West Virginia States for Business 2013" based on measures of competitiveness such as economy, workforce and cost of living – ranking among the bottom 5 states for the last six years running. West Virginia ranked 49th in the 2014 State New Economy Index, and has ranked in the bottom three states since 1999. West Virginia ranked last or next-to-last in critical indicators such as Workforce Education, Entrepreneurial Activity, High-Tech Jobs, and Scientists and Engineers. On January 9, 2014 near Charleston, the state capital, a chemical spill occurred that contaminated the water supply of 300,000 people in nine West Virginia counties. According to
State Fair of West Virginia by the Fair, it has an annual economic impact of $8.9 million on Greenbrier County. The Fair receives no appropriation from the state, supporting itself from admissions, fees charged to vendors, and rental of the fairgrounds to other groups. It does receive support in kind from the state Department of Agriculture and from West Virginia University. State Fair of West Virginia The State Fair of West Virginia is an annual state fair for West Virginia, United States. It is held annually in mid-August on the State Fairgrounds in Fairlea, near Lewisburg, West Virginia in the southeastern part of the state.