Southwest Virginia straddles two very different physiographic regions, the Ridge and Valley Province and the Appalachian Plateau. The high, rugged topography of the plateau is most pronounced in the three counties of Wise, Dickenson, and Buchanan. Southwest Virginia is also part of two larger, overlapping regions of national importance, Appalachia and the Tennessee Valley.
Both regions have been designated as areas in need of economic development and have benefited greatly from federal assistance through the Appalachian Regional Commission and the Tennessee Valley Authority (TVA). Almost all of Southwest Virginia (generally, planning districts 1, 2, and 3) falls under the jurisdiction of both of these authorities. (The exceptions are Buchanan and Carroll counties, which are not included in the TVA).
The last decade has seen the economy of Southwest Virginia slow down again from a period of better times during the 1970's. Traditionally a poor, predominantly white area characterized by many of the same limited opportunities that have hindered Southside, Southwest Virginia has seen some reduced unemployment, higher educational attainment, and better incomes.
Even with such improved conditions, however, Southwest Virginia is not as well off as the state as a whole, according to various socioeconomic measures. Perhaps the most telling sign is that Southwest Virginia which experienced net immigration from 1970 to 1980, has again seen a population loss of 10,500 people from 1980 to 1988, a decline of 2.5%. The Cumberland Plateau Planning District had the sharpest loss of all such districts over that time period, -5.4%
The renewed demand for coal during the 1970's was part of the reason for the renaissance of Southwest Virginia, just as its decreasing demand slowed growth in the 1980's. But coal production is not widely dispersed throughout the region; it is extremely concentrated within the plateau counties of Buchanan, Dickenson, and Wise, which account for about 83 percent of the state's production. In the counties of the southern Appalachian Valley, manufacturing, agriculture, trade, and transportation-related employment add substantially to the economy.
Galax, a Valley city, contributes to the region's urban economy with its specialization in the manufacture of many of the same products as the Piedmont-Valley Industrial Zone, particularly furniture and textiles. Bristol, located on the Virginia-Tennessee border, is a Tennessee Valley city and part of the Johnson City-Kingsport-Bristol MSA of 443,000 people, of which 91,000 are in Virginia.
While Bristol also has many workers in the textile, apparel, and furniture industries, it is much more specialized in printing and publishing, fabricated metals, and nonelectrical machinery. This specialization in less traditional industries is perhaps responsible for the Bristol area's very rapid growth as a manufacturing center.
Agriculture is the leading economic activity in Planning district 3, as measured by employment, and is second only to mining in planning district 1 and 2. This is true despite the fact that Southwest Virginia as a whole presents some of Virginia's poorest opportunities for agriculture. Farming in the three plateau counties is particularly limited due to topography. The Southern Valley has a better quality of land but is handicapped by distance from large markets.
As a result of these factors, a specialization has developed in the raising of beef and dairy cattle and sheep. A high percentage of farmland is devoted to pasture, and a high percentage of cropland is devoted to hay production. Many farm operations are of a part-time nature with limited sales.