Northern Virginia drives D.C.-area economy

Date: March 31 2010
Source: Washington Business Journal
Website: http://www.bizjournals.com/washington/morning_call/2010/03/northern_virginia_drives_local_economy.html?ana=e_wash_rdup

Northern Virginia is increasingly becoming the economic engine of the Washington area, the Washington Examiner reported, citing a new report from George Mason University's Center for Regional Analysis.

Between 1970 and 2009, Northern Virginia's share of the Washington area's gross regional product, nearly doubled to 46 percent, surpassing that of the District and the Maryland suburbs, the report said. Gross regional product is the value of goods and services produced locally.

The three areas had about an equal foothold in 1983, when federal contracting began to accelerate, the Examiner reported. Federal contracting totaled $6 billion in 1983 compared with $87 billion in 2009, which contributed to Northern Virginia's increased share in the local economy, according to Stephen Fuller, director of the Center for Regional Analysis.