Something shifted in Northern Virginia this spring. After a winter of hedged bets and worried glances at Richmond, the region’s business leaders walked into summer with a little more spring in their step.
That, at least, is the picture that emerges from the Q2 2026 NVC/Pinkston Northern Virginia Business Leader Survey, which gathered the perspectives of 185 CEOs, corporate executives, and business owners between June 22 and 29. Fielded through a coalition of nine chambers of commerce—including the Alexandria Chamber of Commerce—the survey is designed to take the temperature of an economy that punches well above its weight. Northern Virginia, the report notes, represents 46 percent of Washington D.C.’s regional economy and 42 percent of Virginia’s entire economy.
The headline is optimism, and it’s spreading…