Chesapeake, VA Real Estate For Sale

Chesapeake, VA has become something of a mecca for international business on the U.S. East Coast. More than 80 international companies from nearly 20 foreign countries have their headquarters in the city. More than 180 manufacturers, employing in excess of 90,000 people are situated in Chesapeake. Some 20% of the metropolitan region’s largest employers are located in Chesapeake, and include Chesapeake General, Electronic Data Systems, Inc., LTD Management, Dollar Tree Corporation, banking giant HSBC, Cox Communications and Mitsubishi Chemical America.

Major industry sectors include industrial, knowledge services, healthcare, maritime and logistics, automotive parts and equipment, communications and military support. In 2004, retail sales totaled $3.2 billion, generating more than $30 million in sales tax.

Chesapeake is home to the second largest container port and the largest intermodal transportation facility on the East Coast, and has the highest growth volume of any U.S. port. The port includes a full international trade/foreign trade zone, U.S. Customs facilities and is serviced by major rail lines and Interstate highways.

Chesapeake has an unemployment rate of 3.7% and the labor force is augmented annually by 17,000 military personnel, 40,000 military spouses and more than 8,500 graduating college students. The civilian labor force totals 108,006 for Chesapeake, and 791,168 for the Hampton Roads metro area.

The Chesapeake City Schools has a unique guarantee with employers with regard to its graduates. If a business hires an employee within 5 years of graduation from a Chesapeake high school and the worker is unable to perform the work due to a reading, writing or math deficiency, the school system will retrain the worker to a company’s requirements at no cost to the employer.