Arlington community statistics at a glance
Arlington is large enough to show real demographic, housing, and labor-market movement without losing the clarity of a city profile. The latest figures paint a place that is still growing in complexity: the population reached 393,469 in 2022, foreign-born residents made up 20.8% of the city, and the housing market continued to reset at a much higher level than it held a few years ago (Arlington TX Socioeconomic Profile 2025).
If you want a quick read on Arlington community statistics, the city stands out for the mix of population scale, cultural diversity, renter and owner balance, rising educational attainment, and a home market that has moved sharply upward since the mid-2010s (Arlington TX Socioeconomic Profile 2025; City Facts, City of Arlington TX).
Contents
- Population and growth
- Diversity and foreign-born residents
- Income, education, and poverty
- Housing and home values
- Jobs, commuting, and work patterns
- City services and civic scale
- What the numbers suggest
Population and growth
Arlington’s population was 393,469 in 2022, according to the Arlington TX Socioeconomic Profile 2025. That figure came after a decrease of 797 from the 2020 Decennial Census estimate of 394,266, but it still represented an increase of 1,165 from the 2021 ACS 5-year estimate (Arlington TX Socioeconomic Profile 2025).
That kind of movement matters because city statistics are often best understood as a sequence rather than a single snapshot. In Arlington’s case, the 2022 estimate suggests a large, stable urban population that remains close to the 394,000 range even as the city shifts inside that band (Arlington TX Socioeconomic Profile 2025).
City Facts from the City of Arlington TX also places the 2021 ACS 5-year estimate at 392,304. Taken together, the two sources show the same general scale: Arlington is a major Texas city with a population that hovers near 400,000 residents (City Facts, City of Arlington TX; Arlington TX Socioeconomic Profile 2025).
A few basic civic markers help frame that scale:
- Founded in 1876 (City Facts, City of Arlington TX).
- Incorporated on April 21, 1884 (City Facts, City of Arlington TX).
- Covers 99.5 square miles (City Facts, City of Arlington TX).
- Uses a council-manager form of government (City Facts, City of Arlington TX).
- Median age was 33.1 years (City Facts, City of Arlington TX).
Those facts do not just fill out a city profile. They explain why Arlington often reads as both mature and still expanding in social complexity. A city of nearly 400,000 residents spread across 99.5 square miles will naturally hold multiple neighborhoods, multiple labor profiles, and multiple housing pressures at the same time (City Facts, City of Arlington TX).
Diversity and foreign-born residents
One of the clearest themes in Arlington community statistics is the city’s foreign-born population. In 2022, foreign-born residents represented 20.8% of the population, or 81,995 people, according to the Arlington TX Socioeconomic Profile 2025.
That total was not evenly distributed across regions of origin. The same source reports that 40,872 foreign-born residents came from Latin America, 25,012 from Asia, 13,216 from Africa, and 2,891 were classified as Other. The remaining shares were split among smaller origin groups, with Latin America accounting for 49.8% of the foreign-born population, Asia 30.5%, Africa 16.1%, Europe 3.0%, Northern America 0.5%, and Oceania 0.0% (Arlington TX Socioeconomic Profile 2025).
That mix points to a city whose immigrant population is broad and layered, not concentrated in a single corridor of origin. In practical terms, it suggests that local institutions, schools, workplaces, and community organizations are likely serving residents with different language backgrounds, migration histories, and cultural references (Arlington TX Socioeconomic Profile 2025).
The 2020 Census figures from City Facts help show the broader racial and ethnic structure of the city as well. White or Caucasian Alone residents numbered 137,731, or 34.9%. Black or African American Alone residents numbered 88,230, or 22.9%. Asian Alone residents numbered 30,067, or 7.6%. Hispanic or Latino residents numbered 120,944, or 30.7%. Two or More Races residents numbered 13,973, or 9.3%. American Indian Alone residents numbered 1,213, and Native Hawaiian/Other Pacific Islander Alone residents numbered 429 (City Facts, City of Arlington TX).
A compact look at the origin distribution underscores how concentrated the foreign-born mix is inside a few major regions:
| Foreign-born origin group | Count | Share of foreign-born population |
|---|---|---|
| Latin America | 40,872 | 49.8% |
| Asia | 25,012 | 30.5% |
| Africa | 13,216 | 16.1% |
| Other | 2,891 | not separately given |
| Europe | not separately counted | 3.0% |
| Northern America | not separately counted | 0.5% |
| Oceania | not separately counted | 0.0% |
The table is useful because it shows the shape of the population more clearly than any single percentage can. Arlington is not just diverse in the abstract. It has a foreign-born population large enough to matter in community planning, and that population is concentrated in a few major global regions (Arlington TX Socioeconomic Profile 2025).
Income, education, and poverty
Education and income help explain how a city functions internally, and Arlington’s numbers show movement on both fronts. In 2022, residents age 25+ with advanced degrees increased by 3,221 since 2020, and that group grew 3.3% over the same period (Arlington TX Socioeconomic Profile 2025).
The overall educational profile also shifted in a way that points to gradual upgrading of attainment. Residents with less than high school education were 14.2% in 2022, down from 14.8% in 2020. High school graduates were 23.6% in 2022, essentially unchanged from 23.7% in 2020. Residents with some college, no degree were 21.8% in 2022, down from 22.7% in 2020. Residents with an associate degree were 8.0% in 2022, up from 7.9% in 2020. Residents with a bachelor’s degree were 21.6% in 2022, up from 20.5% in 2020. Residents with a graduate or professional degree were 10.8% in 2022, up from 10.4% in 2020 (Arlington TX Socioeconomic Profile 2025).
That is a useful pattern to watch because it suggests a city where the share of higher educational attainment is increasing while lower-education shares are either flat or easing downward. The change is not dramatic in a single year, but the direction is consistent (Arlington TX Socioeconomic Profile 2025).
Income data fit that same picture. Median household income was $71,736 in 2022, and the city’s profile says it increased by more than $1,000 per household from 2021 to 2022, or 1.4% (Arlington TX Socioeconomic Profile 2025). City Facts lists median household income at $65,481 in the 2021 ACS 5-year estimate, which gives another useful baseline for comparing the local income landscape across different source sets (City Facts, City of Arlington TX).
Poverty rates also vary significantly by age group. In 2022, the under-18 poverty rate was 18.4%, the poverty rate for ages 18 to 64 was 11.3%, and the poverty rate for ages 65+ was 10.4% (Arlington TX Socioeconomic Profile 2025). That split matters because it shows children and teens experiencing a higher poverty rate than working-age adults or seniors.
A concise comparison makes the pattern easier to see:
| Age group | Poverty rate in 2022 |
|---|---|
| Under 18 | 18.4% |
| 18 to 64 | 11.3% |
| 65+ | 10.4% |
The table points to a city where poverty is not evenly distributed by age. If you are reading Arlington community statistics to understand household pressure, that age gap is one of the most important data points in the profile (Arlington TX Socioeconomic Profile 2025).
Housing and home values
Arlington’s housing market has changed substantially over time. In 2022, total occupied housing units were 137,519. Of those, 75,484 were owner-occupied and 62,035 were renter-occupied. That means owner-occupied units accounted for 54.9% of occupied units, while renter-occupied units accounted for 45.1% (Arlington TX Socioeconomic Profile 2025).
The city’s occupied housing stock also grew. Total occupied units increased by 1.7% since 2020, or by 2,279 units. Owner-occupied units increased by 102 since 2020, while renter-occupied units increased by 2,177 (Arlington TX Socioeconomic Profile 2025). That is a notable distinction: most of the occupied-unit growth came from rentals rather than ownership.
That matters when thinking about neighborhood stability, mobility, and affordability. A city can grow in occupied units without the owner side expanding at the same pace. In Arlington, the renter base appears to have absorbed most of the recent increase in occupied housing (Arlington TX Socioeconomic Profile 2025).
Home values and sales show even more dramatic movement. The average home sale price was $192,712 in 2016 and $365,022 in 2022, according to the Arlington TX Socioeconomic Profile 2025. The same source says the average home sale price increased 19% from 2021 to 2022.
City Facts gives a broader historical ladder that shows how steep that rise has been over time. Average home sale price was $145,844 in 2013, $161,628 in 2014, $176,479 in 2015, $192,561 in 2016, $213,888 in 2017, $228,951 in 2018, $243,055 in 2019, $262,385 in 2020, $306,700 in 2021, and $365,022 in 2022 (City Facts, City of Arlington TX).
Sales volume moved differently from price. City Facts reports 3,737 home sales in 2022, down from 4,387 in 2021, 4,421 in 2020, 4,468 in 2019, 4,308 in 2018, 4,464 in 2017, 4,448 in 2016, 4,197 in 2015, 4,027 in 2014, 3,890 in 2013, 3,154 in 2012, and 2,830 in 2011 (City Facts, City of Arlington TX).
That combination is useful: higher prices with lower transaction counts can indicate a tighter or more expensive market even when the number of sales cools. Arlington’s housing data strongly suggest that price growth outpaced sales activity (City Facts, City of Arlington TX; Arlington TX Socioeconomic Profile 2025).
Additional housing markers help round out the picture:
- Median single-family housing value was $257,395 (City Facts, City of Arlington TX).
- Property tax rate is 5,998 per $100 valuation (City Facts, City of Arlington TX).
Jobs, commuting, and work patterns
Employment data show that Arlington is still adjusting after the recent economic cycle. Unemployment fell to 3.6% in 2022, and the rate declined by 1.8 percentage points from 2021 to 2022 (Arlington TX Socioeconomic Profile 2025).
Jobs, however, did not move in a simple straight line. Total jobs decreased by 0.3% since 2020, but increased by 1.3% since 2021 (Arlington TX Socioeconomic Profile 2025). That tells you the labor market was not static; it was still recovering and rebalancing after a weaker point in the recent past.
The city’s occupational mix also shifted. Production, transportation, and material moving occupations increased by 4.6% since 2020, while sales and office occupations decreased by 5.4% since 2020 (Arlington TX Socioeconomic Profile 2025). Those shifts matter because they hint at changes in the type of work Arlington residents are doing, not just the number of jobs available.
Transportation behavior adds another layer. Mean travel time to work was 27.2 minutes in 2020, 27.0 minutes in 2021, and 26.9 minutes in 2022 (Arlington TX Socioeconomic Profile 2025). That is a fairly steady commuting profile.
The commuting mode split is even more revealing:
- Workers who drove alone were 80.9% in 2022.
- Workers who carpooled were 10.5% in 2022.
- Workers using public transit were 0.3% in 2022.
- Workers who walked were 1.4% in 2022.
- Workers using other means were 1.2% in 2022.
- Residents who worked at home were 5.7% in 2020 and 9.8% in 2022 (Arlington TX Socioeconomic Profile 2025).
The rise in work-from-home participation is one of the clearest behavioral shifts in the dataset. Even with most workers still driving alone, the increase from 5.7% to 9.8% in remote work shows that commuting is no longer the single default model for a meaningful share of residents (Arlington TX Socioeconomic Profile 2025).
City services and civic scale
Community statistics are not only about people and income. They also show how much civic infrastructure a city carries to support daily life. Arlington’s inventory is substantial.
According to City Facts, the city has 4,600 acres of park land, 7 recreation centers, 2 senior centers, 50 tennis courts, 8 swimming pools, 85 miles of park trails, 26 basketball courts, 4 golf courses, and 3 softball complexes (City Facts, City of Arlington TX).
That is a lot of public space and recreation capacity for a city of this size. It suggests a municipal footprint that has to serve families, youth, seniors, and active adults across a wide area.
The education and library infrastructure is similarly broad:
- Served by 5 independent school districts (City Facts, City of Arlington TX).
- Served by 3 institutions of higher learning (City Facts, City of Arlington TX).
- Served by 7 public libraries (City Facts, City of Arlington TX).
- Public libraries offer 526,398 library materials (City Facts, City of Arlington TX).
- Adult collection totals 258,776 items (City Facts, City of Arlington TX).
- Children’s collection totals 187,377 items (City Facts, City of Arlington TX).
- Young adult collection totals 21,490 items (City Facts, City of Arlington TX).
- eBooks and downloadable materials total 58,755 items (City Facts, City of Arlington TX).
These service counts do not just round out the profile. They show how Arlington operates as a full-service city with a dense network of public amenities and educational access points (City Facts, City of Arlington TX).
What the numbers suggest
Arlington community statistics point to a city with several things happening at once: a large and relatively steady population base, a foreign-born population that is both sizable and regionally diverse, rising educational attainment, a notable age gap in poverty, a housing market that has become much more expensive over time, and a commuting pattern that is still car-centered but gradually adapting to more home-based work (Arlington TX Socioeconomic Profile 2025; City Facts, City of Arlington TX).
The important pattern is not any single metric. It is the combination. Arlington is large enough for the averages to matter, but diverse enough that averages hide real variation across households, neighborhoods, age groups, and housing types. The city’s most useful statistics show that tension clearly: growth and stability, affordability pressure and civic capacity, and long-term demographic change all sitting in the same profile (Arlington TX Socioeconomic Profile 2025; City Facts, City of Arlington TX).