Regional economists at each Federal Reserve Bank monitor economic conditions in their own district. At the Richmond Fed, that means tracking economic activity in Fifth District states: Maryland, North Carolina, South Carolina, Virginia, West Virginia, and Washington, D.C.¹ It’s a region of considerable geographic and demographic diversity, and economic growth and prosperity vary widely within it.

With roots in the colonial era, the region has been home over the years to some of the nation’s most prominent industries. Shipbuilding in Baltimore, textiles manufacturing in the Carolinas and Southside Virginia, tobacco processing in Durham, N.C., and Richmond, Va., and coal mining in West Virginia are among the industries long associated with the region. And with Washington, D.C., the nation’s capital, in the Fifth District, the federal government has been a unique presence and major employer in the region. In addition to providing employment and income to hundreds of thousands of people over the years, these industries have shaped the culture and traditions of communities throughout the region.

Many of the region’s traditional industries continue to play vital roles in the District’s economy. Textiles and apparel manufacturers, for example, employ 95 thousand people in North Carolina alone and mining in West Virginia contributes in excess of $3 billion to gross state product. But with the growth of services industries, the economies of Fifth District states have become increasingly diverse and less dependent on the economic fortunes of long-established manufacturing and mining industries. The expansion of health care, financial, professional, and business services firms in particular in recent decades has given the region a different look, new vibrancy and, in many cases, increased prosperity.

These web pages present fundamental economic data on the Federal Reserve’s Fifth District. Because demographic trends influence economic growth, we provide considerable demographic data as well, starting with population growth and characteristics of the people living in the District. Throughout, we seek to convey just the essentials; to sketch a meaningful picture of the economy of the region in a dozen tables and a handful of charts.

¹ Six counties in the northern panhandle of West Virginia are in the Federal Reserve’s Fourth District rather than the Fifth District. These counties represent less than 10 percent of West Virginia’s population and economy. Where reported, West Virginia data include all the counties in the state.