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Place dossier plate
SheetWA-ARLINGTON-WA · Arlington, WA 20,599 pop · income 66th pct
Instrument codes from this place’s ACS population and household income, BEA state COL, FBI safety, national income percentile, photo-finish peer city, home-value band, and matched Census-tract book - not a moving recommendation.
Income neighbourhood around Arlington
Lowest/highest poles plus peers nearest Arlington on median household income. Full ladder: /browse and /rankings.
median HH income
Pittsburg · lowest
40,220
Pittsburg · lowest
40,220 median HH income
27.7% of the leader · rank #1
Pace · near
84,912
Pace · near
84,912 median HH income
58.6% of the leader · rank #2
Walker · near
84,912
Walker · near
84,912 median HH income
58.6% of the leader · rank #3
Anna · near
84,917
Anna · near
84,917 median HH income
58.6% of the leader · rank #4
Arlington · this city
84,919
Arlington · this city
84,919 median HH income
58.6% of the leader · rank #5
West Des Moin… · near
84,925
West Des Moin… · near
84,925 median HH income
58.6% of the leader · rank #6
Bothell West · highest
144,941
Bothell West · highest
144,941 median HH income
100.0% of the leader · rank #7
What this shows Neighbourhood peers only - not a full nationwide city board. Open a near peer when the gap is small; open the poles when the spread is wide.
Compare beyond this state
Nationwide peers by population, income, and FBI crime rate
Out-of-state nearest neighbors for Arlington on ACS population and median household income
, plus FBI UCR reporting rate when the extract covers this place. Link sets are deduped so each column is a distinct comparison path, not a forecast that peers share a labor market or climate.
Similar population
Nearest out-of-state cities by ACS population. This city: 20,599.
Agency-reported UCR totals per 100,000 population, not a neighborhood safety grade or a prediction of personal risk.
Arlington - the verdict
Out of every US city with 1,000+ residents, Arlington places in the 66th percentile for household income and the 22nd percentile for safety. Source: Census ACS + FBI UCR.
66th
percentile, household income
84th
percentile, home value
70th
percentile, median rent
22nd
percentile, safety
📝 How we sourced this
Population, income, and housing-cost figures come from the U.S. Census Bureau American Community Survey 5-year estimates (B-series tables). Crime data uses FBI UCR; climate uses NOAA Climate Normals; school counts come from NCES Common Core of Data; permits use the Census Building Permits Survey (BPS). See our methodology page for the full ETL pipeline and OMB / FIPS join keys.
Data Snapshot: Arlington, WA
20,599 people live in Arlington, Washington - a small city by U.S. Census Bureau ACS 2023 estimates. The typical household in Arlington brings in $84,919 a year, above the median for U.S. cities on this measure, with a poverty rate of 7.0%. Typical homes in Arlington are valued around $492,600, and the median resident age is 37.1 years. Educational attainment runs 20.3% of adults with a bachelor's degree or higher. Separately, 61.2% of working-age residents are in the labor force.
The Census Building Permit Survey recorded 120 residential units authorized here in 2024 (Construction Slowdown), down 51% from five years earlier. Crime here tracks close to the national norm: FBI UCR figures show 2559.0 crimes per 100,000 residents, near the national average (reporting is voluntary across agencies, so treat this as reporting activity rather than a definitive danger score). NOAA puts Arlington's yearly average temperature at 49.1°F with 49.0 inches of precipitation per year and 4.3 inches of snowfall.
Washington carries a cost-of-living premium: BEA Regional Price Parities 2024 puts Washington at 107.0 on a 100-equals-national-average scale (Above Average). A typical two-bedroom carries a HUD Fair Market Rent of $1,472 per month statewide. EIA 2023 residential energy data puts Washington's average monthly utility costs around $188 (state average). Workers in Arlington report an average commute of 27.0 minutes, with 73.7% driving alone and 11.1% working from home. Natural-hazard exposure scores 70.0 out of 100 on FEMA's National Risk Index (High).
A decision-led reading path
Useful questions to ask of Arlington's data
How this reading path is ordered
This is not a composite city score. It is a city-specific route through the available public records, ordered for this profile so the page starts with questions the joined data can actually answer. The route here runs from population change to housing and income to climate and hazard context to comparison shortlist to reported crime to schools and households to work and mobility; another city can have a different sequence or fewer supported layers because the source joins are not uniform.
For Arlington, city-specific coverage includes annual population history, FBI reported-crime rates, commute-mode shares, matched public-school count, local building permits.
No matched row is reported here for within-city Census tract profiles; the page leaves those layers out instead of substituting a statewide or national value.
Question 1
Is Arlington growing, shrinking, or holding steady?
Census PEP estimates show the population grew by +1,976 residents from 2020 to 2025, a +9.9% change. Separately, Census BPS recorded 120 housing units authorized in 2024. PEP and ACS are different Census series, so the trend is kept separate from the headline ACS population.
Recent estimates point upward. Growth can increase housing demand and service needs, but the permit record must move in the same direction before calling it a supply response; the two series measure different things.
How far does income reach against housing in Arlington?
This is a citywide price-to-income reference, not a mortgage-affordability test; it does not include interest rates, taxes, insurance, household size, or an individual buyer's down payment. Housing value is high relative to the citywide income median. That flags a question for comparison, not a verdict: tenure, household composition, financing costs, and the age of the ACS estimate can all change what a resident actually pays.
The home-value-to-income reference is comparatively stretched: the ACS median home value is 5.8 times median household income. The ACS poverty estimate is 7.0%, which keeps the citywide median from describing every household.
The two sources should not be blended into one comfort or safety score. Use the climate values for baseline conditions and the risk index as a prompt to inspect specific hazards, insurance, and local emergency guidance for a particular address.
NOAA normals put the annual mean temperature at 49.1°F, with 49.0 inches of precipitation and 4.3 inches of annual snowfall. FEMA's state-averaged National Risk Index score for Washington is 70.0 out of 100. Climate normals describe long-run weather; the FEMA score on PlainCities is a state average of county NRI inputs and combines hazards, exposure, vulnerability, and resilience.
Which cities make useful reference points for Arlington?
Use the in-state set to hold state policy and broad price conditions more nearly constant. Use the nationwide size set to ask whether cities with a similar resident count produce different housing, income, or commute outcomes. The income set is a third lens, deliberately separate from population matching. The nationwide peer panel below adds a fourth FBI UCR reporting-rate lens, not personal risk.
Within Washington, the closest population matches are Mill Creek (20,846 residents, $121,578 income); Covington (20,957 residents, $126,730 income); Bothell West (21,014 residents, $144,941 income). Outside the state, the closest population matches in this dataset are Pleasantville, NJ (20,604 residents); Altoona, IA (20,592 residents); Pittsburg, KS (20,606 residents). A third, income-matched reference set of 6 out-of-state cities sits in the income neighbourhood chart near the Place Dossier plate. These are mechanical peer sets, not claims that the places share a labor market, climate, culture, or metro context.
These joined records add useful context, but they do not need another full-size panel. Each remains a separate measure with its own geography and source boundary.
Reported crime
What can the FBI record say about safety in Arlington?
The joined FBI UCR record reports 2559.0 violent and property crimes per 100,000 residents, above the 2280.5 national reference used here. The difference is 12% higher in arithmetic terms, but agency participation is voluntary and reporting completeness varies.
Treat this as a reporting-rate comparison, not a prediction of personal risk or a neighborhood-level safety grade. Tourism, daytime population, reporting practices, and variation inside the city are not adjusted away. The state rank and same-state peer table are the narrower comparisons available on this page.
Total reported rate
2559.0
Violent rate
337.8
Property rate
2221.2
FBI Uniform Crime Reporting, incidents per 100,000. Voluntary agency reporting; not a danger score.
What does the education layer cover for Arlington?
The city has a broader matched school footprint, but count alone does not describe performance, capacity, program availability, or attendance boundaries. This profile deliberately avoids converting it into an unsupported family-friendliness score.
The NCES join finds 13 public schools within the city match. 20.3% of adults age 25+ hold a bachelor's degree or higher in the ACS estimate. These measures answer different questions: the school count describes local institutions, while adult attainment describes residents and cannot be used as a school-quality rating.
Poverty estimate
7.0%
Bachelor's degree+
20.3%
Matched public schools
13
NCES Common Core of Data school locations plus Census ACS resident characteristics.
What does the journey to work look like in Arlington?
Driving alone is the largest reported mode at 73.7%. The reported mean trip to work is 27.0 minutes.
Mode share answers how workers usually travel; it does not measure congestion, reliability, distance to a particular job, or the quality of transit service. No single mode completely explains the work trip here. The mix is more useful than a one-number commute grade, especially when comparing places where transit, walking, and remote work divide the non-driving share differently.
Drive alone
73.7%
Work from home
11.1%
Public transit
0.8%
City-level Census ACS commuting estimates covering 9,781 workers age 16+.
Above median income · poverty 7.0% (Below-median poverty)
Cost of Living Index (state)
107.0 (US=100)
High cost · BEA RPP 2024, Washington average
D
City profile score · Arlington, WA
40/100
5 published dimensions · ACS/FBI 2023
Comparative score against U.S. cities with population of 1,000 or more on Census ACS medians
(income, poverty, bachelor's share, cost of living) and FBI UCR violent-crime rates when
published. Higher means a stronger standing on those published figures, not a livability
rating, not a recommendation to move, buy, or pick a "best" city. Missing inputs drop out
and redistribute weight.
How it is calculated.
Household income C+
$84,919
Median household income vs U.S. cities (pop ≥1,000); ACS.
Poverty rate C-
7.0%
Share of residents below the poverty line; lower scores better on this axis.
Bachelor's+ share F
20.3%
Adults with a bachelor's degree or higher; ACS.
Violent crime F
338 /100k
FBI UCR violent offenses per 100,000 residents; lower is stronger on this axis.
Cost of living F
107.0 index
BEA state Regional Price Parities index (100 ≈ national average); lower is stronger on this axis. Same value for every city in the state.
Arlington profile (scored ACS/FBI dimensions)Read the chart values
Household income: 64/100 (C+) · $84,919
Poverty rate: 53/100 (C-) · 7.0%
Bachelor's+ share: 35/100 (F) · 20.3%
Violent crime: 28/100 (F) · 338 /100k
Cost of living: 15/100 (F) · 107.0 index
Where Arlington sits on home value vs crime among peer cities
Arlington's median home value and FBI crime rate plotted with similar-size and
same-state peers (padded with large cities when the peer set is thin). The second
read: pricey does not always mean safer, check which quadrant this city lands in.
Census ACS median home value vs FBI UCR crime rate - Arlington highlighted among 11 peers.Read the chart values
Arlington, WA (this city): home $492,600, crime 2,559/100k
Pleasantville, NJ : home $177,700, crime 1,877/100k
Altoona, IA : home $257,300, crime 2,154/100k
Pittsburg, KS : home $110,800, crime 3,860/100k
Bethany, OK : home $161,500, crime 1,741/100k
Parma Heights, OH : home $165,800, crime 361/100k
Shafter, CA : home $306,800, crime 1,644/100k
Mill Creek, WA : home $836,300, crime 1,958/100k
Covington, WA : home $590,100, crime 3,285/100k
Port Angeles, WA : home $324,800, crime 3,050/100k
Battle Ground, WA : home $452,000, crime 1,115/100k
How does Arlington compare to other US cities?
Arlington measured against every US city with 1,000+ residents, computed live from the same Census and FBI data shown throughout this page.
Household income66% higher than other cities
Home value84% pricier than other cities
Median rent70% pricier than other cities
Safety22% safer than other cities
"Safer than" reflects total crime rate from FBI UCR; the others use Census ACS estimates.
A national percentile can hide a lot of local variation: narrowed to Washington alone, Arlington ranks #100 of 156 Washington cities by lowest crime rate - a different, more locally useful comparison than stacking it against the entire country.
How we calculate these percentiles & ranks
Each percentile compares Arlington against every qualifying US city; each in-state rank narrows that to Washington only. Full formula and direction notes: methodology.
Washington-relative analysis
Median Gross Rent places Arlington near the bottom of Washington's cities
Among the 599 Washington cities PlainCities tracks with reported median gross rent data, Arlington ranks #1 - the 0th percentile within the state. This is a different, narrower cut than the nationwide percentiles above: it compares Arlington only against its own state's cities, not the full US field.
Median Household Income
#277 of 565
51st percentile in Washington
Median Gross Rent
#1 of 599
0th percentile in Washington
Median Home Value
#202 of 565
64th percentile in Washington
Poverty Rate
#253 of 598
57th percentile in Washington
Bachelor's Degree or Higher
#396 of 599
34th percentile in Washington
How in-state ranks are ordered
Ranked by raw value (highest first); a higher rank is not automatically "better" for every measure, see each metric's own context above. This is a comparison within Washington only, not a livability score. See the methodology for the source and calculation.
Gauge source note
66th percentile nationally for median household income · 22nd percentile for safety (lower crime rate). Source: Census ACS 2023 / FBI UCR 2023.
Arlington's profile vs. every US city
Income, affordability, and safety percentile
Arlington's percentile rank on 3 favorable-direction measures (income, affordability, safety) vs. every tracked US city -- higher on every axis is more favorable. Not a composite quality score, just the arithmetic mean of the axes shown.
How Arlington's home value compares nationally
Median home value vs. every US city (population 1,000+)
$492,60016th percentilemore affordable than 16% of 15,600 US cities
Show national distribution
Each bar is a $25K-wide band; taller bars hold more US cities. The dashed line + filled bar mark this entry. Hover or tap any bar for its full count, share, and where it sits relative to this entry.
Source U.S. Census Bureau ACS 5-Year Estimates · 2023
Arlington's home-value-to-income ratio: 5.8×
ACS median home value divided by median household income.
Band
pressured
> 5.0×
National rank
#13,912 of 15,516
More affordable than 10% of tracked cities (pop. 1,000+)
Size class
#2,915 of 3,317
Small cities (10,000–49,999)
At 5.8×, Arlington sits in the pressured band:
national rank #13,912 of 15,516 and #2,915 of 3,317small cities (10,000–49,999).
Housing value is high relative to the citywide income median, a comparison flag, not a verdict on any household.
How this ratio is calculated
Ratio = Census ACS 2023 median home value ÷ median household income for cities with both fields and population ≥ 1,000.
Rank 1 = lowest ratio (most compact). Bands match the fleet affordability thresholds used on guides (<3.0 / 3.0–5.0 / >5.0).
This is not a mortgage payment estimate and does not include rates, taxes, insurance, or down payment.
Income distribution context
$84,919Arlington, WA median household income (Census ACS)
Show U.S. national quintile / Lorenz context Arlington, WA median household income (Census ACS 5-year) with U.S. national quintile shares for context. Diagonal = equality; the curve is national, not computed for Arlington, WA.
Key socioeconomic indicators
Bachelor's degree or higher (adults 25+)20.3%
Census ACS S1501, educational attainment
Poverty rate (households below FPL)7.0%
Census ACS S1701, poverty status
Labor force participation (adults 16+)61.2%
Census ACS S2301, share of working-age residents in the labor force
Population
20,599
Median Income
$84,919
Median Home Value
$492,600
Median Age
37.1
Poverty Rate
7.0%
Labor force participation
61.2%
Bachelor's Degree+
20.3%
Safety & Crime
Total Crime Rate
2559.0
per 100,000 residents
Violent Crime
337.8
per 100,000 residents
Property Crime
2221.2
per 100,000 residents
Crime reporting caveat
Reflects incidents reported to the FBI's Uniform Crime Reporting program — agency participation is voluntary and reporting completeness varies by jurisdiction and year, so this reflects reporting activity, not a definitive danger score. Not adjusted for tourism, commuter, or daytime population.
Climate
Avg Temperature
49.1°F
Annual Precipitation
49.0"
Annual Snowfall
4.3"
Schools
Total Schools
13
Public schools in this city
Population Change
PEP vintage
Annual U.S. Census Bureau Population Estimates Program (PEP) estimates, 2020–2025
Arlington's Census PEP population estimates, 2020–2025.Read the chart as text
Period
Population
2020
20,055 residents
2021
20,799 residents
2022
21,219 residents
2023
21,377 residents
2024
21,893 residents
2025
22,031 residents
Housing Supply
BPS source
Census Bureau Building Permits Survey (BPS) - annual residential permits authorized
📉 Construction Slowdown
Total Permits (2024)
120
housing units authorized
Single-Family
18
detached homes
Multifamily
102
apartments & condos
Supply Intensity
5.8
permits per 1,000 residents
5-Year Permit Trend (2019–2024)
Year
Total
Single-Family
Multifamily
Est. Value
2019
247
10
237
$26.5M
2020
141
9
132
$15.5M
2021
215
11
204
$23.5M
2022
210
9
201
$22.9M
2023
32
32
0
$8.2M
2024
120
18
102
$21.0M
Permit volume decreased 51% from 2019 to 2024.
Commute Patterns
Commute source
How workers travel to work, Census ACS 2023
Average Commute Time
27.0 minutes
Drive Alone
73.7%
Carpool
12.4%
Public Transit
0.8%
Walk
1.5%
Work from Home
11.1%
Based on 9,781 workers 16 and over.
Monthly Utility Costs
Washington statewide monthly utility average (EIA 2023): $188
EIA 2023 residential energy data puts average monthly utilities across Washington at $188 (electricity about $85 , water and sewer about $55 ).
These are Washington statewide averages, not a meter reading for Arlington. Actual bills vary by home size, usage, and local rates. Source: U.S. Energy Information Administration (EIA) 2023.
Living Costs & Risk
Washington's BEA cost-of-living index is 107.0 (Above Average; US average = 100, RPP 2024). HUD Fair Market Rent for a typical two-bedroom in the county around Arlington is $1,472/mo. FEMA's National Risk Index, averaged to Washington statewide on PlainCities, rates natural-hazard exposure at 70.0 / 100 (High).
Cost/risk geography note
Cost of living is a Washington statewide BEA average; rent is a county-level HUD Fair Market Rent for the county Arlington sits in; the FEMA hazard score shown here is a statewide average of county NRI inputs, not a parcel-level reading.
How Arlington compares to similar-size Washington cities
Same-state peer method
Closest same-state population matches, not geographic neighbors. Population + median household income come from Census Bureau ACS 5-year B01001 and B19013.
Source: U.S. Census Bureau ACS 5-Year 2023, FBI UCR, NOAA Climate Normals, NCES CCD, Census BPS 2024, Census ACS B08301/B08136, U.S. Energy Information Administration (EIA) 2023, BEA Regional Price Parities 2024, HUD Fair Market Rents 2026, FEMA National Risk Index.