Arlington, Virginia

Area Profile

236,254 residents. Public schools, jobs, income, housing cost, climate and natural-hazard risk for Arlington, in Arlington County.

73out of 100
Area Score
Top 7% of 4,196 profiles measured

How we calculate this

How this area ranks

Data updated · 14 sources
OpportunityTop 29% of 4,199 cities measured67
SchoolsTop 26% of 4,162 cities measured69
GrowthTop 13% of 4,224 cities measured72
Housing affordability2,119th of 4,218 cities measured67
ClimateTop 42% of 4,225 cities measured72
Physical resilienceTop 18% of 4,226 cities measured84
AccessTop 49% of 4,226 cities measured93
Economic stabilityTop 21% of 4,226 cities measured71
The quick read

Unemployment is 2.9% and median household income $142,114, putting employment conditions in the middle range of cities measured. The unemployment rate is published for Arlington County, VA, which contains Arlington, rather than for Arlington alone.

In the public schools here, 87% of students met the state standard in mathematics, with 14.6 students for every teacher.

Development activity is both elevated and accelerating — 2,852 housing units permitted over the past twelve months, up 259% on the prior year. The permit count and 1 other measure here are published for Arlington County, VA, which contains Arlington, rather than for Arlington alone.

These sentences are written by fixed rules from the measurements below — a statement appears because a number crossed a stated threshold, and the values behind it are stored with it. No figure anywhere on this site is invented, estimated or inferred to fill a gap. How this works.

At a glance

Population
236,254
2024 ACS 5-Year
Median household income
$142,114
Top 5% nationally
Density
9,088/sq mi
26 sq mi of land
Median age
35.5
2024 ACS 5-Year
County
Virginia
Nearest major airport
IAD
20 mi · Washington Dulles Intl
Median home value
$895,000
2024 ACS 5-Year

Jobs & opportunity

Unemployment across Arlington County, VA, which contains Arlington, is 2.9%, lower than in 95% of the 4,226 measured US cities.

Employment across Arlington County, VA, which contains Arlington, fell 2.5% over the past year, to 147,695 employed residents.

77% of adults hold a four-year degree, higher than 98% of measured US cities.

Median household income of $142,114 is higher than in 95% of measured US cities.

MetricValueCompared nationallySource period
Income of new arrivalsArlington County, VA’s figurefiling years 2022–2023$93,85777th percentileof 4,101filing years 2022–2023
Income of those who leftArlington County, VA’s figurefiling years 2022–2023$123,63995th percentileof 4,101filing years 2022–2023
Median household income ±$3,5512024 ACS 5-Year$142,114Top 5%of 29,2232024 ACS 5-Year
Per capita income ±$1,9212024 ACS 5-Year$90,786Top 3%of 31,4202024 ACS 5-Year
Poverty rate ±0.8%2024 ACS 5-Year6.1%Top 29%of 31,7732024 ACS 5-Year
Average commute ±0.4 min2024 ACS 5-Year28.6 minBottom 40%of 31,5432024 ACS 5-Year
Bachelor's degree or higher ±1%2024 ACS 5-Year77.1%Top 2%of 31,9192024 ACS 5-Year
Drove alone to work ±1%2024 ACS 5-Year38.0%3rd percentileof 31,4332024 ACS 5-Year
EmploymentArlington County, VA’s figureJuly 2026147,695Top 37%of 4,226July 2026
Employment change (3 years)Arlington County, VA’s figureJuly 2026−2.7%Bottom 16%of 4,226July 2026
Employment change (year over year)Arlington County, VA’s figureJuly 2026−2.5%Bottom 13%of 4,226July 2026
Labor forceArlington County, VA’s figureJuly 2026152,14762nd percentileof 4,226July 2026
Labor force participation ±0.5%2024 ACS 5-Year89.0%Top 12%of 31,5132024 ACS 5-Year
Mean annual wageWashington-Arlington-Alexandria, DC-VA-MD-WV Metro Area’s figure2025 OEWS$91,930Top 6%of 3,7292025 OEWS
Median annual wageWashington-Arlington-Alexandria, DC-VA-MD-WV Metro Area’s figure2025 OEWS$71,060Top 8%of 3,7292025 OEWS
Public transit to work ±0.8%2024 ACS 5-Year14.0%99th percentileof 31,4332024 ACS 5-Year
Unemployment change (year over year)Arlington County, VA’s figureJuly 2026−0.1%Bottom 49%of 4,226July 2026
Unemployment rateArlington County, VA’s figureJuly 20262.9%Top 5%of 4,226July 2026
Worked from home ±1%2024 ACS 5-Year35.3%97th percentileof 31,4332024 ACS 5-Year

Median household income, successive ACS releases

2021202220232024142k128k
Each point is a separate five-year estimate, most recently $142,114 in the 2024 ACS 5-Year. Consecutive releases share four years of sample, so AreaProfile shows them as a record of successive estimates and does not compute a year-over-year change from them.

Largest occupations — Washington-Arlington-Alexandria, DC-VA-MD-WV

OccupationPeople employedMedian annual wage
General and Operations Managers112,530$156,460
Business Operations Specialists, All Other76,600$104,770
Software Developers69,060$154,930
Retail Salespersons66,920$36,610
Management Analysts62,360$126,830
Fast Food and Counter Workers60,560$34,600

Searches the 40 largest occupations here that have a published wage.

Occupational employment and wages are published for metropolitan areas rather than for individual cities or ZIP areas, so these describe the wider labor market this location sits in. 2025 OEWS, U.S. Bureau of Labor Statistics.

The Bureau of Labor Statistics does not publish a labor-market series for this place — true of a consolidated city-county, a city and county sharing one government, or a Puerto Rico municipio, regardless of population. This is the figure for Arlington County, VA, which contains this city.

87% of students met the state standard in mathematics and 83% in reading, across the schools here that reported results.

There are 14.6 students for every full-time teacher across 35 public schools, fewer than in most measured places.

Public schools
42
2024-25 school year
Students per teacher
14.6
across 35 of them
Math proficiency
86.7%
Top 28% in Virginia
Reading proficiency
82.8%
Top 33% in Virginia
The 12 largest of 42 public schools, by enrollment.
SchoolDistrictStudentsPer teacherMathReading
Washington-Liberty HighArlington County Public Schools3,04418.287%86%
Wakefield HighArlington County Public Schools2,64618.885%82%
Yorktown HighArlington County Public Schools2,59318.793%94%
Jefferson MiddleArlington County Public Schools1,12014.080%79%
Gunston MiddleArlington County Public Schools1,07215.882%80%
Kenmore MiddleArlington County Public Schools1,05314.282%76%
Swanson MiddleArlington County Public Schools99314.293%90%
Dorothy Hamm MiddleArlington County Public Schools98914.3——
Williamsburg MiddleArlington County Public Schools85615.395%93%
Abingdon ElementaryArlington County Public Schools76813.271%63%
Cardinal ElementaryArlington County Public Schools68214.594%90%
Oakridge ElementaryArlington County Public Schools63614.885%80%

30.8% of students here are eligible for free or reduced-price lunch. That describes the circumstances families arrive with, not how the schools perform, so it is shown and not scored.

Public schools only, from the NCES Common Core of Data, placed by ZIP code — which schools are in this place, not which one a particular address is zoned for. A dash in a proficiency column is a gap in the federal file, not a bad result. Proficiency is measured against Virginia’s own standard, so it is ranked within state. How to read school figures.

Prices for everything a household buys run about 10% above the national average — the Bureau of Economic Analysis index reads 109.5, against 100 for the nation. Nationally, housing drives most of the spread between places in this index; other goods vary far less.

The Federal Housing Finance Agency’s house price index for the Arlington-Alexandria-Reston, VA-WV Metropolitan Division is up 34% over five years, and up 2.6% over the last year. It follows repeat sales of the same homes, so it measures price change rather than which homes happened to sell.

Homeowners here who pay a tax bill pay a median of $8,153 a year in real estate taxes, about 0.91% of the median home value.

HUD’s Fair Market Rent for a two-bedroom, set near the 40th percentile of recent new leases, is $2,683, some 16% above the $2,322 tenants already here pay.

At HUD’s Fair Market Rent of $2,683 a month for a two-bedroom, keeping rent to 30% of income takes a household income of about $107,300 a year, about 76% of the median household income here of $142,114.

The typical renter household here spends 27% of its income on rent, below the 30% threshold at which a household is considered cost-burdened. Median gross rent runs $2,322 a month.

A median home at $895,000 costs 4.2 times the median income of its owner-occupied households, $210,943, above the historic benchmark of about 3 times income.

Cost of living
109.5

Prices here run about 10% above the national average. The spread between places is driven mostly by housing — goods vary far less — and this excludes taxes.

Published for the Washington-Arlington-Alexandria, DC-VA-MD-WV Metro Area as a whole. Prices are regional — people shop, commute and rent across a metropolitan area rather than within a city boundary — so this describes the cost of living around this place better than a figure drawn to its own limits would.

Rent as a share of income
26.5%
Below the 30% cost-burdened threshold
Home price to income
4.2×
median home value ÷ owner household income
Market rent, two bedroom
$2,683
what a new lease costs · FY2026
Median gross rent
$2,322
what tenants now pay · 2024 ACS 5-Year
Median home value
$895,000
2024 ACS 5-Year

The figures above are measured against Arlington’s median household income of $142,114, which describes the place rather than you. Enter your own and the ratio is recomputed against it. It stays in this browser.

MetricValueCompared nationallySource period
Cost of living indexthe Washington-Arlington-Alexandria, DC-VA-MD-WV Metro Area’s figure2023109.5Bottom 27%of 3,7002023
Home price change (1 year)the Arlington-Alexandria-Reston, VA-WV Metropolitan Division’s figure2026 Q2+2.6%39th percentileof 4,1542026 Q2
Home price change (5 years)the Arlington-Alexandria-Reston, VA-WV Metropolitan Division’s figure2026 Q2+33.9%24th percentileof 4,1542026 Q2
Home price change (10 years)the Arlington-Alexandria-Reston, VA-WV Metropolitan Division’s figure2026 Q2+67.3%11th percentileof 4,1542026 Q2
Home price to income ±0.22024 ACS 5-Year4.2Bottom 15%of 26,8152024 ACS 5-Year
Homeownership rate ±0.9%2024 ACS 5-Year41.3%5th percentileof 31,7172024 ACS 5-Year
Housing units ±992024 ACS 5-Year121,97099th percentileof 32,1772024 ACS 5-Year
Market rent, one bedroomFY2026$2,406Bottom 7%of 4,072FY2026
Market rent, three bedroomFY2026$3,384Bottom 14%of 4,072FY2026
Market rent, two bedroomFY2026$2,683Bottom 13%of 4,072FY2026
Median gross rent ±$262024 ACS 5-Year$2,322Bottom 4%of 23,1202024 ACS 5-Year
Median home value ±$16,8542024 ACS 5-Year$895,00097th percentileof 29,1112024 ACS 5-Year
Median property taxes ±$1562024 ACS 5-Year$8,15398th percentileof 26,4402024 ACS 5-Year
Owner household income ±$7,0332024 ACS 5-Year$210,943Top 1%of 27,5482024 ACS 5-Year
Property tax rate ±0.02%2024 ACS 5-Year0.91%46th percentileof 20,5432024 ACS 5-Year
Rent as a share of income ±0.6%2024 ACS 5-Year26.5%Top 40%of 22,9502024 ACS 5-Year
Seasonal and second homes ±3682024 ACS 5-Year1,46099th percentileof 32,3302024 ACS 5-Year
Second homes2024 ACS 5-Year1.2%63rd percentileof 31,8952024 ACS 5-Year
Vacancy rate2024 ACS 5-Year7.0%50th percentileof 31,7692024 ACS 5-Year
Vacant housing units ±9892024 ACS 5-Year9,94399th percentileof 32,3302024 ACS 5-Year

These measures come from the same ACS release as the income they are compared with. They compare housing cost with local earnings only: transport, groceries, healthcare, insurance and taxes are not in them. How to read affordability, the two rent figures and the cost-of-living index.

Development Momentum

72/ 100
Top 13% of 4,224 published city profiles

An AreaProfile calculation combining permit volume per resident, its direction over one and three years, population change and employment growth. Permit volume alone is not the measure.

94% of the 2,852 units permitted over the past twelve months are in buildings of five or more homes, so new supply is concentrated in apartments and condominiums rather than detached houses. The multifamily share is published for Arlington County, VA, which contains Arlington, rather than for Arlington alone.

Federal tax returns show Arlington County, which contains Arlington, lost about 0.9% of its residents through moves within the US in the most recent year, counting those who arrived against those who left. Households that moved in reported an average income of $93,857, below the $123,639 of households that moved out.

At 12.1 permitted units per 1,000 residents, building activity is above the median for measured US cities. The permit rate is published for Arlington County, VA, which contains Arlington, rather than for Arlington alone.

Units permitted
2,852
12 months ending July 2026
Per 1,000 residents
12.1
Top 8% nationally
Year over year
+259%
vs the prior twelve months
Multifamily share
93.5%
units in 5+ unit buildings

People moving in and out

Net migration
−0.9%
of residents, in a year
Arrivals from another state
65%
of people moving in
Income of arrivals
$93,857
average per tax return
Income of those who left
$123,639
average per tax return

Where newcomers came from

  1. Fairfax County, VA 3,653 people · 16% of arrivals
  2. District of Columbia, DC 2,445 people · 11% of arrivals
  3. Alexandria city, VA 1,552 people · 6.8% of arrivals
  4. Montgomery County, MD 864 people · 3.8% of arrivals
  5. Prince William County, VA 567 people · 2.5% of arrivals

Where people who left went

  1. Fairfax County, VA 5,460 people · 22% of departures
  2. Alexandria city, VA 2,023 people · 8.2% of departures
  3. District of Columbia, DC 1,991 people · 8.1% of departures
  4. Montgomery County, MD 870 people · 3.5% of departures
  5. Loudoun County, VA 860 people · 3.5% of departures

Based on the address on federal tax returns, compared with the same filers a year earlier. It counts people who file, and sees a move only when the address on a return changes. Domestic moves only: people arriving from abroad are left out. This is the figure for Arlington County, VA. IRS Statistics of Income, filing years 2022–2023.

The Census Bureau's Building Permits Survey lists only jurisdictions that issue their own permits, and Arlington, VA is not one. This is the figure for Arlington County, VA, which contains this city.

Weather & climate

6 of the twelve months have a normal average temperature between 55°F and 80°F. July averages a high of 90°F and January a low of 30°F.

Normal annual precipitation is 41.8 inches, including 13.7 inches of snow.

Air quality measures a median index of 36, in the Good band, and about 4 days a year pass 100, the threshold at which the air is unhealthy for sensitive groups.

20°40°60°80°100°JFMAMJJASOND
Solid line: normal daily high. Dashed line: normal daily low. 1991-2020 normals from NOAA station WASHINGTON REAGAN AP, 4.1 miles from this location.

Precipitation

JFMAMJJASOND4.3"
Normal monthly precipitation, in inches.
MetricValueSource period
90th percentile air quality index2024 calendar year562024 calendar year
Annual precipitation1991-2020 Normals41.8"1991-2020 Normals
Annual snowfall1991-2020 Normals13.7"1991-2020 Normals
Average January low1991-2020 Normals30°F1991-2020 Normals
Average July high1991-2020 Normals90°F1991-2020 Normals
Comfortable months1991-2020 Normals61991-2020 Normals
Days above AQI 1002024 calendar year42024 calendar year
Median air quality index2024 calendar year362024 calendar year
Seasonal temperature swing1991-2020 Normals44°F1991-2020 Normals

Air quality

Median air quality index
36
Good on a typical day
Worst tenth of days
56
90th percentile index
Days above 100
4
unhealthy for sensitive groups

A comfortable median and a bad tail are different problems. Wildfire smoke and summer ozone show up in the worst tenth of days, not in the middle of the year.

Climate figures are thirty-year normals, not current conditions. Air quality is measured by EPA monitors and published by county only where a monitor sits; a county without one shows nothing rather than an estimate, and a county reading is still the county’s. How to read climate and air quality.

Physical risk

84 / 100
Physical resilience

The hazards accounting for most of this area's expected annual loss are inland flooding, heat wave and hurricane, with inland flooding alone responsible for 60% of it. Inland flooding and heat wave are independently rated low or minimal nationally, so this describes how the loss is composed, not how large those hazards are.

Overall hazard risk is lower than 82% of measured US cities.

Strong windElevated
HurricaneModerate
TornadoModerate
Cold waveModerate
DroughtModerate

Low or minimal exposure: heat wave, winter weather, lightning, inland flooding, earthquake, hail, ice storm, coastal flooding, landslide, wildfire, tsunami, volcanic activity, avalanche.

Hazard ratings are AreaProfile calculations derived from the FEMA National Risk Index v1.20.0 (December 2025). FEMA publishes at county level. City values are the population-weighted mean of the counties the city overlaps, using AreaProfile place-to-county land-area weights. FEMA does not endorse this presentation. Higher physical resilience means lower exposure.

These are deaths, not offenses — they say nothing about burglary, theft or assault.

Arlington County has a modeled homicide rate of about 1.9 per 100,000 residents a year, because the CDC suppresses counts this small, lower than most counties measured. The CDC does not publish this below county level.

Firearm deaths of all intents run at about 5.6 per 100,000 — more than the homicide rate, since the figure counts suicides and accidents as well as homicides.

Drug overdose deaths run at about 5.6 per 100,000 residents in Arlington County.

Homicide
1.9
per 100,000 residents · modeled, not measured
Firearm deaths, all intents
5.6
per 100,000 residents · modeled, not measured
Drug overdose
5.6
per 100,000 residents · modeled, not measured
Suicide
6.8
per 100,000 residents

Firearm deaths count every intent together, and nationally the majority are suicides rather than homicides, so the firearm figure and the homicide figure above it count some of the same deaths twice over. They overlap and should not be added together.

Death rates are crude rates — deaths divided by population, not adjusted for age — except where a count was too small for the CDC to publish and it modeled the rate, which the card marks. They come from provisional death certificate records, published by the CDC by county and not below it. So they describe the county around Arlington (Arlington County) rather than Arlington itself. They are shown and not scored. How to read death rates.

What this profile does not cover

Each of these is absent for a reason, not by oversight. The Area Score is calculated without them; the weighting is on the methodology page.

Reported crime
Offenses reported to police are published by department rather than by town, so AreaProfile shows a rate only on city profiles, and only where that city’s department submitted every month of a year. Either no municipal department reports for this place — many smaller communities are policed by the county — or its department did not report every month of the year. Either way there is no figure to show. A partial year is never scaled up to look complete, and arrest counts or news volume are never substituted for it.
Taxes
Income and sales taxes are not published: no source covers them nationally with a method open enough to check. Property taxes are shown in the housing section but are not part of the score. The cost-of-living index above is a price level for all consumption, not a household budget, and it excludes taxes. Nothing here is individualized tax advice.
Anything about a specific address
Every figure describes an area, not a street or a house.

Access

5 major airports lie within 100 miles, the nearest Washington Dulles Intl at 20 miles.

MetricValueCompared nationallySource period
Broadband access ±0.6%2024 ACS 5-Year95.2%Top 24%of 31,5882024 ACS 5-Year
Distance to major airportNASR current cycle20 miBottom 45%of 4,226NASR current cycle
Major airports within 100 milesNASR current cycle5Top 45%of 4,226NASR current cycle
No internet access ±0.5%2024 ACS 5-Year2.6%Top 23%of 31,5882024 ACS 5-Year
AirportCodeDistanceLongest runway
Washington Dulles IntlIAD20 mi11,500 ft
Baltimore/Washington Intl Thurgood MarshallBWI31 mi10,503 ft
Dover AFBDOV89 mi9,602 ft

Airport identity, position and runway data come from the FAA. “Major airport” is an AreaProfile classification — a public-use civil airport with a paved runway of at least 8,000 feet — not an FAA hub designation. Distances are straight-line, not driving distance.

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Area Score
73
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Other cities in Washington-Arlington-Alexandria, DC-VA-MD-WV

Same metropolitan area, measured the same way
CityCountyPopulationArea ScoreCompare
WashingtonDistrict of Columbia681,29468Washington vs Arlington
AlexandriaAlexandria city156,97660Alexandria vs Arlington
GermantownMontgomery County90,71968Germantown vs Arlington
FrederickFrederick County83,39567
WaldorfCharles County82,94360
Silver SpringMontgomery County81,46268
CentrevilleFairfax County71,70667
Dale CityPrince William County71,01663
GaithersburgMontgomery County69,82568
BethesdaMontgomery County69,39770
RockvilleMontgomery County67,67170
RestonFairfax County64,41467

Every city here is measured on the same scale from the same source releases, so the comparison is like for like. A higher Area Score reflects AreaProfile’s standardized weighting rather than a judgment about which is the better place to live.

Compare

Put Arlington side by side with a similar place.

Arlington vs PflugervilleArlington vs Olathe

Moving to Arlington from somewhere else?

You get the difference in prices, rent and weather, and the income that would keep pace.

Data & methodology

Used forSourceSource period
AccessFederal Aviation Administration
Airports (NASR) — Aeronautical Data Delivery Service
NASR current cycle
Physical riskFederal Emergency Management Agency
National Risk Index
National Risk Index December 2025 (v1.20.0)
Demographics, IncomeInternal Revenue Service, Statistics of Income Division
U.S. Population Migration Data (county to county)
filing years 2022–2023
ClimateNOAA National Centers for Environmental Information
U.S. Climate Normals 1991–2020 (Monthly)
1991-2020 Normals
HousingU.S. Bureau of Economic Analysis
Regional price parities and county personal income
2023
JobsU.S. Bureau of Labor Statistics
Local Area Unemployment Statistics
July 2026
JobsU.S. Bureau of Labor Statistics
Occupational Employment and Wage Statistics
2025 OEWS
Access, Demographics, Housing, Income, JobsU.S. Census Bureau
American Community Survey 5-Year Estimates (Table-Based Summary File)
2024 ACS 5-Year
DevelopmentU.S. Census Bureau
Building Permits Survey
12 months ending July 2026
SafetyU.S. Centers for Disease Control and Prevention, National Center for Health Statistics
Provisional county-level mortality by intent
March 2025 to February 2026; May 2025 to April 2026
SchoolsU.S. Department of Education, National Center for Education Statistics
Common Core of Data and EDFacts assessments
2018-19 school year; 2024-25 school year
HousingU.S. Department of Housing and Urban Development, Office of Policy Development and Research
Fair Market Rents
FY2026
ClimateU.S. Environmental Protection Agency, Air Quality System
Daily Air Quality Index by county
2024 calendar year
HousingU.S. Federal Housing Finance Agency
House Price Index (traditional, all-transactions)
2026 Q2
Current conditionsNOAA National Weather Service
National Weather Service current conditions
Live observation, read when the page opens

Profile recalculated October 8, 2026. Recalculation is not the same as new source data — each figure above shows the period its source actually covers. Read the full methodology, or every source with how often each updates.

ZIP codes in Arlington

10 ZIP areas

Every ZIP area in Arlington with census figures of its own, largest first. The ones linked below diverge enough from the city as a whole to carry a full profile; the rest track Arlington closely, so their figures are here rather than on a page that would repeat this one. An Area Score is calculated for published profiles only, which is why it is blank on those rows.

ZIPPopulationMedian household incomeMedian home valueArea Score
2220451,921$107,941$688,00069
2220137,473$145,000$781,60074
2220735,479$245,745$1,257,90074
2220227,715$133,762$899,000—
2220326,594$140,135$826,800—
2220620,703$140,877$586,000—
2220517,738$201,094$1,092,800—
2220914,154$120,515$820,000—
222134,021$199,306$1,064,500—
22211947$238,750——