Virginia moved up to No. 3 in CNBC’s 2026 ranking of America’s Top States for Business, trailing only Ohio and North Carolina.

That is an important result. Virginia has now finished among the top five every year since 2018 and has claimed the No. 1 position six times, more than any other state. The Commonwealth ranked second nationally in infrastructure and finished in the top 10 in six of CNBC’s 10 categories.

But the headline should not obscure the warning underneath it.

Virginia fell to No. 11 in business friendliness, No. 23 in economy and No. 26 in cost of doing business. Its economy ranking dropped nine places, while business friendliness declined from fifth in 2024 to seventh in 2025 and 11th this year.

Virginia remains highly competitive. It is not invulnerable.

The most consequential change in CNBC’s 2026 methodology was the elevation of infrastructure to its most heavily weighted category.

Infrastructure accounted for nearly 18% of each state’s score. CNBC also looked more closely at electrical capacity, utility costs, permitting speed and the availability of certified, construction-ready industrial sites. Those factors have become increasingly important as states pursue advanced manufacturing, artificial intelligence, semiconductor, energy and defense projects.

Virginia performed exceptionally well.

The Virginia Business Ready Sites Program had 127 state-certified sites as of May, prompting CNBC to describe the program as “the envy of the nation.” The state also created an expedited permitting program designed to move major projects through regulatory approvals more quickly.

That praise matters. It corrects any suggestion that Virginia has already failed on site readiness.

The concern is what happens next.

Ohio reached No. 1 overall by ranking first in both infrastructure and cost of doing business. It launched the All Ohio Future Fund as a $750 million initiative to prepare large sites, extend utilities and reduce the time between a company’s decision and the start of construction. Although the program was later reduced, Ohio reportedly appropriated $175 million for site development this year, compared with approximately $30 million in Virginia.

Virginia has built a strong program. Other states are attempting to outspend it.

Site development rarely produces the kind of ribbon-cutting photographs that follow a corporate announcement. The work takes place years before a company arrives.

It means gaining control of the property, completing environmental and geotechnical studies, identifying wetlands, confirming transportation access, extending water and sewer lines, securing electrical capacity, obtaining permits and grading a pad that can support construction.

Without that work, a large tract of land is not truly a business-ready site. It is potential acreage accompanied by risk.

Companies making billion-dollar investment decisions increasingly want certainty before they select a community. They need to know how much power is available, when it can be delivered, whether the soil will support a facility, how quickly permits can be secured and whether construction can begin within their schedule.

Virginia’s own demand demonstrates the scale of the challenge. In fiscal year 2025, localities submitted $262 million in requests for only $40 million in available Business Ready Sites funding. The previous year, requests reached $715 million against $125 million in available funding.

The need is not theoretical. Communities across Virginia already have significantly more viable site-development work than the state is funding.

For Hampton Roads, the issue is particularly acute.

The region has nearly every strategic asset required to compete for the next generation of industrial investment: the Port of Virginia, a deep and unobstructed harbor, major rail and interstate connections, a large manufacturing workforce, military demand, shipbuilding expertise and research institutions stretching from the seabed to space.

What the region does not have in abundance is a portfolio of large, controlled and fully prepared industrial sites.

The region can compete effectively for smaller manufacturers, maritime technology companies, defense suppliers and businesses that can occupy existing buildings or waterfront industrial properties. It has a much more difficult time responding to projects requiring several hundred contiguous acres, a large graded pad, major electrical capacity, significant water and wastewater service and a compressed construction schedule.

That matters because many of the country’s most significant investment opportunities now arrive with those requirements already attached.

A semiconductor supplier, defense production campus, battery manufacturer, aerospace plant or large energy project may consider Hampton Roads because of its workforce, port and military-industrial ecosystem. But those advantages cannot compensate for a site that will take three years to acquire, permit, serve and grade.

Site selection is often a process of elimination. A region does not have to be unattractive to lose. It only has to be less ready than the alternative.

Hampton Roads received one of the Commonwealth’s fiscal year 2025 accelerated-characterization awards: up to $500,000 to complete due diligence on 100 acres adjacent to Hampton Roads Executive Airport in Chesapeake. That is useful progress, but it also illustrates the larger gap. One characterized property is not the same as a deep regional inventory of construction-ready sites.

Virginia’s weaknesses are not limited to physical infrastructure.

The proposed repeal of the Commonwealth’s right-to-work law failed during the 2026 General Assembly session. It therefore cannot fairly be blamed for this year’s ranking.

But repeated debates over right-to-work, business taxes and new employer mandates still send signals to companies evaluating investments that may remain in place for 30 or 40 years.

Businesses do not evaluate only the laws in effect on the day of a site visit. They assess the likely direction of a state’s tax, labor and regulatory environment.

That does not mean Virginia must reject every worker protection or employer regulation. It means policymakers should understand the cumulative effect of those decisions and avoid taking Virginia’s pro-business reputation for granted.

A state can lose competitiveness gradually, one additional cost and one uncertain policy signal at a time.

Virginia’s ranking is worth celebrating. The Commonwealth has an educated workforce, strong transportation infrastructure, access to capital and one of the nation’s most respected site-development programs.

But No. 3 is not a permanent designation.

For Hampton Roads, the next step is clear: identify the region’s highest-potential industrial properties, secure control where possible, complete due diligence, reserve sufficient utility capacity and invest in pads before a company asks for them.

That will require coordination among local governments, utilities, economic development organizations and the Commonwealth. It will also require state funding at a scale that matches what competing states are willing to spend.

Hampton Roads already possesses the industries, workforce and strategic location that companies need.

The question is whether it will have a site ready when they call.

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The Ledger Star is an independent digital publication covering the people, decisions, investments, and ideas shaping the future of Hampton Roads. It focuses on what matters most to the region's business, civic, and community leaders, providing context and analysis rather than chasing every headline.