Pentagon, The (Boundary Increase) · Photo: Touch Of Light · CC BY-SA 4.0Households in Arlington earn more than those in 94% of U.S. towns
Working from home is the commute for 35% of workers, where Virginia as a whole has 18%. Below the poverty line: 7.4% of residents; Virginia has 9.9%. Jobs and income earn Arlington A; getting around on foot earns it A+.
Census ACS 2020–24, Census LEHD 2023, EPA Smart Location Database. How the two grades are made
What the numbers say about work in Arlington
Home offices are common in Arlington
35% of Arlington workers work from home, against 18% across Virginia. Time on the road ↓
A lot of Arlington workers cross into Washington, D.C.
26% of Arlington workers work outside Virginia, most of them in Washington, D.C., the Census survey finds. The commute map ↓
Most Arlington residents work close to home
73% of working residents have their main job less than 10 miles from home, about three in four. Only 6% work more than 50 miles away. How far ↓
Most jobs here, and most residents’ jobs, pay over $40,000
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, and so do 80% of the jobs based in Arlington. The jobs ↓
A lot of Arlington works one town over
32% of working residents work in a town that borders Arlington: Washington (28%) and Alexandria (4%). Next door ↓
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.
Jobs & income in Arlington: the grade in detail
On income, poverty, unemployment and job access, Arlington is better than 92% of U.S. towns, #65 of 253 in Virginia. Job access by car is its strongest input (ahead of 98% of U.S. towns); the poverty rate ranks lowest, though still above most U.S. towns. It also does well on household income and the poverty rate and unemployment.
A firm grade. At either end of the Census margins of error for income, poverty and unemployment, Arlington stays A.
About 26 minutes to work from Arlington
Round trip, about 230 workdays a year: roughly 8.4 full days in the car, bus or train.
Average commute minutes, one way
of Arlington workers work from home, vs 18% across Virginia. Their commute is the hallway.
Share of the 94,658 commuters (the 35% who work from home are left out). Across Virginia: 83% drive alone, 3% take transit; U.S.: 81% and 4%. Census ACS 2020–24.
From the Census survey of workers who don’t work from home.
28% of working residents work in Washington
Where Arlington clocks in
28% of workers
7% 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.
How far it is to work from Arlington
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.
Mostly health care, schools and offices in Arlington
155,531 jobs are based in Arlington.
What kind of work
What it pays
Who does it
Jobs based in Arlington, 2013 → 2023: 136,963 → 155,531. 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 daily flow of workers through Arlington
On a workday 88,004 residents head out to work, 22,412 work right here, and 133,119 people come in from elsewhere.
About 281,000 people are in Arlington on a workday afternoon, 19% more than live here.
About as many jobs as working residents (1.41 per resident).
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, #4 of 253 in Virginia. 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 146,240 workers.
How TownRatings grades walkability →
Transit service (shown, not graded). 98% of residents live within a ¾-mile walk of a bus or train stop, 76% within a quarter mile. At the weekday evening rush, about 56.3 trips an hour stop near the typical resident, among the most 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). 15.2% of Arlington households have no vehicle (Virginia 6.1%, U.S. 8.4%). 22% of Arlington’s commuters take a bus or train.
These are town averages; neighborhoods differ.
Among U.S. towns of 165,000 to 319,000, Arlington ranks 5th of 109 on jobs and income
| # | Town | People | Household income | Poverty | Unemployment | Work in town | Grade |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| 1 | North Hempstead NY | 238,982 | $158K | 4.5% | 4.1% | 20% | A |
| 2 | Oyster Bay NY | 301,115 | $160K | 3.9% | 4.6% | 19% | A |
| 3 | Frisco TX | 236,955 | $150K | 3.6% | 4.6% | 14% | A |
| 4 | Huntington NY | 205,891 | $168K | 5.0% | 4.3% | 23% | A |
| 5 | Arlington VA | 236,254 | $142K | 7.4% | 3.3% | 20% | A |
| 6 | McKinney TX | 236,001 | $124K | 5.7% | 3.7% | 13% | A |
| 7 | Cary NC | 183,582 | $135K | 5.7% | 3.5% | 19% | A |
| … | |||||||
| 29 | Chesapeake VA | 255,332 | $95K | 9.4% | 4.9% | 31% | B+ |
| … | |||||||
| 73 | Norfolk VA | 231,013 | $66K | 16.5% | 5.7% | 36% | C+ |
| … | |||||||
| 75 | Newport News VA | 183,230 | $70K | 14.5% | 5.8% | 40% | C+ |
| … | |||||||
| 109 | Shreveport LA | 175,902 | $49K | 23.5% | 9.0% | 61% | C− |
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 Virginia.
Work next door: 32% of Arlington’s workers
The biggest share goes to Washington (28%).
Average commute minutes, one way
Jobs & commute next door
| Town | Arlington workers there | Jobs & income | Walkability | Commute | Household income |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| Arlington | – | A | A+ | 26 min | $142,114 |
| Alexandria | 4% | A | A+ | 28 min | $119,681 |
| Bailey's Crossroads | under 1% | B− | A+ | 28 min | $88,483 |
| McLean | under 1% | A+ | A | 28 min | $250,000+ |
| Falls Church | under 1% | A | A+ | 29 min | $143,262 |
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?
$142,114 (±$3,551) (Census ACS 2020–24), against $93,170 across Virginia and $80,734 nationally.
What is the poverty rate in Arlington?
7.4%, against 9.9% across Virginia and 12.5% nationally (Census ACS 2020–24).
How long is the commute from Arlington?
26 minutes each way on average, against 27 across Virginia and 26 nationally. 35% of workers work from home.
Where do people who live in Arlington work?
20% work in town. The top destinations elsewhere are Washington (28%, 5 mi), Tysons (7%, 7 mi), Alexandria (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 14.3 out of 20, and 31% of commuters walk, bike or take transit.
Can you get around Arlington without a car?
22% of commuters take transit and 15% of households have no car. 76% 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.