Arlington business statistics at a glance
Arlington’s business picture is best understood as a mix of scale, sales tax strength, steady job counts, and a dense local employer base.
The numbers below show a city that is already large, still adding housing and permits, and supported by a workforce that spans health care, retail, logistics, hospitality, manufacturing, and public administration (Arlington Socioeconomic Profile; City Releases 2023 Annual Development Profile; Analysis of Impediments to Fair Housing).
Fast facts
- Estimated 2022 population: 393,469 (Arlington Socioeconomic Profile).
- Unemployment in 2022: 3.6%, down 1.8 percentage points from 2021 (Arlington Socioeconomic Profile).
- FY 2024 general fund sales tax revenue: $91,385,703 (FY 2024 Revenue Manual).
- Sales taxes were 28.9% of general fund revenues in FY 2024 (FY 2024 Adopted Operating Budget and Business Plan).
- Arlington’s sales tax rate: 8.25% (FY 2024 Revenue Manual).
- Housing units at the end of 2023: 156,015 (City Releases 2023 Annual Development Profile).
- Q2 2024 new residential permits: 799 (City Releases Q2 Development Profile).
- Q2 2024 new non-residential permits: 353 (City Releases Q2 Development Profile).
- Arlington was ranked among WalletHub’s best large cities to start a business for the second consecutive year (Arlington Again Ranked Among Best Large Cities to Start a Business).
Table of contents
- What the Arlington business statistics say about the city
- Population, households, and workforce basics
- Business environment, startup strength, and local employers
- Sales tax and public revenue signals
- Housing, permits, and the built-out city
- Commuting, occupations, and labor-market structure
- Why these Arlington business statistics matter
What the Arlington business statistics say about the city
The strongest theme in the data is stability with momentum.
Arlington has a large resident base, a broad tax base, a high share of sales tax revenue in the general fund, and a significant footprint of major employers and business activity. At the same time, the city is still issuing permits, still adding housing, and still seeing shifts in its occupational mix and commuting patterns (Arlington Socioeconomic Profile; City Releases Q2 Development Profile; FY 2024 Revenue Manual; Analysis of Impediments to Fair Housing).
Big number: the average resident had a 27-minute commute to work outside Arlington (Arlington Socioeconomic Profile). That one number tells you something important about the local economy: Arlington is not only a place where people live; it is part of a much larger employment region.
Why it matters: cities with strong business activity rarely rely on just one signal. Here, the business story shows up in sales tax receipts, employer concentration, household income, foreign-born population share, permit activity, and the size of the metro labor shed.
Population, households, and workforce basics
Arlington’s business environment sits on top of a large and growing city. The 2022 estimated population was 393,469, which was 797 below the 2020 Census estimate of 394,266 and 1,165 above the 2021 ACS 5-year estimate (Arlington Socioeconomic Profile). The same profile says population had increased by 28,031 since 2010.
That base is supported by a household structure that is neither tiny nor overly dispersed. Average household size in 2022 was 2.8, and median age was 33.1 years (Arlington Socioeconomic Profile). The profile also states that the average Arlington resident was a 33.1-year-old woman, which is a useful reminder that the city’s demographic center of gravity is relatively young for a large Texas city.
Population markers that shape business demand
- Population in 2022: 393,469 (Arlington Socioeconomic Profile).
- Growth since 2010: 28,031 people (Arlington Socioeconomic Profile).
- Average household size: 2.8 (Arlington Socioeconomic Profile).
- Median age: 33.1 years (Arlington Socioeconomic Profile).
- Foreign-born share: 20.8%, or about 81,995 people (Arlington Socioeconomic Profile).
Those figures matter for businesses because household size, age, and migration patterns affect everything from retail demand to staffing pools to service mix.
The foreign-born population is also notably diverse. Of the foreign-born residents, 49.8% were from Latin America, 30.5% from Asia, 16.1% from Africa, 3.0% from Europe, and about 0.5% from other regions (Arlington Socioeconomic Profile). In absolute terms, the profile lists 40,872 foreign-born residents from Latin America, 25,012 from Asia, 13,216 from Africa, and 2,891 from other regions (Arlington Socioeconomic Profile).
That composition points to a labor pool and customer base with varied language, cultural, and consumption patterns. For local businesses, that can affect hiring, product mix, neighborhood targeting, and customer acquisition.
A compact view of core demographics
| Metric | Value | Source |
|---|---|---|
| Estimated 2022 population | 393,469 | Arlington Socioeconomic Profile |
| Average household size | 2.8 | Arlington Socioeconomic Profile |
| Median age | 33.1 years | Arlington Socioeconomic Profile |
| Foreign-born share | 20.8% | Arlington Socioeconomic Profile |
| Households with household income reference | $71,736 average resident household income | Arlington Socioeconomic Profile |
| Average commute time | 27 minutes | Arlington Socioeconomic Profile |
Business environment, startup strength, and local employers
The local business climate shows up in external rankings and in the sheer number of employers anchored in the city.
Arlington was ranked #4 in the nation for entrepreneurial success in the DFW-Arlington metro area (DFW-Arlington Metro Ranked Among Top 5 for Startup Success). The same source says 32.8% of operating businesses in the metro area were new ventures, ranking 6th among 168 U.S. metro areas, and 8.6% of the population was self-employed (DFW-Arlington Metro Ranked Among Top 5 for Startup Success). Self-employed households earned an average annual income of $50,899 (DFW-Arlington Metro Ranked Among Top 5 for Startup Success).
Those numbers are not just about startups in the narrow sense. They suggest a market where new business formation, self-employment, and small operator density matter materially.
Arlington also ranked among WalletHub’s best large cities to start a business for the second consecutive year (Arlington Again Ranked Among Best Large Cities to Start a Business). WalletHub compared 100 cities across business environment, access to resources, and business costs, and Arlington’s strongest score was in business cost (Arlington Again Ranked Among Best Large Cities to Start a Business).
Business environment signals
- Entrepreneurial success rank in the metro area: #4 (DFW-Arlington Metro Ranked Among Top 5 for Startup Success).
- New ventures among operating businesses: 32.8% (DFW-Arlington Metro Ranked Among Top 5 for Startup Success).
- Self-employed share of population: 8.6% (DFW-Arlington Metro Ranked Among Top 5 for Startup Success).
- WalletHub comparison size: 100 cities (Arlington Again Ranked Among Best Large Cities to Start a Business).
- Strongest WalletHub category: business cost (Arlington Again Ranked Among Best Large Cities to Start a Business).
The employer list helps explain why the city remains a regional business center. Arlington ISD employed 9,429 workers, General Motors 8,919, Texas Health Resources 6,619, UT Arlington 5,600, Six Flags Over Texas 3,800, The Parks Mall 3,500, the City of Arlington 2,899, Texas Rangers 2,000, and J.P. Morgan Chase 1,900 (Analysis of Impediments to Fair Housing).
Large employers and what they imply
| Employer | Workers | Source |
|---|---|---|
| Arlington ISD | 9,429 | Analysis of Impediments to Fair Housing |
| General Motors | 8,919 | Analysis of Impediments to Fair Housing |
| Texas Health Resources | 6,619 | Analysis of Impediments to Fair Housing |
| UT Arlington | 5,600 | Analysis of Impediments to Fair Housing |
| Six Flags Over Texas | 3,800 | Analysis of Impediments to Fair Housing |
| The Parks Mall | 3,500 | Analysis of Impediments to Fair Housing |
| City of Arlington | 2,899 | Analysis of Impediments to Fair Housing |
| Texas Rangers | 2,000 | Analysis of Impediments to Fair Housing |
| J.P. Morgan Chase | 1,900 | Analysis of Impediments to Fair Housing |
Those employers span education, manufacturing, health care, entertainment, retail, public services, sports, and finance. That spread is a practical reason the city can support many business types at once.
The Greater Arlington Chamber of Commerce also reported 1,000+ chamber members, at least 18 monthly networking functions, and 12 major events annually (Who We Are - Greater Arlington Chamber Of Commerce). That is another useful proxy for business density and networking infrastructure.
Sales tax and public revenue signals
For a city business profile, sales tax data is one of the cleanest indicators of commercial activity.
The city’s FY 2024 operating budget projected general fund sales tax revenue at $93,107,718 (FY 2024 Adopted Operating Budget and Business Plan). Sales taxes were 28.9% of general fund revenues in FY 2024 (FY 2024 Adopted Operating Budget and Business Plan). The city’s sales tax rate is 8.25%, with 6.25% going to the State of Texas, 1.00% to the City’s General Fund, 0.25% to street maintenance, 0.50% to stadium venue projects, and 0.25% to economic development initiatives (FY 2024 Revenue Manual).
That structure matters because it shows how business activity feeds both core services and targeted local investments.
Sales tax snapshot by fiscal year
| Fiscal year or measure | Value | Source |
|---|---|---|
| FY 2022 General Fund sales tax revenue | $83,977,216 | FY 2024 Revenue Manual |
| FY 2023 General Fund sales tax revenue | $88,423,472 | FY 2024 Revenue Manual |
| FY 2024 General Fund sales tax revenue | $91,385,703 | FY 2024 Revenue Manual |
| FY 2022 sales tax collections | $155,848 thousand | FY 2024 Annual Comprehensive Financial Report |
| FY 2023 sales tax collections | $160,596 thousand | FY 2024 Annual Comprehensive Financial Report |
| FY 2024 sales tax collections | $165,531 thousand | FY 2024 Annual Comprehensive Financial Report |
A few things stand out in that table.
First, the revenue base is moving upward. General fund sales tax revenue rose from $83,977,216 in FY 2022 to $91,385,703 in FY 2024 (FY 2024 Revenue Manual). Second, total sales tax collections increased from $155,848 thousand in FY 2022 to $165,531 thousand in FY 2024 (FY 2024 Annual Comprehensive Financial Report).
The annual report also says FY 2024 sales tax collections grew 3.07%, compared with 3.05% in FY 2023 and 14.61% in FY 2022 (FY 2024 Annual Comprehensive Financial Report). That suggests continued expansion, though not at the unusually strong pace recorded in FY 2022.
The budget documents and revenue manual together point to a city where sales tax is not a side note. It is a central operating input.
Housing, permits, and the built-out city
Business conditions are also reflected in the city’s development pipeline.
Arlington had 156,015 housing units at the end of 2023, which was a 2.26% increase from 2022 (City Releases 2023 Annual Development Profile). At the end of 2023, the city also reported 3,320 acres of vacant-developable land (City Releases 2023 Annual Development Profile). In Q2 2024, Arlington issued 799 new residential permits and 353 non-residential permits, and the city issued more than 1,100 permits for residential housing and related improvements in that quarter (City Releases Q2 Development Profile).
The city was also estimated to be 94% built out (Analysis of Impediments to Fair Housing). That matters a lot for businesses because a mostly built-out city tends to rely more on infill, redevelopment, reuse, and targeted site selection than on open-field expansion.
Development metrics worth watching
- Housing units at end of 2023: 156,015 (City Releases 2023 Annual Development Profile).
- Vacant-developable land: 3,320 acres (City Releases 2023 Annual Development Profile).
- Q2 2024 residential permits: 799 (City Releases Q2 Development Profile).
- Q2 2024 non-residential permits: 353 (City Releases Q2 Development Profile).
- Built-out estimate: 94% (Analysis of Impediments to Fair Housing).
The permit data also hints at where development pressure is landing. 43.37% of residential new construction permits were in Viridian (City Releases 2023 Annual Development Profile), which shows that new housing activity is concentrated rather than evenly spread.
For local businesses, a built-out city can be both a constraint and an advantage. It limits greenfield growth, but it can also create a more predictable customer base, denser service zones, and stronger redevelopment opportunities.
Commuting, occupations, and labor-market structure
The workforce data adds another layer to the business picture.
In 2022, 60.1% of workers worked in Arlington, while 39.9% worked outside Arlington (Arlington Socioeconomic Profile). Mean travel time to work was 27.2 minutes in 2020, 27.0 minutes in 2021, and 26.9 minutes in 2022 (Arlington Socioeconomic Profile). Working from home rose from 5.7% in 2020 to 9.8% in 2022 (Arlington Socioeconomic Profile).
That combination says the city is integrated into a broader commuting region while still keeping a large share of work within city boundaries.
Occupation mix in 2022
| Occupation group | Share of workers | Source |
|---|---|---|
| Management, business, science, and arts | 34.1% | Arlington Socioeconomic Profile |
| Sales and office | 24.4% | Arlington Socioeconomic Profile |
| Service | 16.9% | Arlington Socioeconomic Profile |
| Production, transportation, and material moving | 15.7% | Arlington Socioeconomic Profile |
| Natural resources, construction, and maintenance | 8.9% | Arlington Socioeconomic Profile |
The profile also shows shifts since 2020. Management, business, science, and arts occupations moved from 35.0% in 2020 to 34.1% in 2022; service occupations from 16.1% to 16.9%; sales and office from 23.1% to 24.4%; natural resources, construction, and maintenance from 9.3% to 8.9%; and production, transportation, and material moving from 16.5% to 15.7% (Arlington Socioeconomic Profile).
That is a subtle but important mix. It implies Arlington has a labor market with significant office and administrative capacity, a large service sector, and meaningful logistics and production employment.
More labor-market indicators
- Unemployment in 2022: 3.6% (Arlington Socioeconomic Profile).
- Change from 2021: down 1.8 percentage points (Arlington Socioeconomic Profile).
- Total jobs: decreased 0.3% since 2020 but increased 1.3% since 2021 (Arlington Socioeconomic Profile).
- Eligible Arlington residents working: increased 2.5% since 2020 (Arlington Socioeconomic Profile).
- Production, transportation, and material moving occupations: grew 4.6% since 2020 (Arlington Socioeconomic Profile).
- Sales and office occupations: decreased 5.4% since 2020 (Arlington Socioeconomic Profile).
The household and educational profile reinforces the same point. 32.9% of Arlington residents had a bachelor’s degree or higher, while 86.6% had a high school diploma or higher (Analysis of Impediments to Fair Housing). The city also reported more than 90 accredited colleges and universities in the DFW-Arlington metro area, with 372,572 students enrolled and more than 165,000 students graduating each year (Analysis of Impediments to Fair Housing).
That educational backdrop matters for recruiting, workforce development, and long-run business formation.
Why these Arlington business statistics matter
The most useful way to read Arlington’s business statistics is not as isolated facts, but as a stacked picture.
The city has a 393,469-person resident base, a 3.6% unemployment rate in 2022, a major sales tax stream, a strong concentration of employers, and enough housing and permit activity to signal ongoing reinvestment (Arlington Socioeconomic Profile; FY 2024 Revenue Manual; FY 2024 Annual Comprehensive Financial Report; City Releases Q2 Development Profile).
A few business takeaways stand out from the numbers themselves:
- The city has enough scale to support many customer segments at once.
- Sales tax remains a meaningful engine for city finance, with FY 2024 general fund sales tax revenue above $91 million (FY 2024 Revenue Manual).
- The employer base is unusually broad, spanning schools, manufacturing, health care, entertainment, retail, finance, and government (Analysis of Impediments to Fair Housing).
- Residential and non-residential permits show that development is still active even in a largely built-out city (City Releases 2023 Annual Development Profile; City Releases Q2 Development Profile).
- The labor market is balanced enough to support both service-heavy businesses and more technical or operational ones.
For anyone studying Arlington business statistics, the headline is simple: this is a large, diverse, and commercially active city with enough density, tax strength, and workforce depth to keep business activity moving.