Population & Labor

Strong Talent Pool + High Quality of Life = Favorable Recruiting Environment

In James City County, you’ll find it easy to recruit and retain top-notch talent at all levels of your organization. Combined with the Hampton Roads and Richmond areas (both within 45 minutes), James City County pulls from a combined civilian labor force approaching 1.5 million.
Other key labor pool attributes include:

  • Engineers and scientists in various disciplines including aeronautics and space, advanced materials, computational sciences, marine sciences, non-destructive testing, and bioinformatics 
  • Technicians and managers with military experience and training, particularly in mechanical and electronic systems, transportation and logistics, and computer modeling and simulation 
  • Graduate students from more than 30 colleges and universities within an hour’s drive 
  • Thousands of tourism and service industry employees working seasonal jobs with minimal, if any benefits 
  • Spouses of military and university workers
Population 76,484
Labor Force 35,685
Total Employment 34,036
Unemployment Rate 4.6%
Median Household Income $87,678
Taxable Retail Sales $982 million                                             
Sources: Weldon Cooper population estimate as of July 1, 2020 released on Jan. 29, 2021 by the Weldon Cooper Center for Public Service, Demographics and Workforce Group; Virginia Employment Commission, Dec. 2020; US Census Bureau, 2019 estimates for median household income; Virginia Dept. of Taxation 2017

The County's population has doubled over the last 20 years as more people discover the tremendous resources and quality of life available here.

  1. Workforce
  2. Military

Right to Work State

Virginia is one of 20, and the northern-most state, with a Right-to-Work law. Good labor relations and strict enforcement of this law have contributed to a positive local labor climate. Only two County manufacturers are unionized, accounting for 6% of the County’s total employment and about half of the County’s manufacturing employment. No union elections, striking or work stoppages have occurred in the County within the past 10 years.


Workforce Development Services

With two facilities in James City County—a Historic Triangle Campus and a Workforce Development Center, Thomas Nelson Community College offers education and training programs for the business community, current company employees, entrepreneurs and transitional and dislocated workers needing to advance workplace skills.

Greater Peninsula Workforce Board

The Greater Peninsula Workforce Board's number one mission is to identify the workforce development needs of jobseekers, youth and employers in 7 localities, including James City County. Once the needs are identified they work to implement solutions that specifically address those needs through partnerships with training and education providers. The Greater Peninsula Workforce Board works collaboratively with the Hampton Roads Workforce Council.

Thomas Nelson Community College Workforce Development (TNCC-WD)

TNCC-WD delivers quality, market-responsive training specifically designed to meet the changing technical requirements for today’s jobs. Whether it’s enhancing employee productivity at a small or large business, knowledge to stay current in the field or a career change, TNCC Workforce Development’s accelerated workforce training, in-demand skills certification programs, customized solutions and online classes offer convenient options to meet the needs of businesses and their employees.