Each edition grades its towns against each other only.
Arlington is one of the best-graded places in America: an A, 43rd among Virginia's 249 graded towns. It is among the healthiest towns in the country on CDC estimates, the median household earns $142K, and its schools outperform 78% of the state's. The exception is cost of living: the typical home is worth about $802K, 6.3 years of the Washington metro’s $127K median household income. 77% of adults 25 and older hold a bachelor’s degree or more in Arlington, above both the Virginia town median (44%) and the median of U.S. towns (29%). Few places in the country are easier to get around without a car. Its National Register listings include Fort Myer Historic District and Charles Richard Drew House.
Where Arlington beats most towns.
Fort Myer Historic District
Sandra Bullock| College | Students |
|---|---|
| Marymount University | 2,811 |
| Strayer University-Virginia | 47 |
| DeVry University-Virginia | 11 |
Fort Myer Historic District is one of 5 National Historic Landmarks here, the National Register’s top tier. Its 63 National Register listings are more than in 97% of Virginia towns with a listing.
Census counts: 5,949 in 1800, a low of 5,949 in 1800, 238,643 in 2020. The archive holds 18 old photos and papers going back to 1760 and 6 maps from 1900 on.
Each subject compared with towns across the country (schools within Virginia), ordered by how far Arlington is from typical.
Its grades run from A+ for walkability (better than 99% of comparable towns) to D for cost of living (better than 7%), so the A overall blends very different results.
How TownRatings grades towns →
Museums, parks, gardens and other places to visit around Arlington. Close and well known come first.
Big draw4 mi National park siteWhite House311K visitors a year
Big drawin town LandmarkArlington National Cemetery
Big draw3 mi National MemorialWashington Monument204K visitors a year
Big draw2 mi LandmarkUnited States Triumphal Arch
Big draw4 mi MuseumSmithsonian Institution30.0M visitors a year
Big draw3 mi National MemorialLincoln Memorial7.7M visitors a yearWhite House: This image or media was taken or created by Matt H. Wade. To see his entire port, CC BY-SA 3.0 · Arlington National Cemetery: Protoant, Public domain · Washington Monument: Oren Rozen, CC BY-SA 4.0 · United States Triumphal Arch: Hstoops, CC0 · Smithsonian Institution: Highsmith, Carol M., 1946-, photographer, Public domain · Lincoln Memorial: Aerial_view_of_Lincoln_Memorial_-_east_side.jpg: Carol M. Highsmith derivative w, Public domain
Arlington is unincorporated, so Arlington County and regional agencies provide most services.
EPA SDWIS (Oct 9, 2026) · HIFLD + EIA-861 2025 · Census 2020 ZCTAs · NCES 2024–25 · registration: vote.gov, updated Sep 30, 2026.
Ordered by what stands out in Arlington.
Arlington sends many workers across the state line and has less COPD than most of Virginia, but it has homes that cost more against local pay than most of Virginia.
At 6.3 years of the Washington metro’s $127K median household income, the typical home (about $802K) costs more against local pay than in 84% of Virginia towns; that ratio is one input to its D for cost of living. The median property tax bill is $8,153, against $2,790 across Virginia, another input to its cost-of-living grade.
Arlington’s median rent is $2,322 a month. The typical Arlington home is worth about $802,000, up 1.3% in a year, 94% above the Virginia typical home. 41% of households own their home in Arlington.
| Arlington | Virginia towns | U.S. towns | |
|---|---|---|---|
| Households that own their home | 41% | 68% | 73% |
| Median rent | $2,322 a month | $1,760 a month | $1,185 a month |
| Renters paying 30%+ of income on rent | 40% | 47% | 48% |
Census ACS, 2020–24 · Zillow Home Value Index · Redfin Data Center
Its public schools are run by the Arlington County Public Schools. Three of its 57 schools are below, each with why it’s listed.
| School | Level | Students | Letter |
|---|---|---|---|
| Jefferson MiddleLargest public middle schoolGrades 6–8 | Grades 6–8 | 1,120 | B− |
| Washington-Liberty HighLargest public high schoolGrades 9–12 | Grades 9–12 | 3,044 | A− |
| Williamsburg MiddleTop results in townGrades 6–8 | Grades 6–8 | 856 | A+ |
NCES · EDFacts · graded within VA on state tests and graduation
Its widest gap with Virginia is COPD: 3.1% of its 196,563 adults have COPD, against 6.2% statewide.
27% of Arlington adults sleep under 7 hours. Among 253 Virginia towns, just 3 have a lower share of adults who get no exercise outside work than Arlington. 18% of Arlington adults binge drink.
| Arlington | Virginia towns | U.S. towns | |
|---|---|---|---|
| Sleep under 7 hours (CDC PLACES) | 27% | 36% | 36% |
| Frequent physical distress (CDC PLACES) | 8.6% | 12% | 14% |
| High blood pressure (CDC PLACES) | 24% | 33% | 35% |
| Obesity (CDC PLACES) | 25% | 34% | 35% |
| What stands out | Arlington | VA |
|---|---|---|
| Fewer adults with COPD | 3.1% | 6.2% |
| Fewer older adults who have lost all their teeth | 5.6% | 11.1% |
| More binge drinkers | 17.7% | 14.5% |
CDC PLACES 2025 · modeled estimates for adults · CMS · HRSA
36 miles of trail in 114 parks and preserves. The trail density in Arlington is 1.4 miles per square mile. The biggest place to walk is Glencarlyn Park, 134 acres with 3.6 miles of trail.
| Biggest places to walk | Trails | Acres |
|---|---|---|
| 1. Glencarlyn Park | 3.6 mi | 134 |
| 2. Potomac Overlook Regional Park | 2.8 mi | 67 |
| 3. Upton Hill Regional Park | 1.1 mi | 24 |
Trails & parks © OpenStreetMap contributors · Conserved land: USGS PAD-US
Expected storm and flood damage is lower than in 84% of U.S. communities. Since 1978, 123 flood insurance claims have been paid out in Arlington.
FEMA flood insurance claims · FEMA National Risk Index · OpenFEMA
Arlington has chilly winters and warm summers. July afternoons reach 88°, January nights drop to 26° and about 6 inches of snow falls in a winter.
NOAA U.S. Climate Normals, 1991–2020
26% of working residents cross a state line to work. 35.3% of workers work from home, against 18.3% across Virginia.
About one in 5 of Arlington’s working residents works in town. Since 2013, Arlington has added 18,568 jobs, to 155,531 in 2023. The top destinations are Washington (28%), Tysons (7%) and Alexandria (4%).
| Arlington | Virginia towns | U.S. towns | |
|---|---|---|---|
| Work from home | 35% | 17% | 11% |
| Median household income | $142,000 | $101,000 | $80,000 |
| Working residents who work in town | 20% | 4.8% | 8% |
| Below the poverty line | 7.4% | 7.7% | 9.6% |
Census LEHD 2023 · ACS
37 within 15 miles of the center of Arlington
About 7 of every 100 Arlington residents are enrolled in college, about the same as Virginia.
4 colleges in town.
63 places in Arlington on the National Register of Historic Places.
84 notable people were born in Arlington.
County in Virginia, United States
Arlington County, or simply Arlington, is a county in the U.S. state of Virginia. The county, which is located in the Washington metropolitan area and the broader Northern Virginia region, is positioned directly across the Potomac River from Washington, D.C., the national capital, on the river's southwestern bank. The smallest self-governing county in the United States by area, Arlington County has both suburban and urbanized districts. Its urban areas are located in proximity to several Washington Metro stations and lines. Arlington's seat of government is located in the Court House neighborhood, which hosts many of its administrative offices and the county courthouse. Arlington was origin…
From Wikipedia, licensed CC BY-SA 4.0 · facts via Wikidata (CC0)
5 towns share a border with Arlington.
It grades higher overall than all 4 graded towns on its borders; McLean (A) comes closest.
| Town | VA rank | Overall | Cost | Safety | Schools | Health |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| Arlington | #43 | A | D | — | A− | A+ |
| Alexandria | #190 | C+ | D | C | C− | A |
| Bailey's Crossroads | #136 | B+ | C | — | B+ | B |
| McLean | #47 | A | D | — | B+ | A+ |
| Falls Church | #48 | A | D | B− | A+ | A+ |
Arlington, Bailey's Crossroads and McLean report no FBI crime data of their own. Compare Arlington with a neighbor →
Short answers, built from the data on this page.
Yes, by almost any measure. Arlington grades A overall, better than 92% of U.S. towns and #43 of 249 in Virginia. It grades A+ for health and A− for schools. Cost of living is its weak spot, with a D.
Yes. Cost of living, which also weighs rents, property taxes and how many households pay 30% or more of their income for housing, grades D.
84 notable people were born here, including Sandra Bullock and David M. Brown.
