Photo: Tim Pierce · CC BY 3.0Household incomes in Arlington are higher than in 95% of U.S. towns
For 34% of workers, the job is at home (Massachusetts 19%). 5.4% of residents live below the poverty line; Massachusetts has 10.0%. The two grades for Arlington are A+ for jobs and income and A+ for walkability.
Census ACS 2020–24, Census LEHD 2023, EPA Smart Location Database. How the two grades are made
What sets Arlington apart on work
Most Arlington residents work close to home
78% of working residents have their main job less than 10 miles from home. Only 3% work more than 50 miles away. How far ↓
Home offices are common in Arlington
35% of Arlington workers work from home, against 19% across Massachusetts. Time on the road ↓
Short distances, slow trips
Half of Arlington’s working residents have a job less than 6 miles away, yet the average commute still takes 32 minutes, longer than the Massachusetts average of 29. Time on the road ↓
Four in five Arlington workers earn over $40,000 a year
80% of Arlington’s working residents earn over $3,333 a month (about $40,000 a year) at their main job, the top earnings band in the Census data. The jobs ↓
Arlington draws workers from far and wide
The 9,613 jobs in Arlington are filled from a wide area. Arlington’s own residents hold 17% and the ten next-biggest home towns 28%; the other 55% come from many towns beyond those. The commute map ↓
Written from the Census figures on this page. Commute flows, distances and jobs are Census LEHD 2023, primary jobs only (the self-employed aren’t counted); commute time and working from home are from the Census American Community Survey.
The four measures behind Arlington’s grade
On income, poverty, unemployment and job access, Arlington is better than 96% of U.S. towns, #19 of 283 in Massachusetts. Job access by car is its strongest input (ahead of 97% of U.S. towns); unemployment ranks lowest, though still above most U.S. towns (2.9%, U.S. 5.2%). It also does well on household income and the poverty rate and unemployment.
A fairly firm grade. Within the Census margins of error for income, poverty and unemployment, Arlington could be anywhere from A to A+.
How far Arlington goes to work
Straight-line distance from each worker’s home block to their main job’s block. LEHD 2023.
Every working resident’s trip, home to work, as the crow flies. Roads add to it, so real drives run longer.
About 32 minutes each way for Arlington’s commuters
Round trip, about 230 workdays a year: roughly 10.3 full days in the car, bus or train.
Average commute minutes, one way
of Arlington workers work from home, vs 19% across Massachusetts. Their commute is the hallway.
Share of the 17,664 commuters (the 34% who work from home are left out). Across Massachusetts: 75% drive alone, 8% take transit; U.S.: 81% and 4%. Census ACS 2020–24.
From the Census survey of workers who don’t work from home.
65% of the jobs in Arlington pay over $3,333 a month
9,613 jobs are based in Arlington.
What kind of work
What it pays
Who does it
Jobs based in Arlington, 2013 → 2023: 8,131 → 9,613. Big swings can come from how a large employer reports its locations, not only from real openings or closings.
Primary jobs covered by unemployment insurance (not the self-employed). Pay is monthly earnings. LEHD 2023.
Here is what they are, next to the jobs Arlington’s own residents hold wherever they work.
27% of working residents work in Boston
Where Arlington clocks in
27% of workers
17% of workers
4% of workersLines run between town centers. The top 10 towns each way; “Everywhere else” is the rest, including other states.
A thicker line means more commuters. Switch between where residents work and where the people who work here live.
Who commutes out of Arlington, and who commutes in
On a workday 21,438 residents head out to work, 1,653 work right here, and 7,960 people come in from elsewhere.
About 33,000 people are in Arlington on a workday afternoon, 29% fewer than live here.
0.42 jobs for every working resident, so most people commute out.
Workday population = residents − those who work elsewhere + those who come in (the Census “commuter-adjusted” method). Residents: Census survey; commuters: LEHD 2023, primary jobs.
Arlington is among the most walkable U.S. towns
On EPA’s walkability index and the share of commuters who walk, bike or take transit, Arlington is among the most walkable U.S. towns, #8 of 283 in Massachusetts. Both inputs place Arlington near the same point nationally.
A firm grade. EPA’s index has no published margin of error; the commuting share comes from a Census survey of 26,959 workers.
How TownRatings grades walkability →
Transit service (shown, not graded). Nearly all residents live within a ¾-mile walk of a bus or train stop, 69% within a quarter mile. At the weekday evening rush, about 17.8 trips an hour stop near the typical resident, more than in 97% of the 9,825 U.S. towns with transit data.
Transit at the evening rush trips an hour stopping within ¼ mile of the typical resident, EPA 2020
Households without a car (shown, not graded). 9.4% of Arlington households have no vehicle (Massachusetts 11.7%, U.S. 8.4%). 17% of Arlington’s commuters take a bus or train.
How Arlington ranks: 37th of 923 U.S. towns of 33,000 to 63,000
| # | Town | People | Household income | Poverty | Unemployment | Work in town | Grade |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| 1 | McLean VA | 49,627 | $250K | 2.9% | 2.3% | 6% | A+ |
| 2 | Leawood KS | 34,093 | $186K | 3.1% | 2.0% | 9% | A+ |
| 3 | Upper Arlington OH | 35,893 | $155K | 3.3% | 2.0% | 7% | A+ |
| … | |||||||
| 18 | Lexington MA | 34,648 | $238K | 4.7% | 2.9% | 11% | A+ |
| … | |||||||
| 32 | Shrewsbury MA | 39,627 | $139K | 3.7% | 2.4% | 7% | A+ |
| … | |||||||
| 35 | Valley Stream NY | 40,379 | $133K | 5.5% | 2.8% | 6% | A+ |
| 36 | Germantown TN | 40,001 | $150K | 2.7% | 3.2% | 10% | A+ |
| 37 | Arlington MA | 46,563 | $151K | 5.4% | 2.9% | 7% | A+ |
| 38 | Odenton MD | 45,002 | $128K | 4.5% | 2.8% | 5% | A+ |
| 39 | New Berlin WI | 39,953 | $101K | 4.1% | 2.2% | 10% | A+ |
| … | |||||||
| 80 | Natick MA | 36,969 | $139K | 5.8% | 3.2% | 14% | A |
| … | |||||||
| 923 | Bullhead City AZ | 43,987 | $51K | 18.7% | 11.5% | 26% | D− |
Census ACS 2020–24 (income, poverty, unemployment), Census LEHD (work in town), TownRatings Jobs & income grades. Each town links to its Work & commute page.
Ranked on the Jobs & income grade: the towns either side of Arlington, the top three, the last and three more from Massachusetts.
24% of Arlington works in a bordering town
The biggest share goes to Cambridge (17%).
Average commute minutes, one way
Jobs & commute next door
| Town | Arlington workers there | Jobs & income | Walkability | Commute | Household income |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| Arlington | – | A+ | A+ | 32 min | $150,701 |
| Belmont | under 2% | A | A+ | 29 min | $183,137 |
| Medford | 2% | A | A+ | 30 min | $129,540 |
| Cambridge | 17% | A− | A+ | 26 min | $130,748 |
| Somerville | 2% | A | A+ | 31 min | $132,572 |
| Lexington | 3% | A+ | A+ | 31 min | $238,444 |
| Winchester | under 2% | A+ | A+ | 31 min | $230,198 |
Same-state neighbors only. Commute: average minutes each way, Census ACS 2020–24.
Darker towns draw more of Arlington’s workers. Tap a town to see its commute.
What this data can and can’t tell you
- Two sources, two years. Trips, distances and jobs based here: Census LEHD 2023, primary jobs, where the employer reports them. Income, poverty, unemployment, commute time and how people travel: Census ACS 2020–24 averages.
- Straight lines, older transit. Miles are as the crow flies. EPA’s walkability and transit files use 2017–20 inputs.
Jobs and commuting in Arlington: questions
What is the median household income in Arlington?
$150,701 (±$4,963) (Census ACS 2020–24), against $103,960 across Massachusetts and $80,734 nationally.
What is the poverty rate in Arlington?
5.4%, against 10.0% across Massachusetts and 12.5% nationally (Census ACS 2020–24).
How long is the commute from Arlington?
32 minutes each way on average, against 29 across Massachusetts and 26 nationally. 34% of workers work from home.
Where do people who live in Arlington work?
7% work in town. The top destinations elsewhere are Boston (27%, 10 mi), Cambridge (17%, 4 mi), Waltham (4%, 4 mi) (Census LEHD 2023).
Is Arlington walkable?
Arlington is among the most walkable U.S. towns (Walkability A+): an EPA walkability index of 15.0 out of 20, and 27% of commuters walk, bike or take transit.
Can you get around Arlington without a car?
17% of commuters take transit and 9% of households have no car. 69% of residents live within a quarter mile of a stop.
Commuter talk
Getting to work from Arlington, from the people who make the trip.
More of Arlington
Flows, distances and jobs: U.S. Census Bureau, LEHD Origin-Destination Employment Statistics (LODES 8), 2023, primary jobs. Commute time, working from home and working out of state: U.S. Census Bureau, American Community Survey 5-year estimates. Distances are straight lines between home and work; real drives run longer. Walkability index, job access and transit service: U.S. EPA Smart Location Database. The two grades are our own summaries of these figures, not official ratings.