• Fredericksburg Regional Alliance
  • Jeff Dowdell
  • Director of Marketing & Business
  • P.O. Box 119
  • 2300 Fall Hill Ave.
  • Suite 270
  • Fredericksburg, VA 22401
  • 540-361-7373
  • Website
Download the Fredericksburg Region Profile as PDF
 

Fredericksburg Region

Community Profile

Strategically located in northeastern Virginia, on the I-95 corridor, the Fredericksburg Region is 28 miles south of Washington, D.C. and 50 miles north of Richmond, VA. Ideally situated within the state and on the U.S. East Coast, the region is within one day’s drive of over 60% of the U.S. population and 50% of the Nation’s manufacturing base. Averaging 4.1% annual population growth since 2000, the Fredericksburg Region has been the fastest growing area in Virginia.

With current population over 307,000 and a highly skilled workforce of over 1 million within a 40-mile commute, the region’s economy has been expanding 9.3% annually since 2001 and the 2006 Gross Regional Product was nearly $9 Billion. Employment growth in the region has exceeded growth in the state in every quarter over the last 14 years.

Leading industries include healthcare and education services, information technology and professional business services. Additionally, the region boasts three military bases, which roughly employ 18,000 while supporting over 650 government contractors who collectively impact the local economy by $2.3 billion annually.

Greater Fredericksburg Map

The city of Fredericksburg, located in the north-central portion of the region, is 58 miles north of Richmond, the state capital; 50 miles south of Washington, D.C.; and 143 miles northwest of Norfolk.

Labor Market Data

Population

Population

Gender Distribution
Greater Fredericksburg 49.4% male 50.6% female

 

Ethnic Distribution
Greater Fredericksburg 79.5% white 20.5% nonwhite

Civilian Labor Force (2005)

Greater Fredericksburg 156,488
Surrounding Labor Area 1,042,136
Total 1,198,624

Labor Force Participation (2000 Census)

Greater Fredericksburg 72.1%
Surrounding Labor Area 72.5%

Unemployment

Unemployment


Unemployment Rate (October 2006)
Greater Fredericksburg 2.12%
Surrounding Labor Area 2.06%
Statewide 2.71%

Unemployed 2005
Greater Fredericksburg 4,165
Surrounding Labor Area 27,767
Statewide 31,932

Commuting Patterns (2000 Census)

Live and work in Greater Fredericksburg 73,684 53.9%
Total In-Commuters 14,764 10.8%
Total Out-Commuters 48,304 35.3%
Net Out-Commuters 33,540  

In-Commuters From:
Prince William Co. VA 2,651 33.3%
Orange Co. VA 1,726 21.7%
Westmoreland Co. VA 1,656 20.8%
Fairfax Co. VA 1,362 17.1%
Culpeper Co. VA 574 7.2%

Out-Commuters To:
Prince William Co. VA 11,480 32.8%
Fairfax Co. VA 11,291 32.3%
District of Columbia DC 6,261 17.9%
Arlington Co. VA 3,823 10.9%
Alexandria City VA 2,123 6.1%

Additional Labor Resources

High school graduates not continuing 2004-2005 455
Two-year college graduates Spring 2005 5,043
Two-year college enrollees Fall 2005 51,854
Other college and university graduates Spring 2005 8,087
  Total 65,439

Educational Attainment

Percentage of Caroline County 2001-2002 ninth graders graduating in 2004-2005 87.4%
Percentage of Caroline County population age 25+ who are high school graduates 83.8%
Percentage of Caroline County population age 25+ who have earned a Bachelor's Degree or higher 24.9%

Employment by Sector* (Second Quarter 2006)

natural_resources_mining 496 0.5%
construction 9,930 9.4%
trade 19,692 18.7%
transportation_utilities 3,077 2.9%
manufacturing 3,529 3.4%
information 1,553 1.5%
financial 7,683 7.3%
services 37,668 35.8%
government 21,539 20.5%
Total 105,167 100%
*By Business Establishment

Employment by Occupation* (Second Quarter 2006)

Construction, Extraction &
Maintenance
11,731 12.0% 2
Farming, Fishing & Forestry 282 0.3%
Managerial, Professional & Related 28,665 29.3%
Production, Transportation &
Material Moving
10,192 10.4%
Sales & Office 28,454 29.1%
Service 18,525 18.9%
Total 97,849 100%
 
*By Business Establishment

Major Employers (Manufacturing)

Company Product/Service Est. Employment
Free Lance-Star Publishing Inc. Newspaper 300 - 599
General Motors Powertrain Division Auto transmission components 300 - 599
General Products Company, Inc. Steel door systems 300 - 599
Printpack, Inc. Flexible packaging 100 - 299
White Packing Company, Inc. Meat packing plant 100 - 299

Major Employers (Nonmanufacturing)

Company Product/Service Est. Employment
CVS Virginia Distribution Inc. Drug store distribution center 300 - 599
Government Employees Insurance, Inc. (GEICO) Auto insurance 2500 - 4999
Intuit, Inc. Software programs 300 - 599
Marine Corps Base Quantico Marine corps base 10000 - 19999
Mary Washington College Higher education 600 - 999
Mary Washington Hospital Health care 1500 - 2499
McLane Mid-Atlantic Grocery distribution center 600 - 999

Closings, Reductions & Layoffs

Date Type Company Product/Service Employees Affected
2/1/2004 Reduction Trinity Packaging Corporation Plastics packaging 21
7/1/2004 Closing Trinity Packaging Corporation Plastics packaging 105
10/1/2004 Closing Sheridan Books, Inc. Manufacture books 125

Union Activity (01/2004 - 5/2006)

Petitions
Filed for representation 2
Filed for decertification 1

Elections
Won by union 1
Won by company 1

Estimated Earnings (May 2005)

Occupation Med. Wage Mean Wage Med. Salary Mean Salary
Laborers and freight, stock, and material movers, hand $11.10 $11.70 $23,000.00 $24,300.00
Truck drivers, light or delivery services $14.10 $14.20 $29,300.00 $29,500.00
Truck drivers, heavy and tractor-trailer $17.70 $17.60 $36,800.00 $36,700.00
Construction laborers $12.50 $13.00 $25,900.00 $27,000.00
Carpenters $16.00 $16.90 $33,300.00 $35,000.00
First-line supervisors/managers of construction trades & extraction wrkrs $21.40 $24.10 $44,500.00 $50,000.00
Office clerks, general $11.60 $12.00 $24,200.00 $25,000.00
Secretaries, except legal, medical, and executive $15.90 $15.90 $33,000.00 $33,100.00
Stock clerks and order fillers $10.80 $11.40 $22,400.00 $23,700.00
Receptionists and information clerks $10.30 $10.70 $21,400.00 $22,200.00
Customer service representatives $13.60 $14.50 $28,200.00 $30,100.00
Bookkeeping, accounting, and auditing clerks $14.80 $15.30 $30,900.00 $31,800.00
First-line supervisors/managers of office & admin support workers $20.40 $22.60 $42,500.00 $47,100.00
Sales reps, wholesale & manufacturing, ex technical & scientific products $18.20 $24.30 $37,800.00 $50,400.00
Teacher assistants $8.50 $9.10 $17,600.00 $18,800.00
Secondary school teachers, except special and vocational education $32.60 $31.90 $67,900.00 $66,300.00
Business operations specialists, all other $30.10 $30.10 $62,600.00 $62,500.00
General and operations managers $46.60 $55.30 $97,000.00 $115,000.00

Per Capita Personal Income (2004)

$31,778

Education

Public School Enrollment

Level Number Fall 05 Enrollment
Preschool 1 44
Elementary 41 27,771
Middle School 16 14,138
High School 13 18,680
Alternative 1 89

Student Teacher Ratio (2004-05)

Elementary 14.5:1
Secondary 11.7:1

Percentage of 2001-2002 ninth grade membership graduating 2004-2005 87.4%
Percentage of high school graduates continuing education 2004-2005 (including military) 75.4%

Per Pupil Expenditure (FY 2005)

$7,850.04

Workforce Development Facilities

Facility Type
Job Assistance Center Comprehensive Center
Virginia Employment Commission Field Office: EasternShore Comprehensive Center
Virginia Employment Commission Field Office: Fredericksburg Comprehensive Center
Virginia Employment Commission Field Office: Warsaw - Northern Neck One Stop Comprehensive Center
Spotsylvania Career & Technical Center Career and Technical Center

Higher Education Facilities

Facility Fall 05 Enrollment
George Mason University - Fairfax Campus 29,724
Strayer University - Fredericksburg Campus 27,035‡
Northern Virginia Community College - Annandale Campus 15,031
J. Sargeant Reynolds Community College - Parham Road Campus 11,671‡
Northern Virginia Community College - Woodbridge Campus 6,817
Northern Virginia Community College - Manassas Campus 4,555
ECPI College of Technology - Northern Virginia Campus 4,519‡
University of Mary Washington - Fredericksburg Campus 3,876
Germanna Community College - Fredericksburg Campus 3,867
Germanna Community College - Locust Grove Campus 2,002
Rappahannock Community College - Warsaw Campus 1,624
Lord Fairfax Community College - Fauquier Campus 1,343
Randolph-Macon College 1,125
University of Mary Washington - College of Graduate & Professional Studies 858
ITT Technical Institute - Springfield Campus 425
‡Enrollment figures are for all campuses.

Transportation

Interstates

Name Distance
I-95 0.0 miles (0.0 km.)
I-295 8.7 miles (14.0 km.)
I-64 13.3 miles (21.3 km.)
I-195 13.5 miles (21.8 km.)
I-66 14.5 miles (23.4 km.)
I-495 19.9 miles (32.1 km.)
I-395 20.6 miles (33.2 km.)
I-695 30.4 miles (48.9 km.)
I-270 33.6 miles (54.1 km.)
I-595 37.8 miles (60.8 km.)
I-85 38.4 miles (61.9 km.)
Note: Measured from border of locality/region.

Highways

Highway 2 Highway 205 Highway 206 Highway 207 Highway 208
Highway 212 Highway 218 Highway 3 Highway 30 Highway 1
Highway 17 Highway 301 Highway 522    
Note: 4-Lane US Highways located within locality/region.

Commercial Air Service

Richmond International Airport, Richmond, VA 18.9 miles (30.4 km.)
AirTran Airways American Airlines American Eagle
Comair/ Delta Connection Continental Airlines Delta Air Lines
Northwest Airlines United Airlines US Airways
JetBlue Airways    

Washington Dulles International Airport, Washington, D.C. 24.3 miles (39.1 km.)
Aeroflot Airlines Air Canada Air France
AirTran Airways All Nippon Airways America West Airlines
American Airlines American Eagle Austrian Airlines
British Airways BWIA International Airways Continental Airlines
Continental Express Delta Air Lines Delta Connection
Ethiopian Airlines Grupo Taca International
Airlines
KLM Royal Dutch Airlines
Korean Air Lines Lufthansa German Airlines Northwest Airlines
Saudi Arabian Airlines United Airlines United Express
US Airways US Airways Express Virgin Atlantic Airways
Alaska Airlines Alitalia American Connection
BMI/British Midland
Airways
JetBlue Airways LAB/Lloyd Aero Boliviano
South African Airlines SAS/Scandinavian Airlines TED

Charlottesville-Albemarle Airport, Charlottesville, VA 27.2 miles (43.7 km.)
Comair/ Delta Connection Northwest Airlines United Express
US Airways Express    

Ronald Reagan Washington National Airport, Washington, D.C. 43.5 miles (70.0 km.)
Air Canada AirTran Airways America West Airlines
American Airlines American Eagle Continental Airlines
Continental Express Delta Air Lines Delta Connection
Delta Shuttle Frontier Airlines Northwest Airlines
Spirit Airlines United Airlines US Airways
US Airways Express US Airways Shuttle Midwest Airlines
Alaska Airlines ATA Airlines  

Shenandoah Valley Regional Airport, Staunton, VA 52.2 miles (84.1 km.)
US Airways Express    

Baltimore/Washington International Airport, Baltimore, MD 57.1 miles (91.9 km.)
Air Jamaica AirTran Airways America West Airlines
American Airlines British Airways Continental Airlines
Delta Air Lines Frontier Airlines Icelandair
Northwest Airlines Southwest Airlines United Airlines
US Airways Hooters Air Mexicana Airlines
Midwest Airlines Simmons Air USA 3000 Airlines
Air Canada Jazz    
Note: Within 75 miles of nearest locality/region boundary.

General Aviation Service

Name Runway Length
Shannon Airport, Fredericksburg, VA 2,910 ft (887 m)
Stafford Regional Airport, Stafford, VA 5,000 ft (1,524 m)

Freight Rail Service

CSX Transportation

Ports

Name Distance
Port of Richmond 39.0 miles (62.8 km)
Norfolk International Terminals 98.0 miles (157.7 km)
Note: Measured from center of locality/region

Utilities

Electric
Dominion Virginia Power Northern Neck Electric Cooperative
Rappahannock Electric Cooperative  

Natural Gas
Columbia Gas of Virginia  

Telecommunications
Verizon South Verizon-Virginia

Water
Caroline County City of Fredericksburg
King George County Milford Sanitary District
Spotsylvania County Stafford County Utilities

Waste Water Treatment
Caroline County City of Fredericksburg
King George County Spotsylvania County
Stafford County Utilities

Solid Waste Disposal
Caroline County Landfill King George County Sanitary Landfill
Rappahannock Regional Landfill Spotsylvania County

Financial Institutions

Bank 1st Qtr 2006 Assets (in millions)
Bank of America, N.A. $1,104,944.1
Wachovia Bank, N.A. $496,566.0
SunTrust Bank $178,281.6
BB&T Co. of Virginia $23,297.2
Chevy Chase Bank, F.S.B. $14,296.9
Provident Bank of Maryland $6,096.1
Cardinal Bank, NA $1,472.5
Union Bank & Trust Co. $1,380.7
First Market Bank, FSB $1,125.5
Virginia Heartland Bank $281.1
Patriot Bank, N.A. $252.9
Virginia Community Bank $180.1
The National Bank of Fredericksburg $162.0
Peoples Community Bank $107.0

Government

Greater Fredericksburg includes Caroline, King George, Spotsylvania and Stafford counties and the city of Fredericksburg.

Each county has a board of supervisors and a county administrator. The city of Fredericksburg has a city council and city manager.

Each locality has a comprehensive plan, a zoning ordinance and a subdivision ordinance.

There are two incorporated towns in the Greater Fredericksburg.

Taxes

Localities in Virginia collect a 1% sales tax. They do not tax other items taxed at the State level.

Counties and cities in Virginia are separate taxing entities. Therefore, a company pays taxes to either a county or to a city.

If a company is located in a town, it pays town and county taxes except for utility taxes which are paid only to the town and the license tax which is paid only to the town unless town law permits the additional collection of a county tax.

Manufacturers pay real estate, machinery and tools, truck and automobile, utility, and sales taxes.

Nonmanufacturers pay real estate, tangible personal property, truck and automobile, utility, and sales taxes. They also may pay either a merchants' capital or a license tax.

Climate

Average Temperatures
January 35ºF (2ºC)
July 76ºF (25ºC)

Average Annual Precipitation
Rainfall 39.75" (100.97 cm)
Snowfall 16.66" (42.32 cm)

Community Facilities

Mary Washington Hospital, located in Fredericksburg, provides excellent care for Greater Fredericksburg residents. This 310-bed full service regional facility features a 24-hour emergency room, surgical and critical care divisions, and a dialysis unit. The hospital has 12 operating rooms and space and engineering for advanced services, including cardiac, neuroscience, and OB/Neonatology procedures. The Cancer Center of Virginia, Pratt Medical Center, Medic-1, and several private clinics also offer both specialized care and general medical services for the region. Additional hospital care is available in either the Richmond or Northern Virginia metropolitan areas.

Nine nursing homes offer extended care to the elderly in the region.

The area is served by more than 270 physicians and over 75 dentists representing more than 20 medical and surgical specialties.

More than 250 places of worship are located in the Greater Fredericksburg Region. Most Protestant denominations are represented along with the Roman Catholic faith. Jewish synagogues are located in Fredericksburg.

The Rappahannock Regional Library System operates branches in Spotsylvania County, Stafford County, and Fredericksburg. The system's collection totals over 350,000 volumes. Caroline and King George each have a local library. Additionally, the Mary Washington College Library collection of over 300,000 volumes is accessible to the public.

A wide range of shopping choices are available in the region. Spotsylvania Mall houses over 100 stores and is the major regional retail center for the Fredericksburg area. The historic center of Fredericksburg also offers a wide assortment of specialty, craft and antique shops, and entertainment in an attractive, restored, 18th-century setting. There are numerous shopping centers, specialty shops, boutiques and other retail opportunities located throughout the area. An outlet mall is located in southern Spotsylvania County. Potomac Mills Mall, one of the largest retail outlets in Virginia, is located just north of the region. In addition, residents can take advantage of the many shopping opportunities in the Richmond metropolitan area.

The Virginia Railway Express provides daily commuter service to Metropolitan Washington from two stops in Stafford County and one stop in Fredericksburg.

Lifestyle

Outstanding cultural and entertainment events are available both within the region and within an hour's drive. Mary Washington College, in conjunction with the Fredericksburg Theater Company, presents very popular dramatic performances. The College/Community Orchestra schedule of regular concerts draws rave reviews and large audiences. The close proximity of Greater Fredericksburg to the Washington and Richmond metro areas opens up numerous opportunities including Washington's Kennedy Center for the Performing Arts, the Smithsonian Institute, the Virginia Museum of Fine Arts, and professional football, basketball and hockey.

Greater Fredericksburg’s location between the Blue Ridge Mountains to the west and the Chesapeake Bay to the east allows residents to choose from an extensive selection of recreational activities. Spotsylvania County is home to Lake Anna State Park located on one of Virginia's largest lakes. Lake Anna, consisting of over 13,000 acres, offers outstanding fishing, boating, hiking, and picnicking. Numerous rivers and streams are located throughout the area. The Potomac, Rappahannock, Mattaponi, and North Anna rivers provide the setting for excellent swimming, fishing, and boating. Located on the banks of the Potomac River is the 2,500-acre Caledon Natural Area History. The Lands End wildlife preserve located on the Rappahannock River is a major refuge for Canadian geese. These two rivers offer both fresh and saltwater fishing.

The area is home to numerous historic sites. The National Park Service administers the area's four Civil War battlefields. The Battlefield Museum is located in Fredericksburg. The Spotsylvania County Museum displays artifacts spanning the Colonial, Revolutionary, Civil War, and the modern history of the area. The birthplaces of George Washington and Robert E. Lee are located in the region.

There are ten golf courses located in the area. Two additional courses are currently under construction in Caroline County.

Paramount's Kings Dominion, a major amusement/theme park, is located just south of Caroline County along Interstate 95 and is the source of entertainment and excitement for all ages.

VIRGINIA ECONOMIC DEVELOPMENT PARTNERSHIP
Every reasonable effort has been made to assure the accuracy of this report through the use of standardized, reliable data sources, including the community. However, the Partnership provides this information “as is,” and therefore, assumes no liability arising from the use of this report or data.

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