With a population of 64,100, York County provides a solid employment and retail base. The County's central location allows it to draw the Hampton Roads regional labor force of over 800,000. While unemployment is relatively low in York County only 2.6%, the downsizing of the U.S. military provides a continuous flow of skilled labor.
Diversification is the key to our success:
- Exiting Military: over 15,000 annually
- Military Spouses: 20,000
- College Students: 92,000
- 5-10% below national average
- Virginia Workers Compensation among the lowest in the U.S.
- Virginia unemployment tax rate 2nd lowest in U.S.
- Health care costs 3-4% below national average
Great Wolf Lodge, Sentara Regional Medical Center, Wal-Mart, and Water Country USA, are among the county's largest private employers.
In general, York County 's labor force is well-educated. York leads the Peninsula with 92% of its adult population holding at least a high school diploma. The high levels of education among County residents are reflected in the types of jobs they hold. Forty percent of the County's employed residents in 2000 held professional or managerial occupations.
York County is one of the most affluent localities in Hampton Roads, with a median household income of $68,310 in 2004. On average, incomes in the County have increased by one half since 1989. When adjusted
York County 's relative affluence is reflected in the Census Bureau's poverty statistics, which show the County as having one of the lowest rates of poverty in the Virginia Beach-Norfolk-Newport News MSA.
Expansion Exceeds National Average...
The growth of manufacturing in Virginia has been more consistent than manufacturing growth at the national level. The strength of the diversified manufacturing sector is exemplified by the 10.1 percent employment increase Virginia experienced from 1970 to 1995. During the same time period, national manufacturing employment declined by 4.9
percent. The high number of new and expanding manufacturing plant announcements over the past two years in Virginia explicitly indicates Virginia 's advantageous manufacturing location relative to the nation.
Due to productivity improvements, inflation-adjusted value-added per manufacturing employee in Virginia increased from $43,213 in 1982 to $62,774 in 1992, a gain of more than 45 percent. Productivity, as measured by the ratio of gross state product to employment, has been steadily increasing at a rate of almost 3 percent for globally competitive manufacturing.
