Scores by category

Each category averages its indicators' percentile scores among US cities and towns.

Safety64#5,612/15,637
Economy84#2,461/15,631
Housing79#3,156/14,977
Health99#145/15,609
Healthcare83#2,639/15,650
Environment76#3,782/15,453
Education100#24/15,649
Infrastructure99#177/15,650
Community99#142/15,651
Leisure & amenities84#2,480/15,651

Strengths · Weaknesses

Indicators where Arlington, Virginia ranks highest and lowest among US cities and towns (score = percentile, 100 = best). Values marked “Arlington County value” are the county’s: the source publishes no figure for this city or town, and the county holding most of its residents stands in.

Strengths

Traffic deaths · low2.2 /100k
100/100Virginia 10.7 /100kUnited States 12.3 /100k2020-2024National Highway Traffic Safety AdministrationProvisional dataArlington County value
Injury deaths · low32 /100k
100/100Virginia 78 /100kUnited States 87 /100k2019-2023University of Wisconsin Population Health InstituteArlington County value
Premature death · low3,622 /100k
100/100Virginia 7,587 /100kUnited States 8,123 /100k2021-2023University of Wisconsin Population Health InstituteArlington County value
Distance to an airport · low4 mi
100/100Virginia 32 miUnited States 33 mi2025Federal Aviation Administration · Bureau of Transportation Statistics · U.S. Census BureauArlington County value
Access to exercise opportunities · high100.0%
100/100Virginia 83.8%United States 84.5%2022 & 2024University of Wisconsin Population Health InstituteArlington County value
Distance to an emergency room · low1.9 mi
100/100Virginia 5.8 miUnited States 5.5 miJul 2026Centers for Medicare & Medicaid ServicesArlington County value

Weaknesses

Job growth · low-5.4%
1/100Virginia -0.2%United States 0.1%2026 Q1U.S. Bureau of Labor StatisticsProvisional dataArlington County value
Time spent in the emergency room · high240 min
5/100Virginia 164 minUnited States 170 minOct 2024–Sep 2025Centers for Medicare & Medicaid ServicesArlington County value
Child care cost burden · high40.9%
7/100Virginia 24.4%United States 27.9%2023 & 2024University of Wisconsin Population Health InstituteArlington County value
Home price to income ratio · high6.3×
9/100Virginia 4.1×United States 4.1×2020-2024U.S. Census Bureau Census table B25077
Property crime rate · high1,887 /100k
16/100Virginia 1,354 /100kUnited States 1,535 /100k2025Federal Bureau of InvestigationArlington County value
Drought exposure · high71%
22/100Virginia 70%United States 43%Oct 2025–Sep 2026National Drought Mitigation Center (University of Nebraska–Lincoln), USDA and NOAAArlington County value

Trends

The largest changes over about five years, next to the country's over the same periods.

Public transit commutersWorsening
27.4% (2015-2019) → 14.0% (2020-2024)
−13 pts5 yearsCensus table B08301US 5.0% → 3.2%
Broadband subscriptionsImproving
91.3% (2015-2019) → 95.2% (2020-2024)
+4 pts5 yearsCensus table B28002US 82.7% → 91.0%
Median household incomeImproving
$120,071 (2015-2019) → $142,114 (2020-2024)
+18%5 yearsCensus table B19013US $65,712 → $81,604
Average commute timeImproving
29.2 min (2015-2019) → 26.2 min (2020-2024)
−10%5 yearsCensus table B08013US 26.9 min → 26.4 min
Bachelor's degree or higherImproving
75.3% (2015-2019) → 77.1% (2020-2024)
+1.8 pts5 yearsCensus table B15003US 32.1% → 35.7%
Rent-burdened householdsWorsening
38.5% (2015-2019) → 40.1% (2020-2024)
+1.6 pts5 yearsCensus table B25070US 49.6% → 51.1%

What changed in five years

How each measure moved between two periods about five years apart, read against whether more or less is better, the published margin of error and the same change in other places.

Over about five years, Arlington, Virginia improved on 3 of 15 measures with a comparison and declined on 5. 7 moved within the margin of error and 0 barely changed.

Earlier (2015-2019)
Latest (2020-2024)
Lower standingHigher standing

Position is the place's standing among cities and towns: further right is better, whichever way the measure counts.

Improved3

Commute−2.9 min29.2 min → 26.2 min
Household income+18%$120,071 → $142,114
Broadband+4 points91.3% → 95.2%

Declined5

Transit use−13 points27.4% → 14.0%
Inequality+0.0190.441 → 0.460
Unemployment+0.6 points2.7% → 3.3%
Rent / income+0.9 points25.6% → 26.5%
Price / income+0.4×5.9× → 6.3×

All 15 measures

Change of every measure of Arlington, Virginia between two periods about five years apart
Measure	Before	After	Change	Reading	Favourable vs peers
Average commute time	29.2 min2015-2019	26.2 min2020-2024	−2.9 min	Improved	79%
Bachelor's degree or higher	75.3%2015-2019	77.1%2020-2024	+1.8 points	Within the margin of error	41%
Broadband subscriptions	91.3%2015-2019	95.2%2020-2024	+4 points	Improved	25%
Child poverty rate	6.6%2015-2019	7.8%2020-2024	+1.2 points	Within the margin of error	34%
Effective property tax rate	0.89%2015-2019	0.85%2020-2024	−0 points	Within the margin of error	22%
High school diploma or higher	94.3%2015-2019	95.2%2020-2024	+0.8 points	Within the margin of error	44%
Home price to income ratio	5.9×2015-2019	6.3×2020-2024	+0.4×	Declined	53%
Income inequality (Gini index)	0.4412015-2019	0.4602020-2024	+0.019	Declined	34%
Median household income	$120,0712015-2019	$142,1142020-2024	+18%	Improved	30%
Poverty rate	6.8%2015-2019	7.4%2020-2024	+0.6 points	Within the margin of error	38%
Public transit commuters	27.4%2015-2019	14.0%2020-2024	−13 points	Declined	1%
Rent as share of income	25.6%2015-2019	26.5%2020-2024	+0.9 points	Declined	48%
Rent-burdened households	38.5%2015-2019	40.1%2020-2024	+1.6 points	Within the margin of error	50%
Unemployment rate	2.7%2015-2019	3.3%2020-2024	+0.6 points	Declined	37%
Uninsured residents (under 65)	6.4%2015-2019	5.7%2020-2024	−0.7 points	Within the margin of error	55%

“Against peers” compares the change with the same change in the 14640 cities and towns that have the same two periods. It describes how common a change is, not why it happened.

Sources: American Community Survey 5-Year Estimates. Values are the latest and the one five years earlier of the same publisher dataset; datasets that changed publisher in between are never compared.

Survey estimates (American Community Survey) compare the two most recent 5-year windows that do not share years, so the margin of error of the difference holds. The 2015-2019 window predates the pandemic and 2020-2024 includes it.
A change counts only when it is larger than 1.645 times the square root of the two standard errors squared, summed (a 90% margin). Measures published without a margin must change by at least 5% to count.
“Against peers” compares the change with the same change in the 15651 cities and towns that have the same two periods. It describes how common a change is, not why it happened.
Standing is a percentile among the same places: 0 is the lowest value on the measure (or the worst when lower is better), 100 the best.

Cities and towns like Arlington, Virginia five years ago that improved

The places whose measures looked most like those of Arlington, Virginia in the earlier period, ranked by how many measures improved beyond the margin of error, minus how many declined. A comparison of published data, not a forecast and not advice.

For comparison, Arlington, Virginia itself moved −2 points in standing on average over the same 10 measures (standings of all places average about zero).

How the ranking works

Similarity is the root-mean-square difference of standings in the earlier period over the measures most places have. Places are ranked by measures that improved beyond the margin of error minus those that declined (a count that estimation noise in small places cannot inflate), then by the mean change of standing over the measures a place has in both periods. Only places with more improvements than declines and a rise in standing are listed. Standings are relative, so a place can improve in absolute terms and still lose standing.

Who lives here

Age, race and education of residents, from the American Community Survey. Shares are of all residents (age), residents of every origin (race) or adults 25 and over (education).

Age and sex

236,254 residents

Men
Women

80 and over
70–79
60–69
50–59
40–49
30–39
20–29
10–19
Under 10

Share of all residents, each sex

Biggest shift since 2015–2019: 30–39 men (−1.4 points).

Table view

American Community Survey 5-year estimates, 2020–2024 · Table B01001View table on data.census.gov

Race and Hispanic origin

236,254 residents

Arlington, Virginia
Virginia share

White58%136,939
Black9.3%21,913
Hispanic or Latino16%37,572

Education

173,940 residents (±53)

Arlington, Virginia
Virginia share

No high school diploma4.8%8,381
High school or GED6.8%11,743
Some college8.1%14,076

Counts are survey estimates, each with a margin of error. The grouping into ranges is ours; every count is the Census Bureau's.

Income

How household income is spread, not just the middle: each bar is the share of households in that income range.

Household income

112,027 households (±978)

Arlington, Virginia
Virginia share

Under $25k8.2%9,218
$25k–50k7.5%8,401
$50k–75k8.6%9,670
$75k–100k9.9%11,133
$100k–150k18%20,467
$150k–200k15%16,583
$200k or more33%36,555

Biggest shift since 2015–2019: $200k or more (+9.1 points).

Table view

American Community Survey 5-year estimates, 2020–2024 · Table B19001View table on data.census.gov

Counts are survey estimates, each with a margin of error. The grouping into ranges is ours; every count is the Census Bureau's.

Homes

Who owns and who rents, what homes cost, and what the housing stock looks like.

Owners and renters

112,027 households (±978)

Arlington, Virginia
Virginia share

Own41%46,221
Rent59%65,806

Biggest shift since 2015–2019: Own (−1.5 points).

Table view

American Community Survey 5-year estimates, 2020–2024 · Table B25003View table on data.census.gov

Rent paid

64,630 households (±1,304)

Arlington, Virginia
Virginia share

Under $7502.4%1,524
$750–1,0001.0%618
$1,000–1,5006.1%3,945

Home values

46,221 homes (±1,138)

Arlington, Virginia
Virginia share

Under $150k1.5%†690
$150k–250k2.8%1,300
$250k–400k7.8%3,617

Age of homes

121,970 homes (±99)

Arlington, Virginia
Virginia share

2010 or later14%16,571
2000–200914%16,723
1980–199920%24,014

Size of homes

121,970 homes (±99)

Arlington, Virginia
Virginia share

Studio8.4%10,212
1 bedroom31%37,726
2 bedrooms30%36,316

Counts are survey estimates, each with a margin of error. The grouping into ranges is ours; every count is the Census Bureau's.

Getting to work

How workers travel to their job and how long it takes them.

How people get to work

146,240 workers (±1,131)

Arlington, Virginia
Virginia share

Drive alone38%55,534
Carpool5.0%7,277
Public transit14%20,421
Walk4.4%6,462
Bike1.4%1,997
Work from home35%51,582
Other2.0%2,967

Biggest shift since 2015–2019: Work from home (+28.6 points).

Table view

American Community Survey 5-year estimates, 2020–2024 · Table B08301View table on data.census.gov

Time to get to work

94,658 workers (±2,230)

Arlington, Virginia
Virginia share

Under 15 min18%17,226
15–29 min40%37,688
30–44 min27%25,862

Counts are survey estimates, each with a margin of error. The grouping into ranges is ours; every count is the Census Bureau's.

Jobs and pay

What the largest occupations here pay, from the Bureau of Labor Statistics' Occupational Employment and Wage Statistics survey.

The Bureau of Labor Statistics publishes pay by metro area, not by county or city. The metro area page lists its largest occupations and lets you look up any job.

Pay in the Washington-Arlington-Alexandria, DC-VA-MD-WV

Local businesses

Employer businesses and sole proprietors by industry, per resident and against the state and the nation. Counts of businesses next to counts of people, not a measure of demand.

The Census Bureau publishes business counts by county, not by city, so these are the figures of Arlington County, the county holding most of Arlington's residents.

Arlington County has 6,334 employer establishments, 270 for every 10,000 residents (1.09× the US rate of 248; 1.12× Virginia's), with 159,716 paid employees at an average annual pay of $113,611. The Census Bureau also counts 24,420 nonemployer businesses, mostly sole proprietors.

Establishments: 6,334; 24,420 nonemployers
Per 10,000 residents: 270; US 248 · Virginia 241
Paid employees: 159,716
Average annual pay: $113,611; US $68,342

Employer establishments, employees, average pay and nonemployers of Arlington County by industry, with the density per resident against the nation

Management, scientific and technical consulting	589	25.1	3.75×More than typical	21,994	$143,703	2,453
Restaurants and other eating places	541	23.1	1.26×More than typical	11,534	$29,087	148
Lessors of real estate	503	21.5	1.74×More than typical	3,630	$103,746	1,889
Computer systems design and related services	501	21.4	4.94×More than typical	15,037	$145,006	475
Ambulatory health care services	427	18.2	0.87×About typical	4,156	$120,629	1,047
Full-service restaurants	247	10.5	1.37×More than typical	6,601	$32,509	87
Limited-service restaurants	225	9.6	1.20×About typical	3,910	$25,221	43
Architectural, engineering and related services	190	8.1	2.33×More than typical	4,465	$125,672	177
Personal care services	156	6.7	1.39×More than typical	1,046	$37,679	397
Offices of physicians	144	6.1	0.95×About typical	2,201	$166,223	203
Real estate agents and brokers	140	6	1.23×About typical	371	$106,544	525
Legal services	128	5.5	1.02×About typical	1,386	$125,783	445

Rank places for an industry Open Arlington County

County Business Patterns (2023); Nonemployer Statistics (2024)

Per-resident figures divide by the population estimate of 2023: 234,369 residents here, 336,755,052 in the United States. County Business Patterns counts establishments in 2023; the Nonemployer Statistics count businesses in 2024.
“More than typical” is a density at least 1.25 times the nation's per resident, “fewer” at most 0.8 times, with at least 10 establishments. It compares counts of businesses with counts of people: it says nothing about demand, incomes, size, quality or profit, and visitors and commuters are not residents.
The Census Bureau adds noise to employment and payroll to protect confidentiality, and withholds some figures: an industry with few establishments can show employees or pay as unavailable.
Industries overlap: a narrower industry (full-service restaurants) is part of a broader one (restaurants), so the rows do not add up.
Industries follow the North American Industry Classification System; the two surveys use different editions (NAICS 2017 and 2022), which this page matches industry by industry.

Federal contracts performed here

In FY2026, an estimated $13.8B of federal contract obligations were for work performed in Arlington, Virginia: $58,296 per resident (US $1,994).

Obligations: $13.8B; −3.9% vs FY2025
Per resident: $58,296; US $1,994
Sole-source: 36%; US 30%
Single offer: 17%; US 8.8%

A signal is a reason to look closer, not evidence of wrongdoing: most sole-source awards are lawful and justified.

Top buying agencies

Department of the Navy$3.9B28%
Office of Procurement Operations$1.6B11%
Federal Acquisition Service$1.4B10%
Department of the Army$901.8M6.5%
Department of Veterans Affairs$815.3M5.9%
Department of State$618.6M4.5%
U.S. Immigration and Customs Enforcement$618.4M4.5%
Department of the Air Force$417.6M3.0%

Top recipients

LOCKHEED MARTIN CORPORATION$3.2B23%
ACCENTURE FEDERAL SERVICES LLC$1.9B14%
DELOITTE CONSULTING LLP$974.9M7.1%
SALUS WORLDWIDE SOLUTIONS CORP.$562.3M4.1%
DAEDALUS AVIATION CORPORATION$463.6M3.4%

Spending by fiscal year

6.8BFY2017
7.5BFY2018
7.8BFY2019
9.3BFY2020
9.2BFY2021
9.8BFY2022
11.3BFY2023
13.5B

Top industries (NAICS)

Computer systems design and related services · 5415$4.9B36%
Aerospace product and parts manufacturing · 3364$3.2B23%
Management, scientific, and technical consulting services · 5416$1.2B9.0%
Nonscheduled air transportation · 4812$1B7.5%
Architectural, engineering, and related services · 5413$619.7M4.5%

Part of this section could not be loaded in time.

Source: Federal contract transactions (Federal Procurement Data System) (U.S. Department of the Treasury, USAspending.gov), data current to Oct 3, 2026, loaded Oct 3, 2026.

How this is estimated

Agencies report each contract action's place of performance as a county and a ZIP code. A ZIP code's money is split among the cities it covers by the share of its land inside each (Census 2020 ZIP code tabulation areas); the part outside city limits stays with the county.

The place of performance is what the contracting agency reports, often the contractor's office rather than where the work happens.
Shares are of land, not of people or businesses: a ZIP code that is mostly rural land but has its offices in town gives the town less than it should.
ZIP codes that are not mapped areas (post office boxes, the unique ZIP codes of large federal sites and companies) stay with their county, unless one city covers nearly all of it.
Counts of actions and awards include those only partly in Arlington, Virginia, so they do not add up across cities.

Arlington, Virginia's figures are part of those of Arlington County, VA ($13.8B in FY2026), never added to them: 100% of that total.

Grants and other federal assistance are counted by county here, not split among cities: Arlington is mostly in Arlington County.

See federal money in Arlington County

Representation in Congress

Members serving today, with their record in the current Congress (party-unity votes cast with their caucus, roll calls missed). Not a grade.

Arlington, Virginia is represented in the 119th Congress by these members.

House

Donald S. Beyer, Jr.D-VA-8 · 100% of residentsWith party 99%Missed 2.2%

Senate

Explore Congress The 2026 races

County

A city can lie in several counties. Some indicators are published for counties only: the page marks them.

Arlington County97100% of residents

Metro area

The metro or micro area the city belongs to.

Washington-Arlington-Alexandria, DC-VA-MD-WV86

Similar cities and towns

Closest indicator profiles across the country (no model: score distances).

Data and sources

Latest published value of each indicator; periods differ by source. Values flagged by their publisher are marked.

PLACES: Local Data for Better HealthCenters for Disease Control and Prevention · release 2025
Local Area Unemployment StatisticsU.S. Bureau of Labor Statistics · release 2025
American Community Survey 5-Year EstimatesU.S. Census Bureau · release 2017-2024
Population Estimates ProgramU.S. Census Bureau · release 2025
Small Area Health Insurance EstimatesU.S. Census Bureau · release 2024
Small Area Income and Poverty EstimatesU.S. Census Bureau · release 2024
County Health Rankings & RoadmapsUniversity of Wisconsin Population Health Institute · release 2022-2025+2026-03-supplement

JSON · /api/v1/places/5103000

Scores by category

Strengths · Weaknesses

Strengths

Weaknesses

Trends