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Isle of Wight

Isle of Wight, VA

Isle of Wight County is a progressive community that embraces change while protecting the integrity of its rich cultural and historical heritage. The County’s 319 square miles provide fertile ground for its most prosperous businesses, including Smithfield Foods, Keurig Dr Pepper, and International Paper. The County lives by its slogan, “Local Roots, Global Reach.”

Industry Highlights

The County has three targeted growth areas known as Development Service Districts (DSD) located along one of the most heavily traveled corridors in the County.

Shirley T. Holland Intermodal Park is located within the Windsor DSD. This County-owned park provides affordable sites close to The Port of Virginia, within both a Foreign Trade Zone and a Virginia Enterprise Zone, where businesses are eligible for federal, state and local incentives. Work is underway to create permit-ready sites on some of the largest publicly-owned tracts in the region, and the park is already home to three nationally recognized companies: Keurig Dr Pepper, Safco Products Company and World Market, a subsidiary of Bed, Bath & Beyond, which together employ over 700 people.

Located in the Camptown DSD in southern Isle of Wight, International Paper operates a mill with roots dating back over 100 years. In 2019 M&M Milling, a manufacturer specializing in grinding, blending and sizing of agricultural materials, joined ST Tissue’s and Franklin Lumber’s existing operations in the DSD. In addition, the Franklin Regional Airport is located in Isle of Wight along U.S. Route 58 and boasts a 5000-foot runway, as well as more than 60 industrially-zoned acres owned by the City of Franklin and jointly marketed by the County and Franklin/Southampton Economic Development, Inc.

Business is booming in northern Isle of Wight within the Newport Development Service District, where over 2,000 residential units and 1.1 million square feet of new retail and office space has been approved for development along the Route 17 corridor.

Quality of Life

Two historic towns are also located within the County: Smithfield is a popular tourist destination, and headquarters for Smithfield Foods. Windsor is a crossroads community along the U.S. Route 460 corridor, known as “the hidden jewel of Western Tidewater.”

Industry Employment Breakdown

Industry

# of Employees

% of Workforce

Industry

Manufacturing

# of Employees

3,386

% of Workforce

51.34%

Industry

Health Care and Social Assistance

# of Employees

703

% of Workforce

10.66%

Industry

Transportation and Warehousing

# of Employees

604

% of Workforce

9.16%

Industry

Administrative and Support and Waste Management and Remediation Services

# of Employees

533

% of Workforce

8.08%

Industry

Professional, Scientific, and Technical Services

# of Employees

361

% of Workforce

5.47%

Source: EMSI

Demographics

Population

Population

37,222

Median Age

Median Age

45.5

Labor Force

Labor Force

19,443

Unemployment Rate

Unemployment Rate

2.8%

Median Household Income

Median Household Income

$75,240

Sources: U.S. Bureau of Labor Statistics, November 2019; Esri Business Analyst Online, 2024 Forecast; Esri Business Analyst Online 2019 Detailed Age Profile; Economic Modeling Specialists International (EMSI), 2019 Forecast

Key Companies

Keurig Dr Pepper

International Paper

Smithfield Foods

ST Tissue

World Market

Isle of Wight County Economic Development Department

Mr. Chris Morello, Director