Photo: Ttlouderback · CC BY-SA 4.0Arlington’s household incomes are higher than in 93% of U.S. towns
About one in ten stay in Arlington for work; outside it, Memphis is the main destination (56%, 20 miles). Poverty touches 4.9% of residents, against 13.8% across Tennessee. Jobs and income earn Arlington A; getting around on foot earns it C+.
Census ACS 2020–24, Census LEHD 2023, EPA Smart Location Database. How the two grades are made
What stands out about work in Arlington
More than half of Arlington works in Memphis
3,936 working residents, 56%, have their main job in Memphis, 20 miles away. That’s 6 times as many as work in Arlington itself. The commute map ↓
Arlington has added jobs fast
Jobs based in Arlington went from 2,580 in 2013 to 3,877 in 2023, +50%. The jobs ↓
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; a jump in jobs can partly be a big employer changing how it reports its locations.
The four measures behind Arlington’s grade
On income, poverty, unemployment and job access, Arlington is better than 91% of U.S. towns, #15 of 177 in Tennessee. Household income is its strongest input ($135,105, U.S. $80,734); unemployment ranks lowest, though still above most U.S. towns (3.4%, U.S. 5.2%). It also does well on the poverty rate and unemployment and job access by car.
A fairly firm grade. Within the Census margins of error for income, poverty and unemployment, Arlington could be anywhere from B+ to A+.
Where Arlington goes to work
Where Arlington clocks in
56% of workers
6% of workers
5% 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.
Goods jobs make up 30% of work in Arlington
3,877 jobs are based in Arlington.
What kind of work
What it pays
Who does it
Jobs based in Arlington, 2013 → 2023: 2,580 → 3,877. 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.
The workday shuffle in and out of Arlington
On a workday 6,376 residents head out to work, 616 work right here, and 3,261 people come in from elsewhere.
About 13,000 people are in Arlington on a workday afternoon, 20% fewer than live here.
0.55 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.
The trip to work from Arlington: about 27 minutes
Round trip, about 230 workdays a year: roughly 8.7 full days in the car, bus or train.
Average commute minutes, one way
of Arlington workers work from home, vs 13% across Tennessee. Their commute is the hallway.
Share of the 6,640 commuters (the 15% who work from home are left out). Across Tennessee: 87% drive alone, <1% take transit; U.S.: 81% and 4%. Census ACS 2020–24.
From the Census survey of workers who don’t work from home.
The commute from Arlington, by distance
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.
Few in Arlington walk, bike or ride to work
On EPA’s walkability index and the share of commuters who walk, bike or take transit, Arlington is more walkable than 43% of U.S. towns, #73 of 177 in Tennessee. The street layout scores higher than the way people actually get to work: 0.5% of commuters walk, bike or take transit, below the 2.0% across Tennessee.
A firm grade. EPA’s index has no published margin of error; the commuting share comes from a Census survey of 7,803 workers.
How TownRatings grades walkability →
Transit service (shown, not graded). 0% of residents live within a ¾-mile walk of a bus or train stop, 0% within a quarter mile. At the weekday evening rush, about under 0.1 trips an hour stop near the typical resident, more than in 20% 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). 0.7% of Arlington households have no vehicle (Tennessee 5.2%, U.S. 8.4%). 0% of Arlington’s commuters take a bus or train.
Ranked on jobs and income, Arlington is 340th among 2,109 U.S. towns of 11,000 to 21,000
| # | Town | People | Household income | Poverty | Unemployment | Work in town | Grade |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| 1 | New Albany OH | 11,803 | $238K | 1.4% | 0.9% | 11% | A+ |
| 2 | Plain Township OH | 13,257 | $219K | 2.1% | 0.8% | 10% | A+ |
| 3 | Rogers MN | 15,606 | $159K | 1.9% | 1.2% | 10% | A+ |
| … | |||||||
| 35 | Nolensville TN | 15,789 | $177K | 2.1% | 2.4% | 4% | A+ |
| … | |||||||
| 190 | Lakeland TN | 14,422 | $116K | 3.2% | 2.8% | 4% | A |
| … | |||||||
| 338 | Duxbury MA | 16,498 | $177K | 5.1% | 3.3% | 11% | A |
| 339 | Kearney MO | 11,296 | $104K | 3.6% | 2.6% | 11% | A |
| 340 | Arlington TN | 15,703 | $135K | 4.9% | 3.4% | 9% | A |
| 341 | Brookfield CT | 18,566 | $148K | 4.1% | 3.5% | 14% | A |
| 342 | Rancho Mission Viejo CA | 11,971 | $193K | 2.7% | 4.1% | 2% | A |
| … | |||||||
| 517 | Powell TN | 13,739 | $82K | 4.1% | 2.8% | 3% | A |
| … | |||||||
| 2,109 | Douglas AZ | 16,038 | $42K | 27.8% | 12.3% | 29% | 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 Tennessee.
Work in the towns next to Arlington
The biggest share goes to Lakeland (2%).
Average commute minutes, one way
Jobs & commute next door
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?
$135,105 (±$11,483) (Census ACS 2020–24), against $69,595 across Tennessee and $80,734 nationally.
What is the poverty rate in Arlington?
4.9%, against 13.8% across Tennessee and 12.5% nationally (Census ACS 2020–24).
How long is the commute from Arlington?
27 minutes each way on average, against 26 across Tennessee and 26 nationally. 15% of workers work from home.
Where do people who live in Arlington work?
9% work in town. The top destinations elsewhere are Memphis (56%, 20 mi), Bartlett (6%, 9 mi), Collierville (5%, 14 mi) (Census LEHD 2023).
Is Arlington walkable?
Arlington is more walkable than 43% of U.S. towns (Walkability C+): an EPA walkability index of 8.2 out of 20, and <1% of commuters walk, bike or take transit.
Can you get around Arlington without a car?
0% of commuters take transit and 1% of households have no car. 0% 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.