Virginia Beach, VA (population: 439,564) has ten chemistry schools within a 100-mile radius of its city center. College of William and Mary, the highest ranked school in this group with a chemistry program, has a total student population of 7,874. It is the 39th highest ranked school in the USA and one of the highest in the state .
Chemistry students from Virginia Beach schools who go on to become chemists, biochemists, analytical research chemists, chemistry professors, etc. have a good chance at finding employment. For example, there are 79,910 people working as chemists alone in the US, and their average annual salary is $72,740. Also, Biochemists and biophysicists make on average $88,550 per year and there are about 22,860 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 10 chemistry schools with a 100-mile radius of Virginia Beach, only 2 have a student population over 10k. After taking into account tuition, living expenses, and financial aid, Virginia Wesleyan College comes out as the most expensive ($23,554/yr) for chemistry students, with Elizabeth City State University as the lowest, reported at only $3,335/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 |