Strategic Advantages
Roanoke is the ideal place for you to live, work, play, and do business! A low cost of living, coupled with outstanding amenities and a world-class business friendly environment, is being noticed by business representatives across the world. Below are a few of the key advantages to doing business in the City of Roanoke.
Accolades
- A seven-time All America City, and the first-and-only “Hall-of-Fame” City as designated by National League of Cities (2019)
- “Top Large Size Adventure Town” by Blue Ridge Outdoors Magazine (2016).
- One of the “South’s Best Places to Retire” by Southern Living (2016).
- “Top Midsized Town” by Blue Ridge Outdoors Magazine (2015).
- “Top Digital City” by Center for Digital Government (2000 – 2015).
- Named one of America’s Best Small Cities on the Rise by Smarter Travel (July 2014).
- Expansion Management named Roanoke one of the Top 50 cities for expansions and relocations.
- Named by Inc. Magazine as one of the 100 best places for business development.
- Money Magazine named Roanoke as the third most livable Southern city.
- Cities Ranked and Rated ranked Roanoke as the 11th best city in the United States.
Workforce
- Labor supply of over 345,000 workers within a 60-mile radius.
- Twenty-five colleges and universities within a 60-mile radius, with over 100,000 students pursuing degrees.
- Over 6,000 high school, 2,400 community college, and 15,000 four-year graduates annually, guaranteeing a strong supply of highly educated students entering the workforce.
- Virginia is a right-to-work state, with the fifth-lowest unionization rate in the nation.
Affordable
- Cost of living in Roanoke is well below the national average.
- Per capita income of $44,060 (BEA 2016).
- Median home price of approximately $150,000 compared to the U.S. average of $176,600 (Annual Average 2014).
- Industrial electric rates approximately 22% below the national average (Edison Electric Institute, Summer 2015).
- Construction costs approximately 15% below the national average (2015 RS Means Construction Cost Rate).
Convenient Location
- Located along Interstate 81 and U.S. routes 460, 221, 220, and 11.
- Quick access to major markets in the Northeast and South; equidistant from New York and Atlanta.
- Accessible to two-thirds of the U.S. population in one day’s shipping time.
- Roanoke-Blacksburg Regional Airport is served by 4 airlines with non-stop service to several major cities.
- Rail service by Norfolk Southern, with passenger rail provided by Amtrak.
- More than 70 trucking lines in the region.
Quality of Life
- Diverse arts and cultural community, including the Virginia Transportation Museum, Science Museum of Western Virginia, Mill Mountain Zoo, and Taubman Museum of Art.
- More than 30 miles of greenways throughout the Roanoke Region.
- Outstanding schools and one of the State’s top healthcare providers.
- Roanoke is known as a “Festival City”, with events nearly every weekend in spring, summer, and fall, including Dickens of a Christmas, Peach Festival, Strawberry Festival, Local Colors, Greek Festival, and many others.