Roanoke County, Virginia

• Income near the national median: Median household income tracks the national median, indicating a broad-based consumer market.
• Below the state median: Median household income runs $9,461 (10.2%) under the Virginia median, so statewide income averages overstate local household buying power.
• Cost of living stretches income further: Local prices run 6.4% below the national average, so the nominal median of $83,709 is worth $89,433 at national average prices. BEA publishes price parity at metro level, not county level.
• Aging population: Median age of 44 is materially above the U.S. norm; succession planning and senior-services demand are real factors.

• Largest private-sector industry: Health Care and Social Assistance employs 5,463 workers (19.8% of tracked sectors), at an average wage of $58,416. Every industry figure on this page is private sector; government employs a further 5,228 and is counted separately.
• Wage stratification: Finance and Insurance averages $96,572 while Accommodation and Food Services averages $24,302, a 4.0x spread in the same local economy, with implications for workforce development and talent strategy.

• Top specialization: Nonmetallic Mineral Product Manufacturing concentrates at 3.60x the national norm, strong concentration that anchors the local economy and supports supply-chain attraction strategy.
• Cluster depth: 6 sub-sectors register LQ ≥ 1.5, and no single source of demand accounts for more than 45.8% of the employment across them, the largest being health care economy. Demand reaches this base from more than one market rather than from a single one.
• Attraction whitespace: 4 sub-sectors register LQ < 0.5 with at least 50 employed, candidates for diversification or recruitment depending on labor-market fit.

• In line with national: Home value to income ratio of 3.4x sits near the ~4.1x national average; affordability is neither a clear advantage nor a recruitment friction.
• High home ownership: 75.7% owner-occupied; rental supply may be tight for incoming workers.
• Affordable rent tiers: 3 of 5 HUD Fair Market Rent bedroom sizes sit below what a household on the median renter income of $54,759 can pay without cost burden (~$1,369/mo), and 39.9% of renter households are measured as cost-burdened.

• Succession risk is real: 23.4% of working-age residents are 55-64. Plan for retirements over the next decade and pair attraction strategy with talent retention.
• Healthy participation: 60.9% labor force participation reflects a steady, available local workforce.
• Short commutes: 21.8-minute mean commute is a quality-of-life and labor-access advantage worth surfacing for site selectors.
• Talent pipeline: 1 institution in Roanoke County awards 233 credentials a year. Employers drawing from a wider labor shed should read this alongside institutions outside the county, which this page does not aggregate.

Roanoke County shows meaningful potential for nonmetallic mineral product manufacturing attraction, with a 3.60x concentration and 364 jobs in this sub-sector. Near-term succession risk is elevated, with 23.4% of the working-age population within 10 years of retirement age.

The concentrated base spans nonmetallic mineral product manufacturing, computer and electronic product manufacturing, and nursing and residential care facilities, and no single source of demand accounts for more than 45.8% of the employment across them, the largest being health care economy. Supply-chain recruitment has more than one demand base to work from.