Richmondruns on a handful of strong industries. If you’re job-hunting or weighing a move, here’s where the opportunities (and the big-name employers) are.
Top industries & employers
Banking, insurance & finance
Federal Reserve Bank of Richmond, Capital One, Markel, Genworth Financial, Atlantic Union Bank, Truist operations
Richmond is the seat of the Federal Reserve's Fifth District, covering Virginia, Maryland, the Carolinas, most of West Virginia and the District of Columbia — one of only twelve cities in the country with a Reserve Bank. Around it sits an insurance and asset management cluster that is far larger than the city's size suggests.
Law & government
Virginia General Assembly, Office of the Governor, Supreme Court of Virginia, US Court of Appeals for the Fourth Circuit, McGuireWoods, Hunton Andrews Kurth
This is a capital city and a court city at once: the state legislature and the Governor are here, and so is the United States Court of Appeals for the Fourth Circuit. The result is a legal and lobbying economy with genuine national work in it, and a hiring rhythm that follows the General Assembly session from January.
Corporate headquarters
Altria, CarMax, Dominion Energy, Performance Food Group, Owens & Minor, Universal Corporation
An unusually dense cluster of large public company head offices for a metro of 1.3 million — energy, tobacco, food distribution, medical supply and used-car retail. It means a real corporate professional job market rather than only branch offices.
Health care & life sciences
VCU Health, Bon Secours, HCA Virginia, the Virginia Bio+Technology Research Park, pharmaceutical manufacturing in the region
VCU Health runs the region's Level I trauma centre and the state's medical college, and the biotech park next to it has drawn federal investment in domestic pharmaceutical manufacturing. Health care is among the largest employers in the metro.
Higher education & the creative sector
Virginia Commonwealth University, University of Richmond, the Martin Agency, advertising and design studios, the Virginia Film Office
VCU is one of the largest universities in Virginia and its art school is consistently ranked at the top of American public art and design programmes, which is why the city has the mural scene, the design studios and the advertising industry it does.
Logistics & manufacturing
Port of Virginia's Richmond Marine Terminal, CSX, distribution and fulfilment operations, manufacturing across Chesterfield and Hanover
Richmond sits on I-95 between the north-east and the south, on a barge connection to Hampton Roads and on a major rail corridor. Distribution and light manufacturing are a large regional employment base, most of it in the counties rather than the city.
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