Virginia is consistently rated among the best states in which to do business by leading publications. Of all the Fortune 500 companies based in the greater D.C. area, two-thirds have chosen to locate in NOVA. In 2019, CNBC ranked Virginia as the No. 1 overall best state to do business.

The D.C. metro is the country’s most educated region and it produces more computer science graduates than any other metropolitan area. The combination of talent available in the metro, with additional tech talent production from Virginia’s world-class higher education system, ensures NOVA will maintain and enhance its edge with access to the best and brightest.

Innovation is in our lifeblood. The region’s legacy of transformative technologies transcends sectors, from DARPA’s role in inventing the internet; to more than 70 miles of automated corridors for connected and autonomous vehicle testing; to the region’s history as the foundation of the telecom revolution and our current depth of technology companies – we sit uniquely at the nexus of public and private innovation.

We are one of the country’s most racially, ethnically, and internationally diverse regions. Women are twice as likely, and African Americans five times as likely, to work in the technology sector in NOVA than in Silicon Valley; and our communities are ranked among the most LGBTQ-friendly nationwide. NOVA offers something for everyone: some of the country’s most interesting cultural and historical sites, sports teams in all major leagues, and a dynamic food and wine scene.