Should You Relocate Your Business to Virginia? Here Are 3 Benefits

When it comes to deciding whether or not to relocate a business, there are many factors to consider. But if you're looking for a location that has it all -including a strong and educated workforce, endless business opportunities, and excellent quality of life - look no further than Virginia.

In this blog post, we'll discuss three benefits businesses receive when they relocate to Virginia, the massive corporations that have already relocated there, and why it is a top state for business.  

1. Strong and Educated Workforce

2. Strategic Location

3. Business-Friendly Environment

1. Strong and Educated Workforce

Virginia is a national epicenter of skilled tech workers, with the highest concentration in the country. This makes the state an extremely attractive prospect to predominantly STEM employers. This impressive concentration is the reason why Virginia is the leading data market center of the U.S. 

Virginia’s educational force is robust, as it hosts top universities, including the University of Virginia, James Madison, the College of William & Mary, and Virginia Tech.  

According to the  U.S. Census Bureau, 39% of Virginian workers have a bachelor’s degree or higher, making it one of the best-educated workforces in the country.  

Virginia is a pipeline of educated talent for corporations looking to recruit. The state’s ability to nurture and retain talent is perhaps one of its greatest assets. 

2. Strategic Location 

Virginia’s location is highly strategic for multiple reasons. It is centrally located, with easy access to the northeast and southern American regions. In addition, it is conveniently accessible by numerous airports and channels of transportation. Shipping and travel are incredibly convenient.   

As discussed, its location also gives you access to one of the country's most substantial tech labor pools. Due to the high concentration of skilled tech workers, fields like Life Sciences get a leg up on the competition by recruiting the industry’s best and brightest.   

According to the Virginia Economic Development Partnership, 

“Virginia’s life sciences sector has gained significant momentum in recent years, with 20 life sciences industry projects announced in just the past three years, representing over 1,400 jobs and $1.2 billion in investment. Recent announcements include U.S. Pharmacopeia, AMPAC, Civica, Merck, GlaxoSmithKline (GSK), Bausch + Lomb, and Virginia-grown biotech firm Grenova”.

It doesn’t end with the STEM industry. A strong manufacturing presence also benefits from being located near the nation’s capital, Washington, D.C. 

The prestige and convenience of being located near D.C. are priceless for many organizations. It is one of the many reasons that “Four of the top five U.S. aerospace and defense companies will now be based in Northern Virginia.” . 

The last two of the big five to migrate to D.C.? Mega-giants, Boeing, and Raytheon. 

Raytheon, the multinational aerospace and defense conglomerate, relocated its headquarters from a century-old Massachusetts property to Arlington, Virginia. The move gave the world’s second-largest defense company easier connection to government and intelligence bodies like The Pentagon.   

Boeing, the third largest defense company, moved to Arlington for similar reasons. CEO Dave Calhoun explained the reason for shifting its headquarters from Illinois to Virginia: 

Besides adding to Virginia's corporate reputation, these moves are a reminder to look at what decisions your closest competitors are making with their CRE. They may have already done the research for you in picking the most optimal location. 

3. Business-Friendly Environment 

Virginia’s name repeatedly appears as one of the most welcoming states to corporate America. Its business-friendly reputation has been sealed for over a decade now. On CNBC’s yearly ranking of America’s Top States for Business, Virginia has taken the winning spot more than any other state. 

Virginia’s robust corporate environment is longstanding and consistent, earning the notoriety that comes with being the Top State for Business in 2007, 2009, 2011, 2019, and 2021. In 2022, Virginia was again named with high honors as the country's third best state for business. 

It was this “stable and business-friendly” environment that drew in Amazon when it was looking for a new headquarters. 

Amazon's HQ2 in Arlington, Virginia

After a painstaking analysis of nearly every state and city in the country, Amazon carefully selected Arlington, Virginia, for their HQ2. – and with good reason. As part of an economic development package to lure in the industry giant, the state pledged to offer Amazon $22,000 for each job the company hires for in the office over the next 12 years. This works out to $550 million.  

But it wasn’t the notorious generosity of the state that drew Amazon in; it was its reputation as a top state for business.  

“It’s not just monetary incentives, but it’s looking at the comprehensive environment to allow companies to flourish,” Amazon’s VP of Public Policy, Brian Huseman.  

It certainly wasn’t about who offered the most significant package, as Amazon turned down multi-billion-dollar incentives in New Jersey and Maryland.  

In the end, Virginia’s business prestige separated it from the other final contender, New York. Anyone who hasn’t been living under a rock knows that if New York is one thing- it’s not “stable and business-friendly.”  

When considering the best regions for economic performance in the country, Amazon already did the research for you. It compiled the data above and beyond what was necessary to compare different municipalities against one another.  The primary determinant was Virginia’s consistent reputation as a top state for business. And in a self-fulfilling cycle, this reputation will only strengthen with Amazon’s presence.  

In an initiative to give back to its new community, the company reported, 

Further bolstering the Virginia economy, Amazon has pledged to ongoing charitable initiatives, reducing the city’s carbon footprint with LEED certification, and more.  

If Amazon picking Virginia out of all the states in the country for its new headquarters reveals anything, it’s that Virginia has a bright future (and past) as a global industrial force. 

If Virginia is a good enough to be the base for the world’s largest and most pervasive online retailer, it will likely serve you as well.  

Should You Relocate to Virginia 

What does it say when some of the world’s top-performing corporations all choose the same state and city to be located? It reveals that Virginia (Arlington in particular) is a region of economic opportunity that cannot be ignored. It offers significant benefits from a robust talent force to simplified access to the nation’s capital. 

It provides an excellent opportunity for companies looking to relocate. However, it is not your only option. As Tenant Reps at iOptimize Realty®, we have identified the Top States for Business and the Top States Americans are moving to.

By closely identifying these trends, we can help you weigh the factors to find the most optimal locations for your commercial real estate properties. 

But, helping you relocate is only one of the services a good Tenant Rep will provide. If you want to remain in your area, at iOptimize Realty®, we can help assess where you’re overpaying compared to the market value of comparable rents. In addition, we can negotiate on your behalf with your existing (or new landlord).

If that wasn’t enough, a Tenant Rep could be an invaluable partner by helping you optimize your space utilization. All said and done, a Tenant Rep can save you millions in your corporate portfolio- and you don’t even have to move to Virginia. Unless, of course, you want to. 

So, learn more about how Tenant Reps can help you by acting as your Ad Hoc CRE Department. 

If you’re ready to talk to an expert yourself, schedule a meeting today!