Black, female, and highly educated workers are more likely to work in the public sector: Demographics of Virginia wage and salary workers, 2019–2023
| Private sector | Federal govt. | State govt. | Local govt. | |
|---|---|---|---|---|
| Education | ||||
| Less than HS | 8.4% | 1.0% | 2.2% | 3.2% |
| High school | 24.2% | 14.6% | 14.2% | 15.2% |
| Some college | 28.1% | 25.3% | 24.4% | 23.1% |
| Bachelor’s degree | 24.4% | 28.1% | 25.5% | 28.5% |
| Advanced degree | 14.9% | 31.1% | 33.7% | 30.0% |
| Race and ethnicity | ||||
| White non-Hispanic | 58.5% | 57.0% | 63.7% | 66.3% |
| Black non-Hispanic | 18.1% | 19.1% | 21.2% | 20.4% |
| Hispanic | 11.5% | 11.1% | 5.7% | 6.5% |
| Other non-Hispanic | 12.0% | 12.7% | 9.4% | 6.7% |
| Female | 47.7% | 35.1% | 57.3% | 64.5% |
| Immigrant | 17.6% | 12.7% | 11.2% | 9.4% |
| Average age | 41.1% | 41.6% | 44.1% | 45.2% |
Notes: Statistics shown are for wage and salary workers, ages 18–64, working 35 or more hours per week. Hispanic refers to Hispanic workers of any race, while white, Black, and other refer to non-Hispanic whites, non-Hispanic Blacks, and other racial categories, respectively.
Source: Authors' analysis of American Community Survey microdata, 2019–2023 5-Year Sample (Ruggles et al. 2025)