Arlington rental market statistics at a glance
Arlington’s rental market sits in a narrow band of high demand, high incomes, and high monthly housing costs. The numbers below show a county where a large renter share meets limited affordability and a deep pipeline of housing policy programs.
Table of contents
- Arlington rental market at a glance
- What the housing stock looks like
- How much rents cost by unit type
- Who is under the most pressure
- Affordability and assistance programs
- Why the market stays tight
- What the county profile suggests
Arlington rental market at a glance
Arlington County had 125,612 housing units in July 1, 2025 estimates (U.S. Census QuickFacts), and 123,700 total housing units as of January 2024 (Arlington County Profile 2024).
That supply sits inside a county with 240,900 residents in 2024 estimates (Arlington County Profile 2024) and 243,931 residents on July 1, 2025 (U.S. Census QuickFacts).
The renter share is high by design and by geography: renters occupied 62.6% of occupied housing units as of January 2024 (Arlington County Profile 2024), while owners occupied 37.4%.
The cost side is just as important. Arlington County median gross rent was $2,322 in 2020-2024 (U.S. Census QuickFacts), and the county profile’s average apartment rent was $2,549 in 2024 county EDC materials (Arlington EDC 2025).
In other words, the market is not just expensive in absolute terms. It is expensive relative to the incomes, household structure, and renter burden that shape daily housing choices.
What the housing stock looks like
A rental market is easier to understand when you start with the building mix. Arlington County had 89,100 multifamily housing units, or 72% of all housing units, as of January 2024 (Arlington County Profile 2024).
By contrast, the county had 27,570 single-family detached units, or 22% of housing units, and 7,030 single-family attached units, or 6% of housing units, as of January 2024 (Arlington County Profile 2024).
That means the local rental market is heavily influenced by apartment buildings and other multifamily stock rather than a broad field of detached homes. The county also completed 6,403 new multifamily units from January 2020 to January 2024, a 7.7% increase (Arlington County Profile 2024).
A few other supply markers matter:
- Arlington County had 621 building permits in 2024 (U.S. Census QuickFacts).
- Arlington County had 1,680 households receiving Housing Grants in FY2025 (Affordable Housing Dashboard 2025).
- Arlington County had 1,677 households receiving Housing Choice Vouchers in FY2025 (Affordable Housing Dashboard 2025).
- Arlington County supported 493 persons through Permanent Supportive Housing in FY2025 (Affordable Housing Dashboard 2025).
The housing stock is dense, but the affordable portion remains constrained. Arlington County added 581 committed affordable housing units in FY2025, bringing the total to 11,936 committed affordable units (Affordable Housing Dashboard 2025).
How much rents cost by unit type
The county’s own affordability data shows how quickly costs rise across unit sizes.
| Unit type | Asking rent | Source label |
|---|---|---|
| Studio | $1,992 | Affordable Housing Dashboard 2025 |
| One-bedroom | $2,549 | Affordable Housing Dashboard 2025 |
| Two-bedroom | $2,988 | Affordable Housing Dashboard 2025 |
| Three-bedroom | $3,814 | Affordable Housing Dashboard 2025 |
Those are FY2025 Q3 asking rents (Affordable Housing Dashboard 2025). The pattern is simple: every additional bedroom pushes the monthly total higher, and the jump from one-bedroom to three-bedroom is substantial.
The county profile and housing needs material show the same pressure from a different angle. Median gross rent among 0-bedroom units was $1,222 for 3,834 units in the 2023 ACS (Arlington Housing Needs Assessment Presentation 2025). Median gross rent among 1-bedroom units was $1,285 for 21,180 units (Arlington Housing Needs Assessment Presentation 2025). Median gross rent among 2-bedroom units was $1,532 for 41,372 units (Arlington Housing Needs Assessment Presentation 2025). Median gross rent among 3-bedroom units was $1,898 for 4,214 units (Arlington Housing Needs Assessment Presentation 2025).
Those figures are useful because they show the distribution of unit types alongside the rent levels. Two-bedroom units were the largest group in the dataset, while three-bedroom units were much less common (Arlington Housing Needs Assessment Presentation 2025). That mismatch matters for households that need more space and have fewer affordable options.
Who is under the most pressure
The strongest signal in Arlington’s rental market is not just that rents are high. It is that a large share of renters are stretching to stay housed.
Arlington County renter households had a 47.6% housing cost burden rate above 30% of income in 2023 ACS, while owner households had an 18.5% rate (Arlington Housing Needs Assessment Presentation 2025). That gap is large, and it is a clean reminder that renting in Arlington is more financially strained than owning.
The senior burden rate is even higher. Arlington County seniors had a 59% housing cost burden rate in 2023 ACS (Arlington Housing Needs Assessment Presentation 2025).
Rent burden also shows up in the countywide trend line. Arlington County gross rent as a share of household income was 57.8% for rent-burdened households in 2023, up from 51.3% in 2012 (Arlington Housing Needs Assessment 2025).
That change suggests that the households already under strain are committing a larger share of income to housing than they were a decade earlier. The market has become more demanding even before you look at any one specific lease.
A few other household measures help explain why this pressure lands the way it does:
- Arlington County had 117,700 households as of January 2024 (Arlington County Profile 2024).
- Arlington County had 112,027 households in 2020-2024 (U.S. Census QuickFacts).
- Arlington County average household size was 2.14 persons in the 2020 Census (Arlington County Profile 2024).
- Arlington County persons per household were 2.08 in 2020-2024 (U.S. Census QuickFacts).
- Arlington County residents age 5+ speaking a language other than English at home were 29.4% in 2020-2024 (U.S. Census QuickFacts).
Affordability and assistance programs
The county’s response to rental pressure is not limited to general housing stock growth. It also includes a network of targeted assistance and regulated affordability.
Arlington County had 17.7% of its housing stock affordable up to 60% AMI in the Affordable Housing Dashboard 2025. Arlington County also had 11,936 committed affordable units after the FY2025 addition of 581 units (Affordable Housing Dashboard 2025).
The dashboard shows that housing supports remain active:
- 1,611 households were served through eviction prevention in FY2025 (Affordable Housing Dashboard 2025).
- 469 persons were served through shelters in FY2025 (Affordable Housing Dashboard 2025).
- 93% of Permanent Supportive Housing participants remained in PSH or exited to permanent housing in FY2025 (Affordable Housing Dashboard 2025).
The income and rent limits give a sense of the ceiling households face in the regulated market. Arlington County affordable rental unit income limit for one-person households at 80% AMI is $93,040 effective May 1, 2026 (Income and Rent Limits). Arlington County affordable rental unit income limit for six-person households at 30% AMI is $57,810 effective May 1, 2026 (Income and Rent Limits). Arlington County affordable rental unit maximum rent for an efficiency at 80% AMI is $2,362 effective May 1, 2026 (Income and Rent Limits). Arlington County affordable rental unit maximum rent for a four-bedroom unit at 30% AMI is $1,445 effective May 1, 2026 (Income and Rent Limits).
That spread is worth reading carefully. An efficiency at 80% AMI can still reach $2,362 (Income and Rent Limits), which illustrates how even regulated or income-restricted units can sit near market pressure in a high-cost county.
The housing preservation study adds a longer historical frame. Arlington County had about 4,000 market-rate affordable apartments affordable to households at or below 60% AMI today, down from nearly 20,000 in 2000 (Multifamily Reinvestment Study). Arlington County preserved about 3,000 of the 20,000 market-rate affordable units from 2000 as permanently affordable committed units (Multifamily Reinvestment Study).
That is a major structural shift. A rental market can look healthy on paper if buildings are occupied and new units are coming online, but the actual affordability mix can still erode. The county’s own historical data shows that erosion clearly (Multifamily Reinvestment Study).
Why the market stays tight
Arlington’s rental market remains tight for reasons that show up across population, jobs, income, and travel patterns.
The county has grown steadily:
- Arlington County population was 207,627 in the 2010 Census (U.S. Census QuickFacts).
- Arlington County population was 238,643 in the 2020 Census (U.S. Census QuickFacts).
- Arlington County population grew 2.2% from April 1, 2020 to July 1, 2025 (U.S. Census QuickFacts).
- Arlington County population density was 9,179.6 persons per square mile in 2020 (U.S. Census QuickFacts).
- Arlington County land area was 26.00 square miles in 2020 (U.S. Census QuickFacts).
Limited land area means the county has to absorb change inside a compact footprint. That is one of the reasons the rental market tends to feel constrained even when new units are added.
The labor market reinforces the same pressure. Arlington County had 6,334 employer establishments in 2023 (U.S. Census QuickFacts). Arlington County had 159,716 total employment in 2023 (U.S. Census QuickFacts). Arlington County total annual payroll was $18,145,558 thousand in 2023 (U.S. Census QuickFacts). Arlington County total employment increased 3.4% from 2022 to 2023 (U.S. Census QuickFacts).
Income helps, but it does not erase the burden. Arlington County median household income was $142,114 in 2020-2024 dollars (U.S. Census QuickFacts). Arlington County per capita income was $90,786 in 2020-2024 dollars (U.S. Census QuickFacts). Arlington County poverty rate was 8.0% in 2020-2024 (U.S. Census QuickFacts).
Those are strong income levels, but the rent figures above explain why many households still feel squeezed. High income does not automatically neutralize a market where median gross rent is $2,322 (U.S. Census QuickFacts) and average asking rent is $2,549 (Arlington EDC 2025).
Commuting also carries context. Arlington County mean travel time to work was 26.2 minutes in 2020-2024 (U.S. Census QuickFacts). That time is not long enough to suggest a distant, low-cost suburban escape for many households, especially when they are balancing work, housing, and location tradeoffs inside a compact county.
A closer look at household and housing characteristics
Arlington’s renter profile is shaped by education, connectivity, and stability.
Arlington County households with a computer were 98.2% in 2020-2024 (U.S. Census QuickFacts). Arlington County households with a broadband internet subscription were 95.2% in 2020-2024 (U.S. Census QuickFacts). Arlington County residents age 25+ with a high school diploma or higher were 95.2% in 2020-2024 (U.S. Census QuickFacts). Arlington County residents age 25+ with a bachelor’s degree or higher were 77.1% in 2020-2024 (U.S. Census QuickFacts).
Those figures help explain why the rental market is often tied to professional employment and a highly educated household base. They do not make housing cheaper, but they do show the type of demand that tends to persist in the county.
Stability is mixed. Arlington County residents living in the same house one year ago were 78.7% in 2020-2024 (U.S. Census QuickFacts). That means roughly four in five residents stayed put over a one-year window, while the remaining share moved or changed housing circumstances. In a tight market, the moving share matters because it feeds turnover demand into the same limited housing pool.
What the county profile suggests
The plain reading of the data is straightforward. Arlington’s rental market is large, dense, and expensive, with a strong multifamily base and a high renter share. It has a meaningful set of affordability programs, but the preservation challenge is real and long running.
The most important numbers to keep in mind are these:
- 62.6% renter occupancy in January 2024 (Arlington County Profile 2024).
- 89,100 multifamily units, or 72% of housing units, in January 2024 (Arlington County Profile 2024).
- $2,322 median gross rent in 2020-2024 (U.S. Census QuickFacts).
- $2,549 average apartment rent in 2024 county EDC materials (Arlington EDC 2025).
- 47.6% renter cost burden rate in 2023 ACS (Arlington Housing Needs Assessment Presentation 2025).
- 11,936 committed affordable housing units in FY2025 after new additions (Affordable Housing Dashboard 2025).
The market is not defined by a single number. It is defined by the combination of high rents, tight supply, a large renter base, and a long affordability history that has shifted from broad market-rate affordability toward more targeted intervention (Multifamily Reinvestment Study).
If you are reading Arlington rental market statistics to understand where pressure comes from, the answer is in the full stack: population growth, a compact land base, multifamily concentration, high household incomes, and rents that still consume a large share of income for many renters.