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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.