Editing Virginia (section)

===Business===
[[File:Virginia Beach waterfront.jpg|thumb|Ocean tourism is an important sector of [[Virginia Beach, Virginia|Virginia Beach's]] economy.|alt=High-rise hotels line the ocean front covered with colorful beach-goers.]]
Based on data {{As of|2020|lc=on}}, Virginia is home to 204,131 separate employers plus 644,341 [[sole proprietorship]]s. Of the 144,431&nbsp;registered non-farm businesses {{As of|2017|alt=in 2017}}, 59.4% are majority male-owned, 22% are majority female-owned, 19.6% are majority minority-owned, and 8.9% are veteran-owned.<ref name=QuickFacts/> Twenty-four [[Fortune 500]] companies are headquartered in Virginia {{as of|2024|lc=on}}, with the largest companies by revenue being [[Freddie Mac]], [[Boeing]], [[RTX Corporation]], [[Performance Food Group]], and [[Capital One]].<ref>{{cite news |url= https://www.virginiabusiness.com/article/39-va-companies-make-2024-fortune-1000-list/ |title= These 39 Va. companies made the 2024 Fortune 1000 |first= Richard |last= Foster |website= Virginia Business |date= June 4, 2024 |access-date= August 22, 2024}}</ref> The two largest by number of employees are [[Dollar Tree]] in [[Chesapeake, Virginia|Chesapeake]] and [[Hilton Worldwide Holdings]] in [[McLean, Virginia|McLean]].<ref>{{cite web |url= https://www.zippia.com/advice/largest-companies-in-virginia/ |title= The 100 Largest Companies In Virginia For 2020 |first= Chris |last= Kolmar |website= Zippa.com |date= February 2020 |access-date= March 5, 2020}}</ref>

Virginia has the third highest concentration of technology workers and the fifth highest overall number among U.S. states {{as of|2020|lc=on}}, with the 451,268&nbsp;tech jobs accounting for 11.1% of all jobs in the state and earning a median salary of $98,292.<ref name=cyberstates>{{cite press release|url=https://www.cyberstates.org/pdf/CompTIA_Cyberstates_2021.pdf |title= Cyberstates 2021 |publisher= CompTIA |date= March 2021 |access-date= May 27, 2021}}</ref> Many of these jobs are in [[Northern Virginia]], which hosts a large number of software, communications, and cybersecurity companies, particularly in the [[Dulles Technology Corridor]] and [[Tysons, Virginia|Tysons]] areas. [[Amazon (company)|Amazon]] additionally selected [[Crystal City, Virginia|Crystal City]] for [[Amazon HQ2|its HQ2]] in 2018, while [[Google]] expanded their [[Reston, Virginia|Reston]] offices in 2019.

Northern Virginia became the world's largest [[data center]] market in 2016, with over {{convert|47.7|e6sqft|km2}} {{as of|2023|lc=on}},<ref>{{cite news |url= https://dcist.com/story/23/09/01/northern-virginia-data-center-report/ |title= Northern Virginia's Data Center Industry Is Booming. But Is It Sustainble? |first= Margaret |last= Barthel |website= DCist |date= September 1, 2023 |access-date= September 8, 2023 |archive-date= September 8, 2023 |archive-url= https://web.archive.org/web/20230908132350/https://dcist.com/story/23/09/01/northern-virginia-data-center-report/ |url-status= live}}</ref> much of it in [[Loudoun County, Virginia|Loudoun County]], which has branded itself "Data Center Alley".<ref>{{cite news |url= https://www.virginiabusiness.com/article/you-can-google-it/ |title= You Can Google It |website= Virginia Business |date= March 1, 2020 |first= Stephenie |last= Overman |access-date= May 27, 2021}}</ref><ref>{{cite news |url= https://www.virginiamercury.com/2021/05/05/data-centers-and-electric-vehicles-will-drive-up-virginia-electricity-demand-uva-forecaster-predicts/ |title= Data centers and electric vehicles will drive up Virginia electricity demand, UVA forecaster predicts |first= Sarah |last= Vogelsong |newspaper= The Virginia Mercury |date= May 5, 2021 |access-date= May 27, 2021}}</ref> Data centers in Virginia handled around one-third of all internet traffic and directly employed 13,500 Virginians in 2023 and supported 45,000 total jobs.<ref>{{cite news |url= https://www.washingtonpost.com/dc-md-va/2023/02/10/data-centers-northern-virginia-internet/ |title= Northern Va. is the heart of the internet. Not everyone is happy about that. |newspaper= The Washington Post |first= Antonio |last= Olivo |date= February 10, 2023 |access-date= February 22, 2023}}</ref> Virginia had the second fastest average internet speed among U.S. states that year and ninth highest percent of households with broadband access, at 93.6%.<ref>{{cite web |url= https://www.highspeedinternet.com/resources/fastest-slowest-internet |title= The 10 Fastest and Slowest States for Internet Speeds in 2022 |website= HighSpeedInternet.com |first1= Peter |last1= Holslin |first2= Rebecca Lee |last2= Armstrong |date= April 13, 2022 |access-date= February 22, 2023}}</ref><ref>{{cite web |url= https://broadbandnow.com/research/best-states-with-internet-coverage-and-speed |title= Best & Worst States for Broadband, 2023 |first= Jason |last= Shevik |website= BroadbandNow |date= August 8, 2023 |access-date= September 8, 2023}}</ref> [[Integrated circuit|Computer chips]] became the state's highest-grossing export in 2006,<ref name=chips>{{cite news|url=http://content.hamptonroads.com/story.cfm?story=120082&ran=25886|title=Computer chips now lead Virginia exports|first=Gregory|last=Richards|work=[[The Virginian-Pilot]]|date=February 24, 2007|access-date=September 29, 2008|archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20070310155937/http://content.hamptonroads.com/story.cfm?story=120082&ran=25886|archive-date=March 10, 2007}}</ref> and had an estimated export value of $740{{nbsp}}million in 2022.<ref name=chips_census>{{cite web |url= https://www.vedp.org/sites/default/files/vedp-media/Partner%20Resources/international%20trade%20meeting%20materials/Open%20Session%20Presentation%20-%20ACIT%20Meeting%20-%20September%2013%2C%202022.pdf |title= Virginia Export and Import Data |website= Virginia Economic Development Partnership |date= February 7, 2023 |access-date= February 22, 2023}}</ref> Though in the top quartile for diversity based on the [[Simpson index]], only 26% of tech employees in Virginia are women, and only 13% are Black or African American.<ref name=cyberstates/>

Tourists spent a record $33.3{{nbsp}}billion in Virginia in 2023, an increase of 10% from the previous year, supporting an estimated 224,000&nbsp;jobs, an increase of 13,000.<ref>{{cite news |url= https://richmond.com/news/local/business/virginia-tourism-record-spendinhg/article_d4ea00cc-535c-11ef-b22e-0bc265abafaf.html |title= Virginia tourism spending hits record |first= Dave |last= Ress |website= The Richmond Times-Dispatch |date= August 5, 2024 |access-date= August 7, 2024}}</ref> The state ranked as the eighth most visited based on data from 2022.<ref>{{cite news |url= https://www.thetravel.com/most-visited-states-in-the-us/ |title= These Are The 10 Most Visited States In The US |website= The Travel |first= Alicia |last= Remmy |date= December 16, 2023 |access-date= August 7, 2024}}</ref> That year saw 745,000&nbsp;international visitors, with 41% coming from [[Canada]].<ref>{{cite web |url= https://www.vatc.org/wp-content/uploads/2023/10/International-Travelers-2022-2.pdf |title= International Travelers to Virginia 2022 |website= Virginia Tourism Corporation |date= October 18, 2023 |access-date= August 7, 2024}}</ref>