Business Expansion & Retention

The success of the business retention and expansion program and services is extremely important to the overall economic development efforts of the Virginia Beach Department of Economic Development.

Sixty to seventy percent of the total business growth in Virginia Beach comes directly from existing businesses.  Business expansion stimulates the local economy by increasing the number of jobs, payroll, production and new capital investment.  The economic health of our strong business community stabilizes and expands the local economy during downturns in the economic cycle.

The strongest leads and referrals for our economic development prospects and projects come from our existing corporate citizens.  After all, they know Virginia Beach is a great place to live, work and do business.

A primary reason Virginia Beach has been recognized as one of America's top business locations is its highly affordable cost of business operations. Commercial real estate costs are extremely competitive, as are employee salaries, and unemployment and workers' compensation insurance rates are among the lowest in the US. In December 2010, Metropolitan Policy Program rated Virginia Beach 36th in the world for the City's ability to perform and recover from the Great Recession.

Additional small business resources are available from the Virginia Beach Defense Business Center Website.

Please contact us if we can be of assistance.

Metro Performance Ranking Before, During, and After the Great Recession

Source: Analysis of Oxford Economics, Moody's Economy.com, and Cambridge Econometrics data. Some values based on forecasted estimates; see Data and Methods section for further details.

Last updated: Oct 2011