These Are The 10 Worst Places In Virginia To Get A Job

2026 Update: The 10 Most Challenging Cities in Virginia for Job Seekers

Swipe left for slideshow. Article continues below.

At Zippia, our goal is to traverse the nation to uncover the best and worst places for job opportunities.

In this article, we focus on the cities in Virginia that are currently facing the most challenges for job seekers, following our previous analysis of the best locations in the state.

These cities are still striving to climb the career ladder and secure growth opportunities.

After analyzing data from the 100 largest cities in Virginia, here are the ten cities where job seekers may face the greatest difficulties:

Continue reading to learn about our analysis process.

For more information on job opportunities in Virginia, check out:

The 100 Highest Paying Jobs in Virginia
The 100 Highest Paying Jobs in Virginia Beach
The 100 Largest Companies in Virginia

How We Identified the Most Challenging Cities for Jobs in Virginia

To conduct our analysis, we gathered employment data for all cities in Virginia and focused on those with populations exceeding 5,000.

This resulted in a list of 100 cities.

We ranked each city based on several criteria from one to 100, where 1 represents the most challenging conditions in each category.

We then calculated the average rank across all criteria, with the city earning the lowest overall score being designated as the “Most Challenging City in Virginia for Job Seekers.”

The criteria we evaluated included:

1. Martinsville

Population: 13,854 Recent Job Growth: -1.44%
Future Job Growth: 25.90%

2. Danville

Population: 43,185 Recent Job Growth: 0.33%
Future Job Growth: 31.80%

3. Lynchburg

Population: 75,657 Recent Job Growth: 0.26%
Future Job Growth: 34.80%

4. Portsmouth

Population: 95,786 Recent Job Growth: 1.72%
Future Job Growth: 36.80%

5. Norfolk

Population: 243,056 Recent Job Growth: 1.72%
Future Job Growth: 37.40%

6. Roanoke

Population: 96,742 Recent Job Growth: 1.88%
Future Job Growth: 38.20%

7. Timberlake

Population: 13,504 Recent Job Growth: 0.26%
Future Job Growth: 35.60%

8. Newport News

Population: 180,831 Recent Job Growth: 1.72%
Future Job Growth: 37.40%

9. Williamsburg

Population: 14,207 Recent Job Growth: 1.73%
Future Job Growth: 37.00%

10. Hampton

Population: 137,471 Recent Job Growth: 1.72%
Future Job Growth: 37.40%

Conclusion: The Job Landscape in Virginia

After analyzing the data, Martinsville ranks as the most challenging city in Virginia for job seekers. As the economy continues to evolve and new job opportunities emerge across the state, these cities must work to keep pace with the changing labor market.

We hope that these cities can improve their employment prospects and not fall further behind in the competitive job landscape.

Comprehensive List of the Most Challenging Cities for Jobs in Virginia

City	Rank	Population	Recent Job Growth	Future Job Growth
Martinsville	1	13,854	-1.44%	25.90%
Danville	2	43,185	0.33%	31.80%
Lynchburg	3	75,657	0.26%	34.80%
Portsmouth	4	95,786	1.72%	36.80%
Norfolk	5	243,056	1.72%	37.40%
Roanoke	6	96,742	1.88%	38.20%
Timberlake	7	13,504	0.26%	35.60%
Newport News	8	180,831	1.72%	37.40%
Williamsburg	9	14,207	1.73%	37.00%
Hampton	10	137,471	1.72%	37.40%

Never miss an opportunity that’s right for you.

Author

Chris Kolmar

Chris Kolmar is a co-founder of Zippia and the editor-in-chief of the Zippia career advice blog. He has hired over 50 people in his career, been hired five times, and wants to help you land your next job. His research has been featured on the New York Times, Thrillist, VOX, The Atlantic, and a host of local news. More recently, he's been quoted on USA Today, BusinessInsider, and CNBC.

Create Resume