{"@context":"https://schema.org","@type":"NewsArticle","contentId":"0000019e-4775-dea0-a3be-d7f581eb0000","url":"https://www.aboutamazon.com/news/community/amazon-investment-virginia-jobs-infrastructure-small-business","headline":"5 ways Amazon is investing in Virginia ","description":"Amazon's commitment to Virginia includes $190 billion in investments, supporting more than 20,700 jobs and 5,000 employees in tuition programs.","datePublished":"2026-05-21T17:30:02.028Z","dateModified":"2026-05-21T17:30:02.028Z","author":[{"@type":"Person","name":"Amazon Staff","image":{"@type":"ImageObject","url":"https://assets.aboutamazon.com/dims4/default/08549ff/2147483647/strip/true/crop/1125x1125+438+0/resize/84x84!/quality/90/?url=https%3A%2F%2Fassets.aboutamazon.com%2F47%2F6d%2F7fe296e642859c7ba2a629eda3ba%2Famazon-logo-hero-images-2024.jpg","width":"84","height":"84"}}],"image":{"@type":"ImageObject","url":"https://assets.aboutamazon.com/dims4/default/fbfb8f3/2147483647/strip/true/crop/1688x1125+156+0/resize/300x200!/quality/90/?url=https%3A%2F%2Fassets.aboutamazon.com%2F07%2F8c%2F1144e12845c18b093904462b9b18%2Friver-va-inline-amazonnews-ck52026.jpg","width":"300","height":"200"},"articleBody":"![Aerial view Fredericksburg, Virginia with historic business district, Chatham bridge over Rappahannock River](https://assets.aboutamazon.com/dims4/default/fbfb8f3/2147483647/strip/true/crop/1688x1125+156+0/resize/300x200!/quality/90/?url=https%3A%2F%2Fassets.aboutamazon.com%2F07%2F8c%2F1144e12845c18b093904462b9b18%2Friver-va-inline-amazonnews-ck52026.jpg)\n\n# 5 ways Amazon is investing in Virginia \n\n*Amazon's investments are boosting the Commonwealth’s economy while creating opportunities for Virginians.*\n\n---\n\n## Key takeaways\n\n- [Amazon has invested $190 billion in Virginia](https://assets.aboutamazon.com/4c/db/12740e2648c09bded4f709541ed4/amazoninvestment-virginia-2025.pdf) since 2010, including infrastructure and employee compensation.\n- [Amazon's HQ2](https://www.aboutamazon.com/impact/community/hq2), located in Arlington, supports 8,500 employees in the region.\n- More than 5,000 employees in Virginia have participated in Amazon's [Career Choice](https://www.aboutamazon.com/news/workplace/career-choice-free-education-for-amazon-employees) tuition program.\n- Amazon's $35 billion [data center investment in Virginia](https://www.aboutamazon.com/news/aws/aws-commitment-to-virginia) will support an estimated 20,700 jobs annually.\n- Virginia-based independent sellers sold more than 43 million items through Amazon's store in 2025.\n\n---\n\nAmazon has been part of Virginia for two decades, and our commitment to the Commonwealth continues to grow.\n\nWhat started with [fulfillment operations](https://www.aboutamazon.com/news/tag/fulfillment-center) and the first [Amazon Web Services](https://www.aboutamazon.com/what-we-do/amazon-web-services) (AWS) region globally in the early 2000s has expanded into one of the most significant economic partnerships in the state’s history. Today, Amazon has more than 45,000 full- and part-time employees, powers critical infrastructure, and supports communities across Virginia.\n\nHere are five ways Amazon is investing in Virginia:\n\n## 1. Building on two decades of operations, from fulfillment centers to HQ2\n\n![Warehouse worker reaching up to insert an item in to yellow storage shelves](https://assets.aboutamazon.com/dims4/default/bceac4f/2147483647/strip/true/crop/1600x900+0+0/resize/767x431!/quality/90/?url=https%3A%2F%2Fassets.aboutamazon.com%2F60%2Fa8%2Fd8ac2b744817aedefd70c5232efb%2Fabout-amazon-inline-virginia-investment-amazon-news-wl-05042026.jpg)\n\nAmazon’s Virginia story began with fulfillment operations, and today the company operates 16 fulfillment and sortation centers, nine delivery stations, and seven rural super rural delivery stations across the Commonwealth. The company employs more than 45,000 Virginians directly and supports over 130,000+ indirect jobs in construction, logistics, and professional services. That operational foundation, spanning communities from rural Virginia to Northern Virginia, set the stage for Amazon’s most visible investment in the state.\n\n![Amazon's HQ2 in Arlington, Virginia, was built using new, climate-friendly solutions](https://assets.aboutamazon.com/dims4/default/f7a8092/2147483647/strip/true/crop/8192x4608+0+0/resize/767x431!/quality/90/?url=https%3A%2F%2Fassets.aboutamazon.com%2F36%2Fd3%2F3bdb2b2f44a190b68069297e9ecf%2Famazonhq2-metropolitanpark-458-z9a3266.JPG)\n*[Amazon's HQ2](https://www.aboutamazon.com/impact/community/hq2) in Arlington, Virginia.*\n\nIn 2018, Amazon chose Arlington's National Landing neighborhood for its [second headquarters](https://www.aboutamazon.com/news/amazon-offices/amazon-headquarters-hq2-arlington-virginia-photos). Since then, Amazon has invested more than $2.53 billion in capital and created nearly 8,500 jobs at HQ2.\n\nIn 2026, Amazon will open Arlington Community High School at Met Park and mark five years of its [Housing Fund](https://www.aboutamazon.com/news/community/amazon-commits-160-million-to-preserve-housing-affordability-in-arlington-virginia), while continuing to grow workforce development programs for employees and neighbors alike.\n\nThe neighborhood itself has transformed into a walkable community with restaurants, retail, parks, and new housing, demonstrating the ripple effect of Amazon’s presence in National Landing.\n\n![Aerial view of Amazon's HQ2 in Arlington, Virginia, with Washington D.C. in the background.](https://assets.aboutamazon.com/dims4/default/f614bbe/2147483647/strip/true/crop/1688x1125+156+0/resize/300x200!/quality/90/?url=https%3A%2F%2Fassets.aboutamazon.com%2F5e%2F4b%2Fffafe5374a5982968d09bc21426b%2Fmet-park-hq2-inline-amazonnews-ck051726.jpg)\n\n- [Our impact in the HQ2 region](https://www.aboutamazon.com/impact/community/hq2)\n\n## 2. Powering the Commonwealth through cloud infrastructure\n\nWhen AWS launched its first global region in Northern Virginia in 2006, it marked the beginning of what would become one of the largest cloud infrastructure investments in the country. Since that time, the construction, connection, operation, and maintenance of data centers have created demonstrable economic growth for communities across the Commonwealth.\n\n![A data center technician pushing a cart inside an Amazon data center.](https://assets.aboutamazon.com/dims4/default/d8e976f/2147483647/strip/true/crop/1688x1125+0+0/resize/300x200!/quality/90/?url=https%3A%2F%2Fassets.aboutamazon.com%2Ff4%2F57%2Fa5992fee41b9ba5bf047bd259c13%2Faws-data-center-interior-2.png)\n\n- [How Amazon helps data center communities thrive](https://www.aboutamazon.com/news/aws/amazon-data-center-investment-community-impact)\n\nAmazon has invested more than $119 billion in Virginia data centers since 2011, including plans announced in 2023 to invest $35 billion to build new data center campuses across the state by 2040. That continued investment supports an estimated 20,700 full-time equivalent jobs annually and generated nearly $543 million in property taxes and fees in 2024—revenue that goes directly toward schools, roads, emergency services, and public infrastructure. Behind the services Virginians use every day—from hospital records, 911 dispatch, and financial transactions to text messages and phone calls—is the cloud infrastructure that keeps it all running.\n\n![The Rappahannock River under a bridge in Virginia.](https://assets.aboutamazon.com/dims4/default/218c1c8/2147483647/strip/true/crop/1600x900+0+0/resize/767x431!/quality/90/?url=https%3A%2F%2Fassets.aboutamazon.com%2F94%2F49%2Ff0a61ee94394a91af8320c4b47e4%2Friver-virginia-inline-amazonnews-ck051526.jpg)\n\nAmazon also continues to grow its sustainable infrastructure in Virginia, with 21 [carbon-free energy projects that power the equivalent of 300,000 Virginia homes](https://www.aboutamazon.com/news/sustainability/data-centers-electricity-bills-grid-power-amazon). In Virginia, many [Amazon data centers don’t use water for cooling approximately 96% of the year](https://www.aboutamazon.com/news/sustainability/amazon-data-center-water-usage). During the hottest periods when water cooling is needed, Amazon prioritizes reclaimed water whenever possible.\n\n## 3. Building Virginia's workforce\n\n![Amazon fulfillment center employee in safety vest smiling in front of company logo](https://assets.aboutamazon.com/dims4/default/b605027/2147483647/strip/true/crop/2000x1125+0+0/resize/767x431!/quality/90/?url=https%3A%2F%2Fassets.aboutamazon.com%2F6f%2Fd7%2F0f3b82e4484a9a69dd62a852bd51%2Fhaileigh-johnson-career-choice.JPG)\n\nAccess to current and future tech talent was one of the key factors in selecting Virginia as our home. Amazon is making significant investments in our existing and future workforce, from investments in K-12 STEM and computer science education to degree and certificate programs and work-based learning opportunities such as internships and apprenticeships.\n\nThrough [Amazon Future Engineer](https://www.aboutamazon.com/news/community/amazon-future-engineer-program), we’ve invested more than $6.1 million in CodeVA to expand AI and computer science education across Virginia’s K-12 classrooms, awarded $920,000 in scholarships to Virginia students, and brought coding, robotics, and computer science to Title I schools and underserved districts that might not otherwise have access.\n\n![A photo of students visiting the AWS Think Big Space in at J. Lupton Simpson Middle School in Leesburg, Virginia. There is a student in the forefront of the photo trying on virtual reality goggles, and students talking with several teachers in the background.](https://assets.aboutamazon.com/dims4/default/4a41d15/2147483647/strip/true/crop/1689x1126+156+0/resize/300x200!/quality/90/?url=https%3A%2F%2Fassets.aboutamazon.com%2F87%2F94%2F31db6c074c6bbcca87e78893276a%2Fhq2stem-hero-2000x1126.jpg)\n\n- [Amazon doubles down on computer science education in our HQ2 community in Virginia](https://www.aboutamazon.com/news/community/computer-science-aws-hq2)\n\nAmazon also invests in early literacy through E3: Elevate Early Education, the state [partner of Dolly Parton’s Imagination Library](https://www.aboutamazon.com/news/community/amazon-arlington-virginia-news?p=amazon-hosts-community-book-fair-at-met-park-unveils-little-library), which delivers free, age-appropriate books to children from birth to age 5, building a love of reading before kids ever start school.\n\nThrough [Career Choice](https://www.aboutamazon.com/news/workplace/career-choice-free-education-for-amazon-employees), Amazon prepays tuition for employees to earn certifications and degrees in high-demand fields, even outside of Amazon. Nearly 5,000 Amazon operations employees in Virginia have participated in Career Choice at 15 college and university partners across the Commonwealth, from Old Dominion University to Virginia State University to Blue Ridge Community College, creating pathways to in-demand careers in the local job market.\n\n![Young man in protective gear posing in front of warehouse shelving.](https://assets.aboutamazon.com/dims4/default/a0bfca7/2147483647/strip/true/crop/1688x1125+292+0/resize/300x200!/quality/90/?url=https%3A%2F%2Fassets.aboutamazon.com%2F7f%2F06%2F88debe7548919136a42473e9a31d%2Fabout-amazon-hero-hero001-aa-careergrowth-as2-5283-copy-8069x4538.jpg)\n\n- [How I went from a college graduate to an Amazon manager with a 7-week program](https://www.aboutamazon.com/news/workplace/amazon-manager-training-college)\n\nThese investments build talent from the classroom to the career, but Amazon is also working to strengthen the broader ecosystem that connects them. In February 2026, Amazon became a founding partner of National Innovation Quarter (National IQ), which brings together leaders from industry, academia, government, and entrepreneurship to amplify the region’s innovation ecosystem. This partnership demonstrates our commitment to building Virginia’s talent pipeline and driving innovation across the Commonwealth.\n\n## 4. Supporting Virginia's small businesses\n\n![A photo of Dr. Noreen Galaria, co-founder, Inner Glow, holing a container of vitamins and a clipboard. There are shipping boxes behind her.](https://assets.aboutamazon.com/dims4/default/a3f6565/2147483647/strip/true/crop/1600x900+0+0/resize/767x431!/quality/90/?url=https%3A%2F%2Fassets.aboutamazon.com%2F85%2F73%2F0e8980684e4e93cd9db880354088%2Fabout-amazon-inline-inline01-smallbusiness-24-3-9-amz-inner-glow-vitamins-virginia-4216a-1.jpg)\n*[Dr. Noreen Galaria](https://sellingpartners.aboutamazon.com/dermatologists-secret-weapon-for-skincare-equity-is-amazon), MD, FAAD, CEO and Founder of Inner Glow supplements.*\n\nMore than 60% of items sold on Amazon come from [small and medium-sized businesses](https://www.aboutamazon.com/impact/small-businesses), and Virginia sellers are part of that success story. In 2025, [independent sellers in Virginia](https://sellingpartners.aboutamazon.com/virginia) averaged more than $170,000 in annual sales, with over 43 million total items sold.\n\nAt Metropolitan Park in Arlington, Amazon created more than 50,000 square feet of retail space for over a dozen [local small businesses](https://www.aboutamazon.com/news/small-business/amazon-headquarters-arlington-local-businesses-restaurants)—including women- and minority-owned establishments—bringing neighborhood commerce into the heart of the HQ2 campus. Through the Amazon Small Business Academy, entrepreneurs across Virginia can access free training, webinars, and mentorship to help them start, grow, and scale.\n\n![A photo grid displaying six photos of goods and services provided by local retailers located at Amazon's HQ2 in Arlington, Virginia.](https://assets.aboutamazon.com/dims4/default/64e61f4/2147483647/strip/true/crop/1518x1012+141+0/resize/300x200!/quality/90/?url=https%3A%2F%2Fassets.aboutamazon.com%2F95%2Fd8%2F0639a0b247e2ab5a2e3f66f7707a%2Fb529fdb1-afa9-4d2c-a9c1-8f14c31e1141.jpg)\n\n- [Meet the local businesses of Amazon’s HQ2 at Met Park, from lunch spots to fitness and wellness centers](https://www.aboutamazon.com/news/small-business/amazon-headquarters-arlington-local-businesses-restaurants)\n\nWe’re proud to invest in the success of the entrepreneurs, artisans, and small businesses who sell in Amazon’s store, because when they thrive, customers benefit and local jobs are created.\n\n## 5. Investing in affordable housing and community\n\n![A photo of a family standing in the living room of a house. They are holding moving boxes and there are moving boxes placed in the living room.](https://assets.aboutamazon.com/dims4/default/c6bb55b/2147483647/strip/true/crop/2000x1125+0+0/resize/767x431!/quality/90/?url=https%3A%2F%2Fassets.aboutamazon.com%2Ff1%2F40%2F54b4971c42a8aad42e95cba8df50%2Fhousingfund.jpg)\n\nIn the [National Capital Region](https://assets.aboutamazon.com/51/be/9670d4314fc6a696c275c1c6ef13/2025-community-impact-report-hq2-final.pdf), Amazon has committed $1.3 billion to create and preserve over 10,000 affordable housing units. In February 2026, we broke ground on the [Victory Center in Alexandria](https://www.aboutamazon.com/news/community/amazon-arlington-virginia-news?p=amazon-breaks-ground-on-377-all-affordable-homes-in-alexandrias-west-end), transforming a long-vacant building into 377 all-affordable homes. In Arlington alone, our investments have increased the county’s stock of committed affordable units by 23%.\n\nBeyond housing, Amazon has provided more than $239 million in donations and grants to nonprofits and community organizations across the National Capital Region, including more than $60 million to over 230 local community partners in 2025, supporting food banks, youth programs, workforce initiatives, the arts, and more.\n\nRead more about how Amazon is [investing in Virginia](https://www.aboutamazon.com/impact/amazon-virginia) and [the U.S.](https://www.aboutamazon.com/news/job-creation-and-investment/amazon-economic-impact-report-2025)","publisher":{"@type":"Organization","name":"About Amazon","url":"https://www.aboutamazon.com","sameAs":["https://x.com/amazonnews","https://www.linkedin.com/company/amazon","https://www.instagram.com/amazonnews"],"logo":{"@type":"ImageObject","url":"https://assets.aboutamazon.com/bd/8f/88e7b0314cc2bd05b9de3155a0fe/amazon-news.svg"},"parentOrganization":{"@type":"Organization","name":"Amazon","url":"https://www.amazon.com","sameAs":["https://www.wikidata.org/wiki/Q3884","https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Amazon_(company)","https://x.com/Amazon"]}}}