Virginia ranks #21 among US states for total patents filed in 2017, with 6,100 patents from 3,454 inventors across 263 cities. On a per-capita basis that is 0.7 patents per 1,000 residents, a standard benchmark for comparing state-level R&D intensity.
Top Cities in Virginia 2017
| Rank | City | Patents | Inventors |
|---|---|---|---|
| #1 | Vienna, VA | 374 | 93 |
| #2 | Charlottesville, VA | 330 | 178 |
| #3 | Richmond, VA | 323 | 202 |
| #4 | Ashburn, VA | 302 | 142 |
| #5 | Arlington, VA | 301 | 189 |
| #6 | McLean, VA | 281 | 115 |
| #7 | Alexandria, VA | 257 | 177 |
| #8 | Fairfax, VA | 234 | 139 |
| #9 | Herndon, VA | 217 | 119 |
| #10 | Blacksburg, VA | 207 | 114 |
| #11 | Reston, VA | 198 | 109 |
| #12 | Midlothian, VA | 184 | 104 |
| #13 | Virginia Beach, VA | 127 | 89 |
| #14 | Falls Church, VA | 121 | 75 |
| #15 | Leesburg, VA | 117 | 77 |
| #16 | Sterling, VA | 101 | 59 |
| #17 | Great Falls, VA | 100 | 56 |
| #18 | Chantilly, VA | 89 | 43 |
| #19 | Haymarket, VA | 83 | 18 |
| #20 | Springfield, VA | 82 | 47 |
| #21 | Centreville, VA | 77 | 40 |
| #22 | Roanoke, VA | 76 | 56 |
| #23 | Glen Allen, VA | 71 | 46 |
| #24 | Salem, VA | 68 | 49 |
| #25 | Yorktown, VA | 63 | 41 |