Economy, job losses drag Virginia down in CNBC rankings
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Virginia dropped to No. 4 in CNBC's annual Top State for Business ranking.
Why it matters: It's a staggering drop for the Old Dominion, which has claimed the top spot a record six times, including last year.
Driving the news: Federal job cuts and the outsized role the federal government plays in Virginia's economy were the main reasons the state dropped to its lowest ranking since 2018, CNBC wrote.
Factors contributing to the state's declining economy measure, per the network:
- UVA's Weldon Cooper Center's projection that Virginia would lose about 32,000 jobs this year
- Economists' skepticism that Gov. Youngkin's "Virginia Has Jobs" initiative would be enough to help those workers
- And Virginia's rising unemployment rate
Yes, but: "Virginia is still a business powerhouse," CNBC noted, adding that the stop ranked top for education and second for infrastructure.
Zoom out: Each year, CNBC scores all 50 states across 10 categories, including education, economy, infrastructure and workforce to measure their business-friendless.
- It's intended to help companies decide where to invest and is used by states to pitch themselves, making it a bragging point for politicians on both sides of the aisle and for local economic developers.
The intrigue: Youngkin, a former private equity executive who was visibly thrilled when accepting CNBC's top honor last year, pushed back on the rankings.
- In a post on X, Youngkin said CNBC's inclusion of federal job cuts as part of Virginia's economy was a "subjective metric that mistakenly ascribes substantial risk to Virginia."
- "Results matter and Virginia is stronger economically and financially than she has ever been," he continued.
Meanwhile, Virginia Democrats jumped on the news to criticize the state administration's support of President Trump and federal job cuts ahead of November's election.
The bottom line: In the words of CBNC, "In 2025, with economic anxiety rising, Virginia's economic situation is just shaky enough to take it down a few pegs."