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We’re on a mission at Zippia to criss-cross the country looking for the best and worst places for jobs.
Today, we set our sites on the worst cities to find a job in Virginia after looking at the best places in Virginia a short while ago.
These cities did not have the grit needed to make it to the big leagues and get that big promotion we all hope to get.
After looking at the data for the 100 biggest cities in Virginia, the ten worst cities to find a job in the Old Dominion are:
Martinsville
Danville
Lynchburg
Portsmouth
Norfolk
Roanoke
Timberlake
Newport News
Williamsburg
Hampton
Read on to see how we did it.
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For more VA reading, check out:
How We Determined The Worst Places For Jobs In The Old Dominion
After getting the data for every place in Virginia, we ultimately decided to limit our analysis to the biggest places with over 5,000 people.
That left us with 100 cities.
We then ranked each place across a number of criteria from one to 100, with 1 being the worst in any given category.
Finally, we took the average rank across all criteria, with the place posting the lowest overall score gaining the title “Worst City In Virginia To Find A Job”.
The criteria we looked at were:
1. Martinsville
Source: Wikipedia
Population: 13,854Recent Job Growth: -1.44%
Future Job Growth: 25.90%
2. Danville
Source: Wikipedia
Population: 43,185Recent Job Growth: 0.33%
Future Job Growth: 31.80%
3. Lynchburg
Source: Wikipedia
Population: 75,657Recent Job Growth: 0.26%
Future Job Growth: 34.80%
4. Portsmouth
Source: Wikipedia
Population: 95,786Recent Job Growth: 1.72%
Future Job Growth: 36.80%
5. Norfolk
Source: Wikipedia
Population: 243,056Recent Job Growth: 1.72%
Future Job Growth: 37.40%
6. Roanoke
Source: Wikipedia
Population: 96,742Recent 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
Source: Wikipedia
Population: 180,831Recent Job Growth: 1.72%
Future Job Growth: 37.40%
9. Williamsburg
Source: Wikipedia
Population: 14,207Recent Job Growth: 1.73%
Future Job Growth: 37.00%
10. Hampton
Source: Wikipedia
Population: 137,471Recent Job Growth: 1.72%
Future Job Growth: 37.40%
Wrapping It Up With Friday Night Drinks
After crunching all the numbers, Martinsville took the “top” spot as the worst city in Virginia for a job.
So while the economy continues to improve and jobs become available across the state of Virginia, these cities lag behind.
Hopefully they can catch up before they miss their next bonus.
Detailed List Of Worst Places In Virginia To Get A Job
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%
suffolk
11
84,216
1.72%
37.80%
front royal
12
14,537
2.23%
39.70%
salem
13
24,792
1.89%
39.20%
virginia beach
14
439,528
1.72%
38.90%
chesapeake
15
223,233
1.72%
38.80%
cave spring
16
25,836
1.88%
39.50%
hollins
17
15,195
1.88%
39.50%
bristol
18
17,747
2.99%
39.60%
petersburg
19
32,226
3.74%
38.40%
poquoson
20
12,110
1.73%
39.10%
charlottesville
21
43,223
2.20%
40.50%
hopewell
22
22,501
3.74%
40.20%
fredericksburg
23
24,932
2.24%
39.60%
marumsco
24
37,218
2.23%
40.30%
manassas
25
37,943
2.23%
40.30%
waynesboro
26
21,030
2.77%
40.50%
dale city
27
66,593
2.23%
40.30%
bull run
28
14,012
2.23%
40.30%
lake ridge
29
40,775
2.23%
40.30%
sudley
30
15,347
2.23%
40.30%
cherry hill
31
15,624
2.23%
40.30%
linton hall
32
37,660
2.23%
40.30%
richmond
33
205,348
3.73%
41.80%
sterling
34
26,169
2.23%
40.70%
alexandria
35
140,337
2.23%
40.90%
montclair
36
19,877
2.23%
40.30%
buckhall
37
16,160
2.23%
40.30%
neabsco
38
12,204
2.23%
40.30%
radford
39
16,511
3.75%
42.30%
harrisonburg
40
49,043
3.61%
42.50%
staunton
41
23,906
2.77%
41.00%
annandale
42
39,669
2.23%
40.90%
ashburn
43
44,740
2.23%
40.70%
centreville
44
72,465
2.23%
40.90%
highland springs
45
16,536
3.73%
42.70%
manassas park
46
14,409
2.24%
40.50%
bailey’s crossroads
47
23,027
2.23%
40.90%
reston
48
58,396
2.23%
40.90%
winchester
49
26,330
3.35%
42.30%
springfield
50
31,321
2.23%
40.90%
west falls church
51
27,758
2.23%
40.90%
laurel
52
16,412
3.73%
42.70%
fair oaks
53
29,708
2.23%
40.90%
south riding
54
24,745
2.23%
40.70%
cascades
55
12,056
2.23%
40.70%
tuckahoe
56
45,586
3.73%
42.70%
east highland park
57
13,940
3.73%
42.70%
colonial heights
58
17,426
3.74%
42.50%
herndon
59
23,424
2.23%
40.90%
blacksburg
60
42,539
3.74%
43.10%
woodlawn fairfax
61
19,414
2.23%
40.90%
chester
62
20,398
3.73%
42.80%
lincolnia
63
21,431
2.23%
40.90%
oakton
64
34,364
2.23%
40.90%
burke
65
41,454
2.23%
40.90%
mclean
66
48,221
2.23%
40.90%
meadowbrook
67
18,762
3.73%
42.80%
glen allen
68
15,522
3.73%
42.70%
fairfax
69
22,712
2.23%
40.90%
culpeper
70
16,273
4.22%
43.30%
lorton
71
19,293
2.23%
40.90%
hybla valley
72
15,513
2.23%
40.90%
west springfield
73
22,788
2.23%
40.90%
tysons corner
74
20,118
2.23%
40.90%
chantilly
75
23,248
2.23%
40.90%
bon air
76
16,543
3.73%
42.80%
rose hill fairfax
77
19,127
2.23%
40.90%
brandermill
78
12,931
3.73%
42.80%
short pump
79
26,081
3.73%
42.70%
christiansburg
80
20,980
3.74%
43.30%
groveton
81
14,293
2.23%
40.90%
idylwood
82
16,756
2.23%
40.90%
mcnair
83
17,120
2.23%
40.90%
franconia
84
18,775
2.23%
40.90%
burke centre
85
17,343
2.23%
40.90%
mechanicsville
86
36,621
3.73%
43.30%
leesburg
87
43,208
2.24%
40.90%
franklin farm
88
19,869
2.23%
40.90%
merrifield
89
14,999
2.23%
40.90%
vienna
90
15,748
2.23%
40.90%
kingstowne
91
14,478
2.23%
40.90%
fort hunt
92
16,736
2.23%
40.90%
wolf trap
93
16,738
2.23%
40.90%
kings park west
94
13,687
2.23%
40.90%
great falls
95
16,098
2.23%
40.90%
arlington
96
209,077
2.23%
41.30%
newington forest
97
13,020
2.23%
40.90%
mount vernon
98
12,271
2.23%
40.90%
newington
99
12,889
2.23%
40.90%
falls church
100
12,300
2.23%
41.30%