Anchored by giant university Virginia Tech, the Blacksburg metro area has a stable and well-diversified economy with high-tech firms like Honeywell, defense and health-care contractor Moog, and government, such as the National Weather Service.
Although a local doormaker is closing its doors, local economic officials are optimistic that its 138 workers can find employment elsewhere, as companies like Utah-based Backcountry.com (an online outdoor gear retailer) and Latin America's Phoenix Packaging (a food-packaging manufacturer) expand in the area. The metro also caters to small entrepreneurs with ventures like TechPad, a business center for about a dozen software companies in downtown Blacksburg just across from the university. So far, the ventures have created 30 jobs.
