Job opportunities vary greatly by location. As the tables below clearly show, individual cities and towns offer employment opportunities which differ from those you'll find in other places. Some places feature jobs in technology, some in manufacturing, others in education, etc. Whether choosing a career path or seeking a new job, it pays to consider which careers are favored in the area in which you live or to which are willing to move.
Select the city you want or just browse down this page to see the analysis for each city:
NOTE: A Career Popularity level of 1.0 indicates the national average; a popularity rating of 3.5, for example, indicates that the career is 3.5 times as prevalent locally than it is nationally.
Blacksburg, Virginia Employment and Careers
Ten careers significantly more common in Blacksburg and surrounding towns than in most metro areas nationwide. | Job Title | Mean Local Salary | Local Jobs | Popularity*
vs. Avg. |
|---|
| Power plant operators | $40,370 | 140 | 31.7 | | Textile winding, twisting, and drawing out machine setters, operators, and tenders | $22,350 | 160 | 20 | | Electrical and electronic equipment assemblers | $27,850 | 690 | 11.2 | | Drilling and boring machine tool setters, operators, and tenders, metal and plastic | $28,800 | 110 | 11.1 | | Water and liquid waste treatment plant and system operators | $27,770 | 170 | 7.2 | | Coating, painting, and spraying machine setters, operators, and tenders | $24,940 | 180 | 6.3 | | Chemical technicians | $31,850 | 110 | 6 | | Cabinetmakers and bench carpenters | $19,660 | 190 | 5.3 | | Highway maintenance workers | $25,590 | 130 | 4.5 | | Assemblers and fabricators, all other | $22,750 | 250 | 4.1 | | (Click for the full list of Blacksburg careers, including educational requirements, salaries, more) |
Charlottesville, Virginia Employment and Careers
Ten careers significantly more common in Charlottesville and surrounding towns than in most metro areas nationwide. | Job Title | Mean Local Salary | Local Jobs | Popularity*
vs. Avg. |
|---|
| Social scientists and related workers, all other | $82,840 | 190 | 11.9 | | Writers and authors | $33,420 | 110 | 5.2 | | Title examiners, abstractors, and searchers | $36,850 | 130 | 4.8 | | Reservation and transportation ticket agents and travel clerks | $23,920 | 350 | 4.8 | | Electrical and electronic engineering technicians | $48,910 | 370 | 3.8 | | Architects, except landscape and naval | $58,320 | 230 | 3.8 | | Heating, air conditioning, and refrigeration mechanics and installers | $31,750 | 490 | 3.6 | | Special education teachers, middle school | $40,610 | 130 | 3.2 | | Electronics engineers, except computer | $77,270 | 220 | 3 | | Electrical engineers | $68,070 | 240 | 2.9 | | (Click for the full list of Charlottesville careers, including educational requirements, salaries, more) |
Danville, Virginia Employment and Careers
Ten careers significantly more common in Danville and surrounding towns than in most metro areas nationwide. | Job Title | Mean Local Salary | Local Jobs | Popularity*
vs. Avg. |
|---|
| Extruding, forming, pressing, and compacting machine setters, operators, and tenders | $42,730 | 160 | 13.5 | | Mixing and blending machine setters, operators, and tenders | $32,680 | 150 | 5.7 | | Helpers--carpenters | $20,450 | 100 | 5.2 | | Cooks, short order | $15,200 | 180 | 4.4 | | Helpers--production workers | $25,220 | 430 | 3.8 | | Correctional officers and jailers | $32,210 | 190 | 3.6 | | Loan officers | $34,610 | 270 | 3.3 | | First-line supervisors/managers of production and operating workers | $42,900 | 510 | 3.3 | | Inspectors, testers, sorters, samplers, and weighers | $23,810 | 370 | 3.3 | | Laborers and freight, stock, and material movers, hand | $19,560 | 1,650 | 2.9 | | (Click for the full list of Danville careers, including educational requirements, salaries, more) |
Harrisonburg, Virginia Employment and Careers
Ten careers significantly more common in Harrisonburg and surrounding towns than in most metro areas nationwide. | Job Title | Mean Local Salary | Local Jobs | Popularity*
vs. Avg. |
|---|
| Farmworkers, farm and ranch animals | $21,700 | 210 | 36.6 | | Farm equipment mechanics | $26,910 | 100 | 28.5 | | Structural iron and steel workers | $29,100 | 210 | 13 | | Maintenance workers, machinery | $30,950 | 170 | 8.6 | | Helpers--pipelayers, plumbers, pipefitters, and steamfitters | $20,460 | 150 | 7.6 | | Water and liquid waste treatment plant and system operators | $30,810 | 150 | 7.2 | | Helpers--electricians | $20,090 | 160 | 6.9 | | Packaging and filling machine operators and tenders | $30,360 | 750 | 6.7 | | Production workers, all other | $22,930 | 270 | 3.9 | | Sheet metal workers | $27,790 | 190 | 3.8 | | (Click for the full list of Harrisonburg careers, including educational requirements, salaries, more) |
Lynchburg, Virginia Employment and Careers
Ten careers significantly more common in Lynchburg and surrounding towns than in most metro areas nationwide. | Job Title | Mean Local Salary | Local Jobs | Popularity*
vs. Avg. |
|---|
| Sawing machine setters, operators, and tenders, wood | $23,210 | 150 | 8.7 | | Health specialties teachers, postsecondary | $48,670 | 140 | 4.8 | | Brickmasons and blockmasons | $42,490 | 290 | 4.2 | | Paper goods machine setters, operators, and tenders | $37,810 | 200 | 4 | | Helpers--brickmasons, blockmasons, stonemasons, and tile and marble setters | $23,630 | 130 | 3.9 | | Excavating and loading machine and dragline operators | $32,770 | 110 | 3.9 | | Molding, coremaking, and casting machine setters, operators, and tenders, metal and plastic | $24,370 | 280 | 3.7 | | Physical therapist assistants | $47,000 | 130 | 3.6 | | Industrial machinery mechanics | $41,600 | 460 | 3.5 | | Child, family, and school social workers | $35,340 | 520 | 3.4 | | (Click for the full list of Lynchburg careers, including educational requirements, salaries, more) |
Richmond, Virginia Employment and Careers
Ten careers significantly more common in Richmond and surrounding towns than in most metro areas nationwide. | Job Title | Mean Local Salary | Local Jobs | Popularity*
vs. Avg. |
|---|
| Embalmers | $53,900 | 120 | 8.6 | | First-line supervisors/managers of correctional officers | $43,440 | 600 | 8 | | Materials scientists | $99,890 | 100 | 8 | | Broadcast news analysts | $51,390 | 110 | 8 | | Fence erectors | $32,040 | 140 | 7.7 | | Life scientists, all other | $62,020 | 190 | 5.6 | | Radiation therapists | $54,430 | 160 | 5.1 | | Logging equipment operators | $28,850 | 130 | 4.8 | | Insulation workers, floor, ceiling, and wall | $28,200 | 410 | 4.6 | | Separating, filtering, clarifying, precipitating, and still machine setters, operators, and tenders | $40,100 | 480 | 4.5 | | (Click for the full list of Richmond careers, including educational requirements, salaries, more) |
Roanoke, Virginia Employment and Careers
Ten careers significantly more common in Roanoke and surrounding towns than in most metro areas nationwide. | Job Title | Mean Local Salary | Local Jobs | Popularity*
vs. Avg. |
|---|
| Textile winding, twisting, and drawing out machine setters, operators, and tenders | $20,770 | 380 | 14.9 | | Electric motor, power tool, and related repairers | $33,570 | 130 | 12 | | Extruding, forming, pressing, and compacting machine setters, operators, and tenders | $28,420 | 460 | 8.4 | | Sawing machine setters, operators, and tenders, wood | $21,170 | 210 | 7.2 | | Machine feeders and offbearers | $18,300 | 620 | 5.4 | | Conveyor operators and tenders | $22,960 | 110 | 4.1 | | Medical equipment repairers | $38,300 | 100 | 4.1 | | First-line supervisors/managers of fire fighting and prevention workers | $49,250 | 130 | 3.9 | | Woodworking machine setters, operators, and tenders, except sawing | $21,670 | 230 | 3.7 | | Eligibility interviewers, government programs | $32,070 | 180 | 3.6 | | (Click for the full list of Roanoke careers, including educational requirements, salaries, more) |
Virginia Beach, Virginia Employment and Careers
Ten careers significantly more common in Virginia Beach and surrounding towns than in most metro areas nationwide. | Job Title | Mean Local Salary | Local Jobs | Popularity*
vs. Avg. |
|---|
| Ship engineers | $59,730 | 1,480 | 38.1 | | Nuclear engineers | $73,800 | 540 | 30.2 | | Marine engineers and naval architects | $67,050 | 610 | 28.4 | | Riggers | $36,930 | 880 | 25.9 | | Radio mechanics | $44,020 | 210 | 25 | | Sailors and marine oilers | $36,960 | 2,370 | 22 | | Power distributors and dispatchers | $52,760 | 100 | 17.7 | | Captains, mates, and pilots of water vessels | $60,590 | 1,330 | 11.1 | | Lay-out workers, metal and plastic | $33,690 | 220 | 7.9 | | Embalmers | $44,960 | 110 | 6.3 | | (Click for the full list of Virginia Beach careers, including educational requirements, salaries, more) |
Winchester, Virginia Employment and Careers
Ten careers significantly more common in Winchester and surrounding towns than in most metro areas nationwide. | Job Title | Mean Local Salary | Local Jobs | Popularity*
vs. Avg. |
|---|
| Special education teachers, preschool, kindergarten, and elementary school | $36,700 | 350 | 6 | | Helpers--electricians | $25,410 | 120 | 4.7 | | Packaging and filling machine operators and tenders | $26,190 | 570 | 4.6 | | Team assemblers | $25,520 | 1,450 | 4 | | Real estate sales agents | $49,000 | 180 | 3.9 | | Drywall and ceiling tile installers | $33,430 | 160 | 3.7 | | Special education teachers, secondary school | $39,120 | 110 | 3.4 | | Industrial machinery mechanics | $38,490 | 230 | 3.4 | | Bus drivers, school | $21,410 | 410 | 3.1 | | Industrial truck and tractor operators | $28,040 | 630 | 3.1 | | (Click for the full list of Winchester careers, including educational requirements, salaries, more) |
* A Career Popularity level of 1.0 indicates the national average; a popularity rating of 3.5, for example, indicates that the career is 3.5 times as prevalent locally than it is nationally.
Analysis (above) provided by CityTownInfo.com, based on data from the US Bureau of Labor Statistics and the US Census.
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