Photo: SounderBruce · CC BY-SA 4.0Household incomes in Arlington top those of 66% of U.S. towns
Arlington grades B− for jobs and income and A− for walkability. 12.7% of residents are in poverty; Washington has 9.9%. Transit is limited for a town this walkable: about 4.8 trips an hour stop near the typical resident at the evening peak, against 94.7 in Seattle.
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
Arlington trades workers with the towns around it
Arlington has about as many jobs (10,819) as working residents (9,755), but they are mostly different people: 8,416 residents leave for work each day while 9,480 people come in. Only 12% of the jobs in Arlington are held by people who live here. Day and night ↓
Arlington has added jobs fast
Jobs based in Arlington went from 7,482 in 2013 to 10,819 in 2023, +45%. The jobs ↓
Arlington makes and builds things
37% of the jobs based in Arlington are in goods: factories, construction and farms. Across the jobs Arlington residents hold, wherever they work, it’s 28%. 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.
What’s behind Arlington’s Jobs & income grade
On income, poverty, unemployment and job access, Arlington is better than 54% of U.S. towns, #176 of 285 in Washington. Household income holds Arlington’s grade up ($88,231, U.S. $80,734); the poverty rate pulls it down. It also does well on 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 C+ to B+.
Who works in Arlington, and who works elsewhere
On a workday 8,416 residents head out to work, 1,339 work right here, and 9,480 people come in from elsewhere.
About as many people by day as by night: the people who leave are replaced by the people who come in.
About as many jobs as working residents (1.11 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 works in goods: 37% of its jobs
10,819 jobs are based in Arlington.
What kind of work
What it pays
Who does it
Jobs based in Arlington, 2013 → 2023: 7,482 → 10,819. 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.
17% of working residents work in Everett
Where Arlington clocks in
17% of workers
11% of workers
7% 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.
Arlington’s commute takes about 30 minutes
Round trip, about 230 workdays a year: roughly 9.5 full days in the car, bus or train.
Average commute minutes, one way
of Arlington workers work from home, vs 20% across Washington. Their commute is the hallway.
Share of the 8,768 commuters (the 12% who work from home are left out). Across Washington: 79% drive alone, 4% take transit; U.S.: 81% and 4%. Census ACS 2020–24.
From the Census survey of workers who don’t work from home.
Where in the region Arlington works
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.
Good to walk, short on transit: Arlington
On EPA’s walkability index and the share of commuters who walk, bike or take transit, Arlington is more walkable than 82% of U.S. towns, #129 of 285 in Washington. The street layout scores higher than the way people actually get to work: 3.6% of commuters walk, bike or take transit, below the 8.9% across Washington.
A firm grade. EPA’s index has no published margin of error; the commuting share comes from a Census survey of 9,950 workers.
How TownRatings grades walkability →
Transit service (shown, not graded). 64% of residents live within a ¾-mile walk of a bus or train stop, 23% within a quarter mile. At the weekday evening rush, about 4.8 trips an hour stop near the typical resident, more than in 83% 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). 5.9% of Arlington households have no vehicle (Washington 7.1%, U.S. 8.4%). 1% of Arlington’s commuters take a bus or train.
For jobs and income, Arlington is 1,155th of 1,847 U.S. towns of 15,000 to 30,000
| # | Town | People | Household income | Poverty | Unemployment | Work in town | Grade |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| 1 | Rogers MN | 15,606 | $159K | 1.9% | 1.2% | 10% | A+ |
| 2 | West Springfield VA | 22,532 | $163K | 1.9% | 1.7% | 3% | A+ |
| 3 | Wolf Trap VA | 15,858 | $250K | 3.1% | 2.0% | 2% | A+ |
| … | |||||||
| 48 | Mercer Island WA | 25,422 | $219K | 3.8% | 3.0% | 7% | A+ |
| … | |||||||
| 70 | Bothell West WA | 22,029 | $153K | 3.0% | 2.9% | 1% | A+ |
| … | |||||||
| 214 | Cottage Lake WA | 22,518 | $213K | 3.2% | 4.1% | 2% | A |
| … | |||||||
| 1,153 | Butler Township PA | 16,902 | $77K | 7.6% | 5.3% | 16% | B− |
| 1,154 | New Haven IN | 16,337 | $71K | 9.7% | 4.8% | 14% | B− |
| 1,155 | Arlington WA | 22,031 | $88K | 12.7% | 4.2% | 14% | B− |
| 1,156 | Beaver Dam WI | 16,542 | $67K | 8.9% | 3.7% | 26% | B− |
| 1,157 | Hazel Dell WA | 23,237 | $86K | 9.8% | 8.2% | 5% | B− |
| … | |||||||
| 1,847 | 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 Washington.
How Arlington compares with the towns next door
The biggest share goes to Marysville (7%).
Average commute minutes, one way
Jobs & commute next door
| Town | Arlington workers there | Jobs & income | Walkability | Commute | Household income |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| Arlington | – | B− | A− | 30 min | $88,231 |
| Sisco Heights | under 2% | A− | D− | 35 min | $119,158 |
| Marysville | 7% | B+ | A− | 32 min | $103,974 |
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?
$88,231 (±$8,852) (Census ACS 2020–24), against $98,141 across Washington and $80,734 nationally.
What is the poverty rate in Arlington?
12.7%, against 9.9% across Washington and 12.5% nationally (Census ACS 2020–24).
How long is the commute from Arlington?
30 minutes each way on average, against 27 across Washington and 26 nationally. 12% of workers work from home.
Where do people who live in Arlington work?
14% work in town. The top destinations elsewhere are Everett (17%, 15 mi), Seattle (11%, 39 mi), Marysville (7%, 6 mi) (Census LEHD 2023).
Is Arlington walkable?
Arlington is more walkable than 82% of U.S. towns (Walkability A−): an EPA walkability index of 10.4 out of 20, and 4% of commuters walk, bike or take transit.
Can you get around Arlington without a car?
1% of commuters take transit and 6% of households have no car. 23% 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.