Virginia drops in America’s Top States for Business Ranking 2025

President Trump began to fundamentally change the relationship between the federal government and states six months before his second term. In this process, the CNBC’s annual competitiveness ranking shook the best countries in America.

Virginia, the first three final processors in each of the last year’s state and in each of the last five years, is on the fourth place in 2025 – its worst show since 2018 – and North Carolina is the number 1.

An important reason is that the state’s economic ranking decreased from 11 to 14 in 2025 last year. The economy is the heaviest weighted category under this year’s methodology, because more states reveal themselves as safe paradise in potential decline.

The Trump administration sets out to reduce the federal labor force. This hits the old dominance.

According to the Congress Research Service, the Federal government created more than 144,000 jobs in Virginia last year. This is a greater percentage of the labor force than any state except Maryland and Hawaii. And this does not contain virginians who work for federal contractors or who go to federal affairs other parts of the DC metro area. Include all of these and the number approaches 300,000.

In May, Virginia was one of the only three states rising from the previous month. US Office of Working Statistics. The state still adds jobs every month, even at a speed of slower than last year, and in May, Virginia’s 3.4% unemployment rate was still under the national average. However, the slowdown – and most of the federal business cuts have not yet been reflected in the official numbers – the General Manager of Weldon Cooper Public Service Center is related to Eric Scorsone, the economist of the University of Virginia.

“Virginia was a very flexible economy historically,” he said. “But now, we see something quite different that Virginia sees some business losses or at least a stagnation of business, but the nation still creates business as a whole.”

The last of the center to guessPublished in April, the state wants to lose 32,000 jobs this year and accelerate the losses of business as the year passes.

While Scorsonee says that this loss of business will first take place in the federal sector, it also sees a fluctuation effect.

“Things like leisure and accommodation,” he said. “As people lose their jobs, they will spend less on these things, [and] Maybe retail, “he added.

‘Virginia has jobs’, Governor Youngkin insists

Republican Gov. Glenn Youngkin says the state can absorb these federal business cuts.

The state launched a website in February, Virginiahasjobs.comTo target displaced workers with job lists and other resources in the state.

Youngkin, on April 15, CNBC’s “Squawk Box” “filled 250,000 open jobs. And that’s why people have a new opportunity, new job, new career.” He said.

A recent control of the site showed that things have been filled and the number of openings fell to 199,000 as the private sector recruitment slowed down. This seems to be very sufficient for federal workers that are still displaced. But Scorsonee said it wasn’t that simple.

“Virginia’s federal labor force is different from other states. Our labor force tends to be a highly educated, professional manager level.” He said. “Most of the works that are open can be in different sectors like health services. If this is not your expertise, you cannot easily pass into a health business.”

In April, CNBC appearance, Youngkin admitted the possibility of the state to lose its business and that there would be no definite harmony for the government employees who have been displaced by private sector alternatives.

“Listen, they’re not perfect matches,” he said. “They are high -wage, good work that requires someone to re -educate or gain skills or enter a new field, but they really work well.”

Youngkin said that budget cuts and job losses are necessary. “We must restore the expenditure and restore financial reality.” He said. “We see a record excess in our budgets. We can use these excess taxes to reduce taxes and invest to invest in education and law enforcement officers and business development.” He said.

Indeed, Virginia is still a labor power center with the best training ranking in the CNBC work and the second best rating for infrastructure.

Over time, no state has performed better than Virginia in the CNBC ranking. Since the project started in 2007, the state has received the best honor six times.

However, as economic anxiety increased in 2025, Virginia’s economic situation is shaky enough to download a few mandals.