Va. tops annual tech business rankings

State ranked No. 1 for cybersecurity leaders, digital infrastructure, unmanned aerial systems

Published August 4, 2020 by Sydney Lake

Virginia topped the charts in many categories of Business Facilities’ 16th Annual State Rankings Report released last week — especially for technology.

This year, Virginia was ranked No. 1 for its cybersecurity leaders, digital infrastructure and unmanned aerial systems and No. 2 for its business climate. This was the first year that the national business publication included a digital infrastructure ranking.

“Virginia is the top-ranked state in our first digital infrastructure ranking, a choice made easy by the impressive assets the commonwealth has deployed to create a gigabit superhighway for data-driven high-tech businesses,” according to Business Facilities. The ranking is also a result of Virginia housing the world’s largest concentration of data centers in the world — totaling more than 13.5 million square feet.

Virginia beat out Texas this year for the cybersecurity leaders ranking, thanks to Northern Virginia’s close proximity to the federal government and higher education institutions that train cybersecurity professionals, according to Business Facilities.

The commonwealth also ranked third in the country for its workforce development and recruitment. Business Facilities cited the Virginia Talent Accelerator Program through the Virginia Economic Development Partnership and the Virginia Community College System for its high ranking. The program works to develop talent pipelines in the state.

“The Business Facilities rankings are exactly the kinds of input that business executives want to see when they evaluate location decisions – what kind of business environment can they rely on,” Victor Hoskins, Fairfax County Economic Development Authority president and CEO, said in a statement.