Virginia Beach, VA (population: 439,564) has five agriculture schools within a 100-mile radius of its city center. Virginia State University, the highest ranked school in this group with an agriculture program, has a total student population of 5,366. It is the 603rd highest ranked school in the USA and the 20th highest in the state of Virginia (#1 is Washington and Lee University).
Agriculture students from Virginia Beach schools who go on to become agriculturalists, farmers, agricultural engineers, agricultural scientists, etc. have a good chance at finding employment. Also, Farmers and ranchers make on average $42,710 per year and there are about 520 of them employed in the US today.
Virginia Beach lies in Virginia Beach county, which is one of the 61 counties in Virginia. Overall, the Virginia Beach-Norfolk-Newport News-NC area has 735,390 total employed workers according to the US Bureau of Labor Statistics, with a 0.9% unemployment rate, $19.28/hr average worker wage, and a $40,100 average annual salary.
Of the 5 agriculture schools with a 100-mile radius of Virginia Beach, only 1 has a student population over 10k. After taking into account tuition, living expenses, and financial aid, Virginia State University comes out as the most expensive ($10,202/yr) for agriculture students, with Halifax Community College as the lowest, reported at only $3,190/yr.
| Name | State | Population | # of Schools | Avg School Rank | Total Programs | Distance from Virginia Beach |
| Chesapeake | VA | 223,315 | 5 | 26.9533 | 56 | 15.5 miles |
| Norfolk | VA | 234,477 | 11 | 21.2525 | 420 | 16.7 miles |
| Portsmouth | VA | 102,540 | 2 | 19.0088 | 64 | 19.6 miles |
| Hampton | VA | 147,560 | 2 | 15.4443 | 49 | 25.5 miles |
| Suffolk | VA | 84,501 | 2 | 10.9214 | 2 | 33.4 miles |
| Newport News | VA | 182,057 | 4 | 29.3064 | 58 | 35.1 miles |
| Petersburg | VA | - | 3 | 33.8633 | 70 | 82.5 miles |
| Weldon | NC | - | 1 | 13.6824 | 51 | 89.1 miles |
| Highland Springs | VA | - | 1 | 3.25189 | 0 | 90.3 miles |
| Richmond | VA | 198,179 | 22 | 25.9212 | 685 | 95.9 miles |