Climate:
Yearly rainfall: 45.2 inches per year
Yearly snowfall: 8 inches per year in Norfolk; 23 inches per year in Roanoke
Temperatures (High/Low) in capital city of Richmond:
January, 28/45; July, 68/68

Foreclosures:
Foreclosure activity for 2009 increased in Virginia over the prior year. There was a total of 52,127 properties with filings. That works out to a rate of one filing for every 63 households, which compares to the United States average of 45, and is about 1.5 percent of the state’s housing units.

Those figures represent a 6 percent increase over 2008 and a 219 percent increase over 2007.

In 2008 there were about 112,700 existing homes (including condos, co-ops, and single-family homes but excluding new homes) sold in Virginia, compared to about 116,500 sold in 2007.

Economy:
Virginia was named Forbes Magazine's best state for business for three years in a row between 2006-2008. Its proximity to Washington D.C. and the Pentagon assures the presence of major government and defense contractors, in addition to federal government agencies like the CIA, the Patent and Trademark Office and the US Geological Survey. Virginia is has one of the country’s largest concentrations of military bases. Besides its government-related commerce, Virginia has a large tourism industry, particularly along its coast, in sites like Virginia Beach and Colonial Williamsburg.

Noteworthy:
Virginia is home to 163 colleges and universities, including William and Mary, which is among the oldest such institutions in the country, and is the alma mater of U.S. presidents Thomas Jefferson and James Monroe.