James City County, Virginia

• Income premium: Households earn well above the national median, supporting strong retail and housing markets.
• Talent advantage: Bachelor's-or-higher attainment exceeds the national average by 15.3 pts, supports knowledge-economy and tech attraction.
• Aging population: Median age of 47 is materially above the U.S. norm; succession planning and senior-services demand are real factors.

• Largest sector: Health Care and Social Assistance employs 4,627 workers (20.3% of tracked sectors), at an average wage of $59,060.
• Wage stratification: Manufacturing averages $89,640 while Arts, Entertainment, and Recreation averages $22,305, a 4.0x spread in the same local economy, with implications for workforce development and talent strategy.

• Top specialization: Beverage and Tobacco Product Manufacturing concentrates at 9.75x the national norm, top-decile concentration, the kind of signature sector that defines a region's economic identity to site selectors.
• Cluster depth: 10 sub-sectors register LQ ≥ 1.5, suggesting an interconnected industrial base rather than reliance on a single employer or sector.
• Attraction whitespace: 8 sub-sectors register LQ < 0.5, candidates for diversification or recruitment depending on labor-market fit.

• In line with national: Home value to income ratio of 4.1x sits near the ~4.1x national average; affordability is neither a clear advantage nor a recruitment friction.
• High home ownership: 76.7% owner-occupied; rental supply may be tight for incoming workers.
• Affordable rent tiers: 4 of 5 HUD Fair Market Rent bedroom tiers sit below the 30%-of-median-income affordability threshold (~$2,750/mo).

• Succession risk is real: 25.9% of working-age residents are 55-64. Plan for retirements over the next decade and pair attraction strategy with talent retention.
• Low participation: 58.2% labor force participation suggests untapped capacity; workforce development programs may unlock supply.
• Talent pipeline: 6 regional institutions feed the workforce; the top three combined produce 45,868 annual credentials.

James City County shows strong potential for beverage and tobacco product manufacturing attraction, with a 9.75x concentration and 626 jobs in this sub-sector. It ranks in the top decile nationally. Near-term succession risk is elevated, with 25.9% of the working-age population within 10 years of retirement age.

The interconnected base across beverage and tobacco product manufacturing, amusement, gambling, and recreation industries, and clothing, clothing accessories, shoe, and jewelry retailers creates supply-chain attraction leverage rather than single-employer risk, a structural advantage for industrial recruitment.