West Virginia

West Virginia Exports and Foreign Investment

In 2025, West Virginia exported $4.6 billion of goods to the world. In 2023, exports from West Virginia supported an estimated 18 thousand jobs (latest data available).

Exports from West Virginia and Jobs

• West Virginia was the 42nd largest state exporter of goods in 2025.
• In 2025, West Virginia goods exports were $4.6 billion, a decrease of 21 percent ($1.2 billion) from its export level in 2015.
• West Virginia goods exports in 2023 supported an estimated 18 thousand jobs (latest data available). Nationally, jobs supported by goods exports pay up to an estimated 18 percent above the national average.

Manufacturing Exports from West Virginia and Jobs

• In 2025, West Virginia exported $4.2 billion of manufactured products.
• West Virginia exports of manufactured products supported an estimated 13 thousand jobs in 2023 (latest data available).
• The state's largest manufacturing export category was chemicals, which accounted for $1.6 billion of West Virginia total goods exports in 2025.
• Other top manufacturing exports were transportation equipment ($1.3 billion), machinery, except electrical ($476 million), primary metal manufacturing ($293 million), and petroleum & coal products ($93 million).

Exports Sustain Thousands of West Virginia Businesses many of which are SMEs

• A total of 917 companies exported from West Virginia locations in 2023 (latest data available). Of those, 694 (76 percent) were small and medium-sized enterprises with fewer than 500 employees.
• Small and medium-sized firms generated 31.6 percent of West Virginia total exports of goods in 2023.

West Virginia's Largest Export Markets

• The state’s largest export market was Canada. West Virginia exported $2.0 billion in goods to Canada in 2025, representing 44 percent of the state’s total goods exports.
• Canada was followed by China ($323 million), Germany ($233 million), Brazil ($225 million), and the Netherlands ($199 million).
• West Virginia goods exports to major world areas included:

• 54 percent of West Virginia goods exports ($2.5 billion) in 2025 went to current FTA partners.

West Virginia's Top Agricultural Exports

• West Virginia was the country’s 47th largest agricultural exporting state, shipping $191 million in domestic agricultural exports abroad in 2024 (latest data available according to the U.S. Dept. of Agriculture). 1
• Top agricultural exports were:

	2024 Value	2024 State Rank
other plant products	$73 million	44
beef and veal	$28 million	38
other livestock products	$27 million	40
broiler meat	$24 million	22
other poultry products	$13 million	32

International Investment Creates Jobs in West Virginia

• In 2023 (latest data available), foreign-controlled companies employed an estimated 32 thousand West Virginia workers. Major sources of foreign investment in West Virginia included Japan, Canada, and France.

West Virginia’s Major Metropolitan Areas Benefit from Exporting

• In 2024 (latest data available), the following metropolitan areas in West Virginia recorded goods exports: Washington-Arlington-Alexandria ($13.3 billion), Huntington-Ashland ($1.7 billion), and Parkersburg-Vienna ($823.5 million).