Cost of Living
per year
per month
How Arlington's prices compare to the US city average across major spending categories.
How far does your salary go in Arlington?
Your $100,000 in Arlington has the same purchasing power as $80,522 in the average US city. You'd need $19,478 more here to maintain that standard of living.
Demographics and workforce data from the US Census ACS 5-Year.
bachelor's or higher
Climate, safety, and walkability indicators.
See a side-by-side breakdown of cost of living, housing, and salaries.
Popular comparisons
Sorted by affordability — most affordable first.
Within 10 points of Arlington's cost index of 124, sorted by closest match.
Wondering whether you should move to Arlington? It depends on what you're optimizing for, but the city has real arguments in its favor: a high-income city, even by us standards and the labor market runs tight, plus 5 more things worth knowing. The data behind each is below.
Median household income in Arlington is $137,387 — well above the US median of roughly $75k. It's a city where high-paying industries (tech, finance, professional services) cluster, and the income distribution tilts noticeably upward relative to most of the country.
The unemployment rate in Arlington sits at roughly 2.8%, which is a tight labor market by US standards. Salaries get nudged up faster, openings are easier to find, and switching jobs is less of a leap than it is in a softer market.
Arlington reports about 2,080 crime incidents per 100,000 residents — a step below the US average of around 3,500. The citywide number averages over neighborhoods that can vary a lot, but the headline number is friendlier than most American cities of comparable size.
Arlington earns a Walk Score of 79/100 — above the US median, with denser neighborhoods scoring higher than the citywide aggregate suggests. A car is still useful for longer trips, but everyday life works on foot for a lot of residents. Transit Score comes in at 70/100 too, so even the trips that are too far to walk are usually doable on a bus or train.
Arlington's Bike Score is 96/100 — the kind of number you only get when a city has built real bike infrastructure (protected lanes, connected routes, drivers who expect cyclists). For commuting or just for getting around, the bike is a serious option here, not a hobby.
Arlington's air quality index averages about 38 — comfortably in the EPA's "good" range. No daily ritual of checking the AQI before going for a run, no smoky-day plans, no surprise asthma flare-ups for the kids. The kind of background condition you notice mostly by its absence.
77% of adults 25 and over in Arlington hold a bachelor's degree or higher — meaningfully above the US average of around 36%. That correlates with the things you'd expect: stronger schools, more white-collar employers, more bookstores than the population alone would predict.
Reasons are pulled from Arlington's actual data — Census ACS, BLS, BEA, NOAA, EPA AQS, FBI, and Walk Score. We don't list positives that aren't supported by the numbers, which is why different cities show different sections.
Arlington gets a handful of meaningful snow days each year. Winters average about 32°F — cold enough for several inches at a time, warm enough for everything to melt between storms.
Cold but workable. Winter in Arlington averages about 32°F — colder than the national norm, mild compared to the upper Midwest. A solid coat handles most days; the genuine cold snaps are short.
Hot, but not desert-hot. Summer in Arlington runs about 88°F on average, with afternoons in the 90s and humidity that varies by region. AC is standard rather than optional.
Arlington falls in roughly USDA Zone 8. The zone classification is based on average annual minimum temperatures, so it's the right lookup for whether perennials and trees will overwinter here. Note that this is approximate from our winter-temperature data — check the USDA map for the exact zone before betting an expensive plant on it.
Arlington sits at about 276 feet (84 m) above sea level — low-lying, but with enough cushion that day-to-day life isn't affected by ocean levels.
Hurricane season covers June through November, with peak activity in late summer and early fall. For Arlington, the practical advice is: have a few days of water and supplies on hand from August onward, know your evacuation route, and don't wait for the news to tell you a storm is "probably nothing" — track the cone yourself.
Average for an American city. Arlington's reported crime rate of about 2,080 per 100,000 residents sits roughly in line with the US baseline of ~3,500. Like anywhere else, the citywide number masks real differences between neighborhoods — worth looking at specific areas before deciding.
Yes, noticeably. Arlington's cost-of-living index runs 124, about 24% above the US baseline. Housing usually accounts for most of the markup; groceries and services run higher too but with less drama.
Yes — Arlington is one of the more walkable US cities. A Walk Score of 79/100 means most daily errands can be done on foot in most neighborhoods. Transit Score is 70 out of 100. Many residents go car-free comfortably.
Roughly $86,933 a year would match the lifestyle of someone earning $70,000 in an average US city. That's a starting point, not a target — negotiate higher when you can. Median rent in Arlington runs about $2,227/mo — keeping housing under 30% of gross income points to a similar floor on what you'd want to earn.