694-5211.

Top 5 counties in agricultural sales 2002
  Percent of state total receipts Million $
1. Rockingham County 18.9 446.7
2. Augusta County 6.1 143.9
3. Accomack County 4.6 109.1
4. Page County 4.6 108.7
5. Shenandoah County 3.0 69.7
 
State total   2,360.9
 

More information on agricultural sales
• Census of Agriculture
• Contact NASS Customer Service, 1-800-727-9540.

Data Sources

Prepared by Economic Research Service, USDA, Washington, DC.