Study examines impact of the defense sector has on the Charlottesville area

ALBEMARLE COUNTY, Va. (WVIR) - A new study shows the defense industry is the second largest economic driver in the Charlottesville area, placing it just behind the University of Virginia.

“Relative to much of the U.S., it is pretty sizable,” Terry Rephann with the Weldon Cooper Center said.

The annual impact of the defense sector in the city and Albemarle and Greene counties is around $1.2 billion. More than half of that money comes from Rivanna Station, which includes the Defense Intelligence Agency, the National Ground Intelligence Center, and the National Geospatial Intelligence Agency.

“We’ve got 4,000 direct jobs and 7,400 indirect jobs here in the county, " Albemarle County Supervisor Donna Price said.

These numbers from a report done by the Weldon Cooper Center at the University of Virginia.

“The feeling was that the numbers were too low, that they weren’t capturing some things,” Rephann said. “Occasionally, the federal government moves the defense facilities around to sort of optimize and recognize certain cost efficiencies.”

Albemarle helped fund part of the study, along with the UVA Foundation and the Charlottesville Regional Chamber of Commerce.

“We’re looking to see what the economic impact of the military infrastructure here in Albemarle County is because that is part of our Project ENABLE, to build and grow industry,” Price said.

“It’s important that we support this sector,” Lettie Bien with the Defense Affairs Committee said. “If we lose it, it would be a significant impact on everyone that lives here.”

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