Table of contents
- Arlington demographics at a glance
- Population trends and growth
- Age, race, and origin
- Housing and household patterns
- Education, income, and poverty
- Workforce and employment
- Business and commuting signals
- What the numbers suggest
Arlington demographics at a glance
Arlington is a dense, highly educated county with strong incomes, a large renter presence, and a labor market shaped by professional services, government, and commuting patterns.
Fast facts
- 243,931 estimated population on July 1, 2025, up from 239,807 on July 1, 2024 (U.S. Census Bureau QuickFacts).
- 77.1% of adults age 25+ had a bachelor’s degree or higher in 2020-2024 (U.S. Census Bureau QuickFacts).
- $142,114 median household income in 2020-2024 (U.S. Census Bureau QuickFacts).
- $2,322 median gross rent in 2020-2024 (U.S. Census Bureau QuickFacts).
- 35% of Arlington residents worked at home overall, according to the Race and Ethnicity Dashboard.
Key takeaways
- Arlington’s population base is large enough to support a broad housing and service market, but the county still reads as compact in household size and land use.
- The housing stock is dominated by multi-family units, which aligns with a renter-heavy occupancy profile and a high broadband subscription rate.
- Education and income are both elevated, but the county still shows meaningful variation by race and household type in poverty and income-below-$100,000 measures.
Population trends and growth
Arlington demographics statistics show a county that has kept expanding, but the pace looks more measured than explosive. The Census Bureau’s estimates put the county at 243,931 residents on July 1, 2025, versus 239,807 a year earlier and 238,647 at the April 1, 2020 base for V2025 (U.S. Census Bureau QuickFacts).
That means the county added more than 4,000 residents in a single year, while the longer view still looks steady rather than abrupt. The population growth figure from April 1, 2020 to July 1, 2025 was 2.2% (U.S. Census Bureau QuickFacts).
Population change in context
| Measure | Value | Source |
|---|---|---|
| July 1, 2025 population estimate | 243,931 | U.S. Census Bureau QuickFacts |
| July 1, 2024 population estimate | 239,807 | U.S. Census Bureau QuickFacts |
| April 1, 2020 base population, V2025 | 238,647 | U.S. Census Bureau QuickFacts |
| April 1, 2020 census population | 238,643 | U.S. Census Bureau QuickFacts |
| April 1, 2010 census population | 207,627 | U.S. Census Bureau QuickFacts |
| Population growth, 2020 to 2025 | 2.2% | U.S. Census Bureau QuickFacts |
| Population density, 2020 | 9,179.6 people per sq. mi. | U.S. Census Bureau QuickFacts |
| Land area, 2020 | 26.00 sq. mi. | U.S. Census Bureau QuickFacts |
The density number is the headline here. 9,179.6 people per square mile is a strong reminder that Arlington is not a sprawling suburban county; it is a compressed, intensely used place where housing, transit, and office demand all compete for space (U.S. Census Bureau QuickFacts).
Why population density matters
A dense county tends to produce a specific mix of demographic traits:
- smaller household sizes,
- more multi-family housing,
- higher transit dependence,
- and stronger pressure on rents and ownership costs.
Arlington fits that pattern. The county had 112,027 households in 2020-2024 and 2.08 persons per household in the same period (U.S. Census Bureau QuickFacts). That household size is consistent with an urban county where single-person and two-person households are common.
Age, race, and origin
The age structure in Arlington is balanced enough to support schools, housing demand, and a large working-age population, but not so young that the county skews like a college town.
Age profile at a glance
- 4.6% were under age 5 (U.S. Census Bureau QuickFacts).
- 17.7% were under age 18 (U.S. Census Bureau QuickFacts).
- 12.5% were age 65 and over (U.S. Census Bureau QuickFacts).
That age mix suggests Arlington must serve both families and older residents, but the bulk of the county’s population sits in working ages and household-forming ages. The labor-force participation numbers later in this article reinforce that point.
Race and ethnicity snapshot
Arlington’s racial and ethnic composition is diverse, and the structure matters as much as the totals.
| Category | Share | Source |
|---|---|---|
| White alone | 72.4% | U.S. Census Bureau QuickFacts |
| Black alone | 10.7% | U.S. Census Bureau QuickFacts |
| Asian alone | 11.9% | U.S. Census Bureau QuickFacts |
| Two or more races | 4.0% | U.S. Census Bureau QuickFacts |
| Hispanic or Latino | 16.3% | U.S. Census Bureau QuickFacts |
| White alone, not Hispanic or Latino | 58.3% | U.S. Census Bureau QuickFacts |
| Foreign-born | 22.4% | U.S. Census Bureau QuickFacts |
The foreign-born share of 22.4% is especially important because it usually shapes language use, school support needs, housing preferences, and labor-market composition (U.S. Census Bureau QuickFacts).
The Arlington County Profile 2025 gives a more detailed count for 2024:
- 204,300 non-Hispanic/Latino residents total,
- 36,600 Hispanic/Latino residents,
- 143,100 Non-Hispanic White residents,
- 26,100 Non-Hispanic Asian residents,
- 21,500 Non-Hispanic Black or African American residents,
- 11,500 Non-Hispanic Two or More Races residents (Arlington County Profile 2025).
That profile is useful because it shows the county as both diverse and highly segmented. The headline percentages are important, but the counts reveal where the population mass sits.
Household income and poverty by group
The Race and Ethnicity Dashboard adds another layer: the county-wide median can hide gaps inside the population.
Households below $100,000 in 2024 ACS dashboard
- 32% overall in Arlington.
- 53% for Black or African American households.
- 53% for Hispanic or Latino households.
- 48% for Multiracial and Combined Population households.
- 43% for Asian households.
- 27% for White households (Race and Ethnicity Dashboard).
Residents below the poverty level
- 7.4% overall in Arlington.
- 15% for Black or African American residents.
- 14% for Asian residents.
- 5% for White residents (Race and Ethnicity Dashboard).
Those figures matter because they show the county’s overall prosperity is real, but not evenly distributed. The gap between the county median and subgroup outcomes is one of the most important parts of Arlington demographics statistics.
Housing and household patterns
Arlington’s housing profile is one of the clearest ways to read the county. The data points in one direction: compact, multi-family, renter-heavy, and expensive.
Core housing indicators
- 125,612 housing units on July 1, 2025 (U.S. Census Bureau QuickFacts).
- 123,700 total housing units as of January 2024 (Arlington County Profile 2025).
- 41.3% owner-occupied housing unit rate in 2020-2024 (U.S. Census Bureau QuickFacts).
- 62.6% renter-occupied housing units in the 2022 ACS profile (Arlington County Profile 2025).
- 37.4% owner-occupied housing units in the 2022 ACS profile (Arlington County Profile 2025).
The owner-renter split is a strong signal. Arlington is not built around detached ownership at the county level. It is built around rental demand, smaller household units, and a housing market that still supports a meaningful owner segment.
Housing cost signals
| Metric | Value | Source |
|---|---|---|
| Median value of owner-occupied housing units | $895,000 | U.S. Census Bureau QuickFacts |
| Median selected monthly owner costs with a mortgage | $3,649 | U.S. Census Bureau QuickFacts |
| Median selected monthly owner costs without a mortgage | $1,195 | U.S. Census Bureau QuickFacts |
| Median gross rent | $2,322 | U.S. Census Bureau QuickFacts |
A median gross rent of $2,322 and a median owner value of $895,000 point to a high-cost housing environment by almost any standard (U.S. Census Bureau QuickFacts). The mortgage cost figure of $3,649 per month makes the ownership side even more demanding.
Housing stock composition
The Arlington County Profile 2025 gives the clearest breakdown of what exists on the ground:
- 72% of housing units were multi-family, or 89,100 units.
- 22% were single-family detached, or 27,570 units.
- 6% were single-family attached, or 7,030 units (Arlington County Profile 2025).
That mix explains a lot of the rest of the county’s profile. A multi-family dominant housing stock tends to support smaller households, higher density, and a more renter-oriented market.
Recent housing change
Between January 2020 and January 2024, Arlington added 6,403 new multi-family units, a 7.7% increase in that category (Arlington County Profile 2025).
That is a useful detail because it shows the housing stock is not static. Arlington has continued to add supply where its structure already points: multi-family development rather than broad detached expansion.
Household structure and stability
- 117,700 households in January 2024 (Arlington County Profile 2025).
- 2.14 persons per household in the 2020 Census profile (Arlington County Profile 2025).
- 78.7% of people lived in the same house one year ago in 2020-2024 (U.S. Census Bureau QuickFacts).
- 29.4% of households spoke a language other than English at home in 2020-2024 (U.S. Census Bureau QuickFacts).
- 98.2% had a computer and 95.2% had a broadband subscription in 2020-2024 (U.S. Census Bureau QuickFacts).
That combination of stability, linguistic diversity, and near-universal digital access tells a clear story: Arlington households are connected, mobile enough to move within the county’s housing system, and well positioned for remote and hybrid work.
Education, income, and poverty
The education profile is one of the county’s strongest signals. Arlington is not just affluent; it is also highly credentialed.
Educational attainment
- 95.2% of persons age 25+ were high school graduates or higher in 2020-2024 (U.S. Census Bureau QuickFacts).
- 77.1% had a bachelor’s degree or higher in 2020-2024 (U.S. Census Bureau QuickFacts).
- 95.6% were high school graduates age 25+ in the 2022 ACS (Arlington County Profile 2025).
- 77.7% were college graduates age 25+ in the 2022 ACS (Arlington County Profile 2025).
- 41.4% held a graduate or professional degree age 25+ in the 2022 ACS (Arlington County Profile 2025).
- 92% of the Arlington Public School class of 2023 planned to pursue higher education (Arlington County Profile 2025).
The graduate-degree figure is especially striking. At 41.4%, Arlington has a very large share of advanced-degree holders, which usually correlates with government, professional services, consulting, research, education, and specialized business roles (Arlington County Profile 2025).
Income profile
- $142,114 median household income in 2020-2024 (U.S. Census Bureau QuickFacts).
- $137,387 median household income in 2022 (Arlington County Profile 2025).
- $90,786 per capita income in the past 12 months in 2020-2024 (U.S. Census Bureau QuickFacts).
- $112,313 per capita personal income in 2022 (Arlington County Profile 2025).
The income figures reinforce the same theme: Arlington is high-income, but the internal distribution still matters. County-wide medians are impressive, yet the household-income-below-$100,000 dashboard shows a meaningful portion of the population lives below that threshold, especially in some racial and ethnic groups (Race and Ethnicity Dashboard).
Poverty and affordability pressure
Poverty in Arlington is low by national standards, but the county’s housing costs make affordability an essential part of any demographics discussion.
- 8.0% of persons were in poverty in 2020-2024 (U.S. Census Bureau QuickFacts).
- 7.4% of Arlington residents were below the poverty level in the Race and Ethnicity Dashboard.
- 4.6% of persons under age 65 lacked health insurance in 2020-2024 (U.S. Census Bureau QuickFacts).
- 4.2% of persons under age 65 with a disability were counted in 2020-2024 (U.S. Census Bureau QuickFacts).
Low poverty does not mean low pressure. In a county where rent, ownership costs, and mortgage payments are all elevated, the practical affordability question can be harder than the poverty statistic suggests.
Workforce and employment
Arlington’s labor market is unusually large relative to its geographic footprint.
Employment and payroll scale
| Metric | Value | Source |
|---|---|---|
| Total employer establishments, 2023 | 6,334 | U.S. Census Bureau QuickFacts |
| Total employment, 2023 | 159,716 | U.S. Census Bureau QuickFacts |
| Total annual payroll, 2023 | $18,145,558 thousand | U.S. Census Bureau QuickFacts |
| Total employment growth, 2022 to 2023 | 3.4% | U.S. Census Bureau QuickFacts |
| Total nonemployer establishments, 2023 | 23,375 | U.S. Census Bureau QuickFacts |
| All employer firms, 2023 | 4,641 | U.S. Census Bureau QuickFacts |
The payroll figure alone shows how substantial the county’s job base is. And the 3.4% employment growth from 2022 to 2023 suggests the labor market remained active rather than flattening out (U.S. Census Bureau QuickFacts).
At-place jobs by industry
Arlington County Profile 2025 shows a job market concentrated in a few major sectors:
- 59,400 professional and technical services jobs, or 26.8% of at-place jobs.
- 44,400 other services jobs, or 20.1%.
- 44,300 government jobs, or 20.0%.
- 13,000 hospitality and food services jobs.
- 12,300 transportation and warehousing jobs.
- 9,900 retail trade jobs.
- 9,800 finance and insurance jobs.
- 9,200 real estate and rental/leasing jobs.
- 6,900 information jobs.
- 4,100 construction jobs (Arlington County Profile 2025).
This is not a one-industry county. It has a professional-services core, but the presence of government, transportation, hospitality, retail, finance, and real estate means the local economy is layered and service-intensive.
Business ownership and firm composition
The QuickFacts business counts show a broad set of enterprise types:
- 2,381 male-owned employer firms in 2023.
- 1,230 female-owned employer firms in 2023.
- 1,069 minority-owned employer firms in 2023.
- 2,753 nonminority-owned employer firms in 2023.
- 3,539 nonveteran-owned employer firms in 2023 (U.S. Census Bureau QuickFacts).
Those figures don’t tell you which firms are largest, but they do show a county with a substantial entrepreneurial base alongside a large established-employer ecosystem.
Business and commuting signals
Arlington’s county profile mixes high employment density with strong commuting and work-from-home behavior. The mean travel time to work was 26.2 minutes in 2020-2024 (U.S. Census Bureau QuickFacts), which suggests many residents are tied to regional job flows rather than extremely short local commutes.
At the same time, the Race and Ethnicity Dashboard reports that 35% of Arlington residents worked at home overall, and 23% of Hispanic or Latino Origin residents worked at home (Race and Ethnicity Dashboard).
That matters because work-from-home behavior tends to amplify the county’s housing and broadband story:
- housing must fit mixed-use lifestyles,
- broadband access becomes essential infrastructure,
- and labor-market participation can remain high even when commuting patterns shift.
Arlington also has a large retail and service footprint. In 2022:
- retail sales reached $3,023,968 thousand,
- retail sales per capita were $12,941,
- transportation and warehousing receipts/revenue were $3,362,789 thousand,
- health care and social assistance receipts/revenue were $2,414,455 thousand,
- accommodation and food services sales were $1,670,770 thousand (U.S. Census Bureau QuickFacts).
Those numbers help explain why the county feels economically layered. It is not just a commuter suburb or just an office district; it supports both high-skill employment and everyday consumer demand.
What the numbers suggest
Arlington demographics statistics point to a county with a very clear profile:
- dense and land-constrained,
- highly educated,
- expensive to house,
- strong in professional services and government,
- and diverse enough that countywide averages only tell part of the story.
The most useful way to read the data is to connect the layers:
- population growth is steady, not dramatic (U.S. Census Bureau QuickFacts),
- housing is overwhelmingly multi-family (Arlington County Profile 2025),
- incomes are high but uneven across groups (Race and Ethnicity Dashboard),
- and the job base is both large and specialized (Arlington County Profile 2025).
For anyone trying to understand the county’s demographic shape, the big idea is simple: Arlington is compact, highly educated, and economically intense, but its internal distribution of housing costs, income, and racial/ethnic outcomes remains important enough to shape how the county actually works day to day.