Photo: Michael Barera · CC BY-SA 4.0Even on the area’s higher pay, Arlington costs more to live in than 82% of U.S. towns
It ranks #447 of 642 in Texas and #183 of 400 U.S. cities over 100,000 for affordability. Down 0.5% in a year, close to the Texas typical home.
Census 2020–24 home values, rents, tax bills and cost burden, measured against the median household income of the Dallas-Fort Worth-Arlington, TX metro area ($90K). How TownRatings grades cost of living
The grade measures what housing costs against what households in the area earn. Arlington’s area earns well above the typical U.S. town ($90K against $74K), but homes, rent and taxes here run higher still. Owners keep up better than renters: 23% of owners pay 30% or more of income for housing (typical U.S. town: 20%), against 60% of renters.
In dollars
- $307Ktypical home, 3% above the Texas typical homeZillow, September 2026
- $1,950a month for a two-bedroom, utilities includedHUD Fair Market Rent, 2026
- 103prices across the Dallas metro, where the U.S. is 100 (housing 118)BEA Regional Price Parities, 2024
In paychecks the grade
- 3.4 yrsof area income buys the typical home; the typical U.S. town: 3.3$90K, Dallas-area income
- 20%of area income goes to the median rent; the typical U.S. town: 18%Census 2020–24
- 60%of renters pay 30%+ of income for housing; across Texas: 52%Census 2020–24
- 23%of owners do; the typical U.S. town: 20%Census 2020–24
What Arlington’s housing numbers say
Prices are 7% below their 2022 peak
The typical Arlington home peaked at $330K in August 2022 and is worth about $307K now. Texas as a whole is 6% off its own peak. Over five years, Arlington is still up 13%. Price trend ↓
Most new homes are apartments and condos
Of the 16,319 homes permitted in Arlington’s past 10 years, 62% were in buildings with two or more homes, not single-family houses. New homes ↓
A median income doesn’t stretch to the towns next door
At Arlington’s median income, the calculator’s budget of about $268K covers neither the typical home here ($307K) nor in any of the four neighboring towns. The least expensive is Fort Worth at $293K. Can I afford it? ↓
Written from the data on this page. Home values are the Zillow Home Value Index, through September 2026; sales and supply are Redfin’s for May 2026; permits are Census figures through 2025; incomes, rents paid, taxes and ownership come from the Census American Community Survey.
What’s behind Arlington’s grade
Measured against what households in the area earn, Arlington is more affordable than 18% of U.S. towns, #447 of 642 in Texas. The share of households paying 30%+ for housing pulls the grade down most; home prices hold it up.
Prices here have kept pace with Texas: up 12.9% in five years, against 10.1% statewide (Zillow).
Up 12.9% in five years
About the same pace as Texas (10.1%).
Show as a table
| January | Arlington | Texas |
|---|---|---|
| 2017 | $174,000 | $188,000 |
| 2018 | $193,000 | $200,000 |
| 2019 | $208,000 | $212,000 |
| 2020 | $220,000 | $221,000 |
| 2021 | $241,000 | $240,000 |
| 2022 | $287,000 | $284,000 |
| 2023 | $322,000 | $310,000 |
| 2024 | $321,000 | $308,000 |
| 2025 | $319,000 | $308,000 |
| 2026 | $308,000 | $300,000 |
| September 2026 | $307,000 | $296,000 |
A typical Arlington home worth $169K in October 2016 is worth about $307K today.
Zillow Home Value Index: the typical value of all homes (middle third), smoothed and seasonally adjusted, through September 2026.
A seller's market
Supply is tight — about 2.8 months of homes for sale at the current pace. Buyers should expect competition on well-priced homes.
Under ~4 months of supply favors sellers; over ~6 favors buyers.
Redfin Data Center, all residential sales, May 2026.
A year’s rent takes 20% of area income
The calculator starts from the area income the grade uses. Switch to Arlington’s own median, or type yours.
That covers a typical Arlington home, with $15K to spare.
A two-bedroom rents for about $1,950 a month here, $50 less than owning.
An estimate, not a loan offer: payments of up to 28% of income, a 30-year fixed loan, Arlington’s typical property tax (1.55% of value a year, from the Census) and insurance of about 0.35%. Mortgage insurance, HOA fees and other debts aren’t included.
A two-bedroom rents for about $1,950
Renters already here pay a median of $1,470, so moving in tends to cost more than staying put.
Fair Market Rent a month, utilities included
U.S. Department of Housing and Urban Development, Fair Market Rents by ZIP code (Fort Worth-Arlington, TX HUD Metro FMR Area): the 40th-percentile rent plus utilities for a standard unit. Median rent and renters: U.S. Census Bureau, American Community Survey.
1,576 new homes permitted in 2025
Builders were permitted 1,576 new homes in Arlington in 2025: 532 single-family houses and 1,044 in buildings with two or more homes, worth about $228.6 million to build. That's 4 per 1,000 residents, slower than across Texas (8.1). Over the past 10 years, Arlington has permitted 16,319 homes in all.
Between the 2010 and 2020 censuses, Arlington gained 28,828 residents while 8,604 new homes were permitted: about 3.4 new residents per new home, more than across Texas (2.6): growth outpaced building.
Every year as a table
| Year | New homes | Single-family | 2+ per building | Value |
|---|---|---|---|---|
| 2026 (Jan–Aug) | 1,133 | 449 | 684 | $229.4 million |
| 2025 | 1,576 | 532 | 1,044 | $228.6 million |
| 2024 | 1,703 | 309 | 1,394 | $248.8 million |
| 2023 | 1,265 | 696 | 569 | $204.8 million |
| 2022 | 2,902 | 737 | 2,165 | $280.8 million |
| 2021 | 2,226 | 976 | 1,250 | $311.6 million |
| 2020 | 1,447 | 725 | 722 | $222.2 million |
| 2019 | 1,662 | 840 | 822 | $681.1 million |
| 2018 | 1,571 | 624 | 947 | $221.8 million |
| 2017 | 970 | 475 | 495 | $152.6 million |
| 2016 | 997 | 283 | 714 | $142.6 million |
| 2015 | 821 | 379 | 442 | $111.6 million |
| 2014 | 870 | 470 | 400 | $127.8 million |
| 2013 | 545 | 545 | 0 | $108.5 million |
| 2012 | 456 | 456 | 0 | $89.9 million |
| 2011 | 360 | 232 | 128 | $51.1 million |
| 2010 | 352 | 286 | 66 | $54.6 million |
| 2009 | 267 | 245 | 22 | $43.7 million |
| 2008 | 571 | 426 | 145 | $85.9 million |
| 2007 | 1,093 | 812 | 281 | $155.4 million |
| 2006 | 1,169 | 1,151 | 18 | $179.4 million |
| 2005 | 1,625 | 1,419 | 206 | $210.7 million |
| 2004 | 2,305 | 1,835 | 470 | $279.7 million |
| 2003 | 2,724 | 1,721 | 1,003 | $291.1 million |
| 2002 | 2,526 | 2,196 | 330 | $322.6 million |
| 2001 | 2,882 | 2,565 | 317 | $284.3 million |
| 2000 | 2,375 | 2,224 | 151 | $239.6 million |
Homes authorized by building permits, counted in the year the permit was issued. U.S. Census Bureau, Building Permits Survey.
Property tax runs above the Texas norm
The median bill is $4,716 (Texas: $4,232), 1.55% of a home’s value a year, against 1.49% statewide.
Census American Community Survey 2020–24: the median real-estate tax bill homeowners report, and that bill ÷ the median home value. Bills include town, school and county taxes. The Census reports bills over $10,000 only as “$10,000+”.
The rest of a budget near Arlington
Only figures published free for the whole country, each labeled with the area it covers: the Dallas-Fort Worth-Arlington, TX metro area, or Texas. Groceries follow the goods price level; nobody publishes them town by town.
| Cost | Here | Compared with | Area | Source |
|---|---|---|---|---|
| Prices overall U.S. = 100 | 103 | TX 97 | metro | BEA, 2024 |
| Goods (groceries, clothing, cars…) U.S. = 100 | 103 | TX 98 | metro | BEA, 2024 |
| Utilities U.S. = 100 | 91 | TX 88 | metro | BEA, 2024 |
| Other services U.S. = 100 | 100 | TX 97 | metro | BEA, 2024 |
Price levels: U.S. Bureau of Economic Analysis, Regional Price Parities 2024 (metro area and state). Electricity: U.S. Energy Information Administration, Electric Power Monthly, table 5.6.A.
Arlington vs. its neighbors
Of the 5 towns here with a Zillow value, Arlington has the 2nd-lowest.
Cost next door · one source per column
| Town | Cost | Typical home Zillow, September 2026 | Median value Census 2020–24 | Tax rate bill ÷ value | 2-bed rent HUD 2026 |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| Arlington | C− | $307K | $305K | 1.55% | $1,950 |
| Fort Worth | C− | $293K | $303K | 1.71% | $1,880 |
| Grand Prairie | C− | $313K | $296K | 1.68% | $1,970 |
| Kennedale | D | $382K | $380K | 1.60% | $1,560 |
| Mansfield | D | $441K | $411K | 1.86% | $2,100 |
Questions about the cost of living in Arlington
Is Arlington expensive to live in?
Measured against what households in the area earn, Arlington costs more than 82% of U.S. towns: a C− for cost of living, #447 of 642 in Texas. The typical home costs 3.4 years of the median household income of the Dallas-Fort Worth-Arlington, TX metro area ($90K).
How much does a house cost in Arlington?
About $307K, Zillow’s typical value for September 2026, down 0.5% in a year. The Texas typical home is $296K.
What salary do you need to live in Arlington?
To buy the typical home with 20% down at 6.3%, about $86,000 a year, keeping the payment (about $2,000 a month with tax and insurance) at 28% of income. To rent a two-bedroom at 30% of income, about $78,000.
How much is rent in Arlington?
HUD puts a two-bedroom at about $1,950 a month with utilities, the going rate for someone moving in. Renters already here pay a median of $1,470 (Census 2020–24).
What are property taxes in Arlington?
The median bill is $4,716 a year, 1.55% of the median home value (Texas: $4,232, 1.49%), from the Census 2020–24.
Are home prices in Arlington going up?
No: down 0.5% in the past year and 12.9% in five years, against 10.1% across Texas (Zillow).
Neighbors talk housing
What Arlington buyers, sellers and renters are saying.
Home values: Zillow Home Value Index (ZHVI), Zillow Research, September 2026. Sales, days on market and supply: Redfin Data Center, May 2026. Income, ownership, taxes and rent: U.S. Census Bureau, American Community Survey. New homes: U.S. Census Bureau, Building Permits Survey. Fair Market Rents: U.S. Department of Housing and Urban Development. The calculator is an estimate, not a loan offer. Regional price levels: BEA; electricity: EIA. How TownRatings grades cost of living.