Arlington County, VA

County Profile

236,254 residents. Safety, jobs, income, housing cost, climate and natural-hazard risk for Arlington County, VA.

Several figures AreaProfile publishes are measured by county and nowhere finer — death rates by intent among them. On this page those describe the geography they are printed on, which is not true of the city and ZIP pages that inherit them.

74out of 100
Area Score
Top 11% of 1,225 profiles measured

How we calculate this

How this area ranks
OpportunityTop 28% of 1,255 counties measured66
SchoolsTop 19% of 973 counties measured75
GrowthTop 22% of 1,226 counties measured65
Housing affordability1114th of 1,255 counties measured67
ClimateTop 35% of 1,254 counties measured72
Physical resilienceTop 12% of 1,255 counties measured87
AccessTop 23% of 1,255 counties measured92
Economic stabilityTop 7% of 1,255 counties measured92
The quick read

Development activity is both elevated and accelerating — 2,852 housing units permitted over the past twelve months, up 259% on the prior year.

Buying strains local incomes far more than renting does — the median home is 6.3 times median household income, against a historic benchmark near three — while rent takes 20% of it.

Natural-hazard exposure is lower than in most comparable published profiles, placing Arlington County in the top 12% for physical resilience.

At a glance

Population
236,254
2024 ACS 5-Year
Median household income
$142,114
Top 1% nationally
Density
9,088/sq mi
26.0 sq mi of land
Median age
35.5
2024 ACS 5-Year
County
Arlington County
Virginia
Metro area
Washington-Arlington-Alexandria, DC-VA-MD-WV
Nearest major airport
IAD
20 mi · Washington Dulles Intl
Median home value
$895,000
2024 ACS 5-Year

Jobs & opportunity

Unemployment of 3.1% is lower than 92% of the 1,255 measured US locations.

Employment fell 3.0% over the past year, to 146,571 employed residents.

77% of adults hold a four-year degree, higher than 100% of measured US locations.

Household income is higher than at least 100% of measured US locations.

MetricValueCompared nationallySource period
Median household income ±$3,551$142,114Top 1%of 3,2222024 ACS 5-Year
Per capita income ±$1,921$90,786Top 1%of 3,2222024 ACS 5-Year
Per-capita personal income$126,108Top 1%of 1,2062023
Poverty rate7.4%Bottom 8%of 3,2222024 ACS 5-Year
Average commute28.6 minTop 31%of 3,2222024 ACS 5-Year
Bachelor's degree or higher77.1%Top 1%of 3,2222024 ACS 5-Year
Employment146,571Top 19%of 1,255June 2026
Employment change (3 years)-3.4%Bottom 12%of 1,255June 2026
Employment change (year over year)-3.0%Bottom 7%of 1,255June 2026
Labor force151,193Top 19%of 1,255June 2026
Labor force participation77.3%Top 1%of 3,2222024 ACS 5-Year
Unemployment change (year over year)0.2%Top 40%of 1,255June 2026
Unemployment rate3.1%Bottom 8%of 1,255June 2026
Unemployment rate
2021/062022/032022/122023/092024/062025/032025/102026/063.91.7
Monthly unemployment rate from the Bureau of Labor Statistics, most recent value 3.1% in June 2026. A break in the line is a month the Bureau of Labor Statistics did not publish for this area — it is left empty rather than estimated.
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

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.

63% of students met the state standard in mathematics and 74% in reading, across the schools here that reported results.

There are 14.5 students for every full-time teacher, fewer than in most measured places.

Public schools
42
2024-25 school year
Students per teacher
14.5
across all schools here
Math proficiency
62.5%
Top 22% in Virginia
Reading proficiency
74.4%
Top 20% in Virginia
SchoolDistrictStudentsPer teacherMathReading
Washington-Liberty HighArlington County Public Schools3,04418.2
Wakefield HighArlington County Public Schools2,64618.8
Yorktown HighArlington County Public Schools2,59318.7
Jefferson MiddleArlington County Public Schools1,12014.053%77%
Gunston MiddleArlington County Public Schools1,07215.857%77%
Kenmore MiddleArlington County Public Schools1,05314.247%62%
Swanson MiddleArlington County Public Schools99314.280%86%
Dorothy Hamm MiddleArlington County Public Schools98914.372%98%
Williamsburg MiddleArlington County Public Schools85615.386%93%
Abingdon ElementaryArlington County Public Schools76813.240%55%
Cardinal ElementaryArlington County Public Schools68214.579%82%
Oakridge ElementaryArlington County Public Schools63614.866%70%

30.8% of students here are eligible for free or reduced-price lunch. That describes the circumstances families arrive with rather than how the schools perform, which is why AreaProfile shows it and does not score it.

Public schools only, from the NCES Common Core of Data. Schools are placed by ZIP code, so this is which schools are in this place rather than which one a particular address is zoned for — district boundaries do not follow municipal ones, and enrollment zones change. Fully virtual schools are excluded: they enroll students from across the state while reporting one administrative address, and counting them here would describe a school population this place does not have. The assessment covers grades 3 through 8, so a high school shows no proficiency figure — a dash in those columns means the test was not given at that school, not that it performed badly. Proficiency is measured against Virginia’s own standard, so it compares cleanly within the state and only broadly against other states; AreaProfile therefore ranks it within state. The directory is current, while the proficiency figures are from the last school year with national coverage before the pandemic interrupted testing.

Housing & affordability

How it’s calculated →

Median rent of $2,322 takes 20% of median household income, below the 30% threshold at which a household is considered cost-burdened.

A median home costs 6.3 times median household income here, well above the historic benchmark, at a level conventionally described as seriously unaffordable.

Rent as a share of income
19.6%
Below the 30% cost-burdened threshold
Home price to income
6.3×
median home value ÷ median income
Median gross rent
$2,322
2024 ACS 5-Year
Median home value
$895,000
2024 ACS 5-Year
MetricValueCompared nationallySource period
Home price to income6.30Top 3%of 3,2192024 ACS 5-Year
Homeownership rate41.3%Bottom 1%of 3,2222024 ACS 5-Year
Housing units ±99121,970Top 8%of 3,2222024 ACS 5-Year
Median gross rent ±$26$2,322Top 1%of 3,2162024 ACS 5-Year
Median home value ±$16,854$895,000Top 1%of 3,2192024 ACS 5-Year
Rent as a share of income19.6%Top 24%of 3,2162024 ACS 5-Year
Vacancy rate8.2%Bottom 20%of 3,2222024 ACS 5-Year

Both affordability measures come from the same ACS release as the income they are compared with, so the comparison is like for like. They describe housing cost against local earnings and are not a cost-of-living index — transport, groceries, healthcare, insurance and taxes are not included, and a place can look affordable here and still be expensive to live in for reasons this does not capture.

Growth & development

How it’s calculated →
Development Momentum
65/ 100
Top 22% of 1,226 published city profiles
Permitting is increasing, measured from 2020 to 2025.

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.

Population has been broadly flat since 2020, at 239,807 in 2024.

Permitting has turned upward after moving the other way the year before.

94% of recently permitted units are in buildings of five or more homes, so new supply is concentrated in apartments and condominiums rather than detached houses.

At 12.1 permitted units per 1,000 residents, building activity is above the median for measured US locations.

Units permitted
2,852
12 months ending July 2026
Per 1,000 residents
12.1
Top 4% nationally
Year over year
+259%
vs the prior twelve months
Multifamily share
93.5%
units in 5+ unit buildings
Population, annual estimates
20202021202220232024240k233k
Census Population Estimates Program, July 1 of each year. These annual estimates are designed for year-over-year comparison, unlike the ACS five-year figure shown as this profile's population.
Housing units permitted per year
2020202120222023202420253k553
Annual totals from the Census Building Permits Survey. Permitting in 2025 was higher than 2020 (+137%).

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 index56.02024 calendar year
Annual precipitation41.8"1991-2020 Normals
Annual snowfall13.7"1991-2020 Normals
Average January low30°F1991-2020 Normals
Average July high90°F1991-2020 Normals
Comfortable months61991-2020 Normals
Days above AQI 10042024 calendar year
Median air quality index36.02024 calendar year
Seasonal temperature swing44°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. They describe what a typical year looks like rather than what the weather is doing today. Air quality is measured rather than modelled, by EPA monitors, and published by county only where a monitor sits — roughly half the counties AreaProfile publishes have one, and the rest show nothing rather than an estimate. Air masses are regional, so a county reading describes the air over a place reasonably well, but it is still the county reading.

Physical risk

87 / 100
Physical resilience

The hazards accounting for most of this area's expected annual loss are hurricane, strong wind and tornado.

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.

Hazard ratings are AreaProfile calculations derived from the FEMA National Risk Index v1.20.0 (December 2025). FEMA National Risk Index county record. FEMA does not endorse this presentation. Higher physical resilience means lower exposure.

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

Arlington County records 1.8 homicide deaths per 100,000 residents a year, lower than most counties measured. The CDC does not publish this below county level.

Firearm deaths of all intents run at 5.1 per 100,000 — more than the homicide rate, because nationally most firearm deaths are suicides.

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

Homicide
1.8
per 100,000 residents · under 10 deaths
Firearm deaths, all intents
5.1
per 100,000 residents · under 10 deaths
Drug overdose
5.6
per 100,000 residents
Suicide
6.0
per 100,000 residents

Firearm deaths count every intent together, and nationally the majority are suicides rather than homicides. The two columns overlap and should not be added.

Age-adjusted rates from provisional death certificate records, published by the CDC for Arlington County as a whole — these rates are not published below county level. A county can hold both a dense city centre and a suburb whose experience of it is nothing alike, so this describes the county around Arlington County rather than Arlington County itself. That is why AreaProfile shows these figures and does not put them in the Area Score. Where fewer than ten deaths were recorded the count is suppressed at source, and a rate built on single figures moves sharply between releases. What this measure has that reported crime does not: a death certificate is filed whether or not the local police agency submitted a return that year, so the figures stay comparable between places and over time.

What this profile does not cover

Three things people look for are missing from every AreaProfile page, and each is missing for a reason rather than by oversight. The Area Score is calculated without them and the weighting is documented on the methodology page.

Reported crime
Offences reported to police are published by department rather than by town, and only where a department reported every month of the year. No municipal department reports for this place — many smaller communities are policed by the county — so 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
Taxes are not published: no source covers them nationally with a method open enough to check. Cost of living now is — the index above is the Bureau of Economic Analysis price parity for this area — but it is a price level for all consumption rather than a budget for a household, its spread is driven mostly by housing, and it excludes taxes. Housing affordability is computed separately from rent, price and income, because that answers a narrower and more actionable question. Nothing here is individualised tax advice.
Anything about a specific address
Every figure describes an area, not a street or a house. School attendance zones, insurance pricing and the character of a neighbourhood all vary within the places measured here.

Access

4 major airports lie within 100 miles, the nearest 20 miles away.

AirportCodeDistanceLongest runway
Washington Dulles IntlIAD20 mi11,500 ft
Baltimore/Washington Intl Thurgood MarshallBWI31 mi10,503 ft
Harrisburg IntlMDT93 mi10,001 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
74
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Data & methodology

Used forSourceSource periodUpdated
AccessFederal Aviation Administration
Airports (NASR) — Aeronautical Data Delivery Service
NASR current cycle28-day NASR cycle
Physical riskFederal Emergency Management Agency
National Risk Index
National Risk Index December 2025 (v1.20.0)Periodic dataset versions (v1.20.0 current)
ClimateNOAA National Centers for Environmental Information
U.S. Climate Normals 1991–2020 (Monthly)
1991-2020 NormalsEvery ten years (next release follows the 2001–2030 period)
IncomeU.S. Bureau of Economic Analysis
Regional price parities and county personal income
2023Annually, each December
JobsU.S. Bureau of Labor Statistics
Local Area Unemployment Statistics
June 2026Monthly
DemographicsU.S. Census Bureau
Population Estimates Program
July 1, 2024 estimateAnnual (vintage released each spring)
DevelopmentU.S. Census Bureau
Building Permits Survey
12 months ending July 2026Monthly, roughly three weeks after the reference month
Demographics, Housing, Income, JobsU.S. Census Bureau
American Community Survey 5-Year Estimates (Table-Based Summary File)
2024 ACS 5-YearAnnual (5-year estimates released each December)
safetyU.S. Centers for Disease Control and Prevention, National Center for Health Statistics
Provisional county-level mortality by intent
April, 2025 to March, 2026Quarterly, with a rolling twelve-month window alongside complete calendar years
schoolsU.S. Department of Education, National Center for Education Statistics
Common Core of Data and EDFacts assessments
2019-20 school year; 2024-25 school yearDirectory annually; assessment results as EDFacts releases them
ClimateU.S. Environmental Protection Agency, Air Quality System
Daily Air Quality Index by county
2024 calendar yearAnnually, once a calendar year is complete

Profile recalculated August 30, 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 browse every source.

Cities in Arlington County, VA