2025 State of the Commonwealth Report

Authors

Vinod Agarwal, Old Dominion UniversityFollow
Josh Andrews, Old Dominion UniversityFollow
Andrea Barcenas, Old Dominion UniversityFollow
Jamie Boex, Old Dominion University
Leora Friedman, Old Dominion UniversityFollow
James V. Koch, Old Dominion UniversityFollow
Angela Kwao, Old Dominion UniversityFollow
Feng Lian, Old Dominion UniversityFollow
Anna Makhorkina, Old Dominion UniversityFollow
Melody Nguyen, Old Dominion UniversityFollow
Terry Parker, Old Dominion University
Mohamed Rahoui, Old Dominion UniversityFollow
Ashley Russ, Old Dominion UniversityFollow
Samia Tabassum, Old Dominion UniversityFollow
Jay Walker, Old Dominion UniversityFollow
Robert M. McNab, Old Dominion UniversityFollow

Document Type

Report

Publication Date

2025

DOI

10.25776/y32s-6g23

Pages

148 pp.

Abstract

This is Old Dominion University’s 11th annual State of the Commonwealth Report. While it represents the work of many people connected in various ways to the university, the report does not constitute an official viewpoint of Old Dominion, its president, Brian Hemphill, Ph.D., the Board of Visitors, the Strome College of Business or the generous donors who support the activities of the Dragas Center for Economic Analysis and Policy.

Our work seeks to contribute to the conversation about how Virginia can foster growth across the Commonwealth without glossing over the challenges we face. We want to encourage difficult conversations to improve economic outcomes for all of Virginia’s residents, now is the time to have the hard discussions about where Virginia goes over the next decade. Our task is more difficult this year due to the lapse in appropriations for the federal government from October 1, 2025 to November 12, 2025. The shutdown not only delayed data, it highlighted Virginia’s distinctive relationship with the federal government.

Repository Citation

Agarwal, Vinod; Andrews, Josh; Barcenas, Andrea; Boex, Jamie; Friedman, Leora; Koch, James V.; Kwao, Angela; Lian, Feng; Makhorkina, Anna; Nguyen, Melody; Parker, Terry; Rahoui, Mohamed; Russ, Ashley; Tabassum, Samia; Walker, Jay; and McNab, Robert M., "2025 State of the Commonwealth Report" (2025). State of the Commonwealth Reports. 85.
https://digitalcommons.odu.edu/soc_reports/85

ORCID

0000-0002-5694-5420 (Agarwal), 0000-0002-6221-814X (Koch), 0000-0003-0439-6818 (Walker), 0000-0002-0093-3973 (McNab)