Jobs in the United States → United States guide → Cities → Arlington

Working in Arlington, VA

Jobs, pay and daily life in Arlington, from official statistics with source and year on every table.

In short: Arlington (Virginia): 236,254 residents, median household income $142,114, median rent $2,322, unemployment 3.7%.
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Map: Arlington in Virginia

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By AtiveSite · Published 07/11/2026 · Updated 07/11/2026 · Every figure is linked to its source below.

236,254residents (ACS 2024)
$142,114median household income
$2,322median rent a month
3.7%unemployment (BLS)
77.1%bachelor's degree or higher
41.3%homeowners

Overview

CITY (Arlington) Official statistic Source: U.S. Census Bureau, American Community Survey 2020–2024 5-year (via Census Reporter) · Data: ACS 2020–2024

Arlington is a city in Virginia with 236,254 residents. The median household earns $142,114 a year and the median rent is $2,322 a month, which is 19.6% of the median household income. It is part of the Washington-Arlington-Alexandria, DC-VA-MD-WV metropolitan area, where BLS counts 3,136,190 jobs.

Federal jobs in Virginia (1,131) →State guide: VirginiaCountry guide

Jobs

LIVE (federal) + METRO Live feed + official statistic Source: USAJOBS (federal jobs only) · BLS Occupational Employment and Wage Statistics (OEWS), May 2025 · Data: 07/11/2026

There are 1,131 federal postings open in Virginia (USAJOBS, state level; we do not have a city filter for them). Private-sector jobs are not in this feed.

Open federal jobs in Virginia →

Occupations with the most jobs in the metro (among our 240 niches)

Sort:
Occupation ⇅Jobs ⇅Location quotient ⇅Median pay (year) ⇅Entry (10th pct.) ⇅Top (90th pct.) ⇅Median vs US ⇅
General and Operations Managers112,5301.59$156,460$67,600$291,420+48%
Business Operations Specialists, All Other76,6003.49$104,770$59,010$184,020+26%
Software Developers69,0602.03$154,930$96,450$213,660+14%
Retail Salespersons66,9200.85$36,610$30,640$47,800+3%
Management Analysts62,3603.44$126,830$78,970$181,280+25%
Fast Food and Counter Workers60,5600.78$34,600$30,460$42,490+11%
Janitors and Cleaners, Except Maids and Housekeeping Cleaners59,0901.33$37,840$31,720$48,780+3%
Cashiers50,6000.81$35,470$30,330$44,710+8%
Home Health and Personal Care Aides50,4500.58$38,530$30,670$46,080+8%
Lawyers46,8403.08$195,190$106,520$382,890+22%
Registered Nurses46,8300.69$102,710$80,750$132,900+5%
Waiters and Waitresses46,1601.01$46,040$31,880$81,060+31%
Managers, All Other42,0103.35$170,980$128,610$221,230+20%
Accountants and Auditors41,4701.42$102,140$67,530$170,980+22%
Security Guards40,9501.58$46,830$36,530$78,790+23%
Office Clerks, General39,4100.79$51,880$36,230$76,240+15%
Project Management Specialists38,2301.78$127,030$74,110$192,450+24%
Secretaries and Administrative Assistants, Except Legal, Medical, and Executive37,0101.08$53,660$37,890$79,660+13%
Customer Service Representatives36,7500.70$46,220$35,640$73,150+3%
Stockers and Order Fillers35,3400.62$37,870$31,280$50,050+1%

Highest-paying occupations in the metro (at least 500 jobs)

Sort:
Occupation ⇅Jobs ⇅Location quotient ⇅Median pay (year) ⇅Entry (10th pct.) ⇅Top (90th pct.) ⇅Median vs US ⇅
Psychiatrists5500.97$246,990$45,150$377,060-12%
Emergency Medicine Physicians7701.17≥ $239,200≥ $239,200≥ $239,200n/a
Family Medicine Physicians1,4700.68$225,140$125,150$329,200-8%
General Internal Medicine Physicians1,3701.01$223,250$60,580$423,610-13%
Airline Pilots, Copilots, and Flight Engineers5,1002.44$209,750$94,790$358,480-10%
Physicians, All Other10,6501.54$208,710$77,430$402,900-22%
Computer and Information Systems Managers20,8001.54$195,190$133,100$295,960+11%
Lawyers46,8403.08$195,190$106,520$382,890+22%
Public Relations Managers9,4706.27$195,190$117,350$340,440+33%
Financial Managers26,4301.56$185,270$122,670$327,470+11%
Architectural and Engineering Managers5,5001.24$185,220$138,180$259,680+8%
Dentists, General3,0401.21$184,540$105,610$324,370+8%
Marketing Managers8,9001.12$181,260$106,860$296,500+9%
Human Resources Managers6,2801.41$177,960$111,720$282,330+19%
Sales Managers8,7800.68$175,820$83,560$306,700+19%
Air Traffic Controllers1,8003.96$174,870$47,760$225,680+18%
Pediatricians, General5500.69$172,520$79,240$354,030-18%
Purchasing Managers4,1802.46$172,150$132,890$217,790+16%
Compensation and Benefits Managers5901.27$171,950$116,580$281,000+15%
Physicists1,5203.69$171,580$98,950$225,680-0%

Economy

METRO (Washington-Arlington-Alexandria, DC-VA-MD-WV) Official statistic Source: BLS Occupational Employment and Wage Statistics (OEWS), May 2025 · BLS Local Area Unemployment Statistics · Data: OEWS May 2025; BLS 2026M09

These figures are for the whole Washington-Arlington-Alexandria, DC-VA-MD-WV metropolitan area, not the city alone.

Sort:
Occupation field ⇅Jobs ⇅Location quotient ⇅Median pay ⇅Median vs US ⇅
Business and Financial Operations369,1901.74$105,260+27%
Management319,7601.42$165,010+30%
Office and Administrative Support290,0500.81$53,250+12%
Food Preparation and Serving Related252,7900.92$37,860+8%
Computer and Mathematical233,3202.20$133,760+22%
Sales and Related215,0400.79$41,270+7%
Educational Instruction and Library192,1801.05$66,670+10%
Transportation and Material Moving176,4700.64$46,300+4%
Healthcare Practitioners and Technical153,7300.78$102,250+18%
Construction and Extraction113,4100.88$61,250+3%
Healthcare Support111,7400.70$43,060+12%
Building and Grounds Cleaning and Maintenance102,8801.12$38,620+2%
Protective Service95,9201.26$64,710+29%
Installation, Maintenance, and Repair87,2300.71$63,650+7%
Personal Care and Service77,2001.18$38,590+6%
Legal68,2802.59$175,070+71%
Arts, Design, Entertainment, Sports, and Media66,2801.61$90,060+44%
Life, Physical, and Social Science58,9401.98$122,990+49%
Architecture and Engineering56,0401.06$117,440+18%
Community and Social Service47,2600.88$65,360+12%
Production46,7200.27$48,080+2%
Farming, Fishing, and Forestry1,7400.20$44,640+22%

Median pay across all occupations: $71,060 (US $50,980); unemployment 3.7% (2026M09).

Industries where residents work

Sort:
Industry (residents) ⇅Share of employed residents ⇅
Professional, scientific, management, administrative29.6%
Public administration16.6%
Education and health care15.6%
Finance, insurance, real estate7.8%
Other services7.3%
Arts, entertainment, accommodation, food6.6%
Retail trade4.4%
Construction3.4%
Information3.1%
Manufacturing2.6%
Transportation, warehousing, utilities2.5%
Wholesale trade0.4%
Agriculture, forestry, fishing, mining0.1%

Commuting

CITY (Arlington) Official statistic Source: U.S. Census Bureau, American Community Survey 2020–2024 5-year (via Census Reporter) · Data: ACS 2020–2024

Sort:
How residents get to work ⇅Share ⇅
Drive alone38.0%
Public transit14.0%
Walk4.4%
Work from home35.3%
Commute of 45 minutes or more14.7%

Shares are of workers aged 16 and over; they describe residents, wherever they work.

Pay and cost

CITY + METRO Official statistic Source: U.S. Census Bureau, American Community Survey 2020–2024 5-year (via Census Reporter) · BEA Regional Price Parities · Data: ACS 2020–2024; RPP 2024

Sort:
Indicator ⇅Value ⇅
Median household income$142,114
Income per person$90,786
Median gross rent per month$2,322
Yearly rent as share of median household income19.6%
Median home value$895,000
Homeowners41.3%
Poverty rate7.4%
Price level of the metro area (US = 100)108.9
Metro median pay, all occupations$71,060

Does this salary work here? (estimate)

Estimate for a wage earner: 2026 federal brackets and standard deduction (IRS), Social Security 6.2% up to $184,500, Medicare 1.45% (+0.9% above $200,000 single / $250,000 married), and a state rate you set; graduated states show 0 until you enter your own estimate. It ignores credits, pre-tax deductions, local taxes and benefits. Sources: IRS: tax year 2026 inflation adjustments · SSA wage base per Federal Register notice 2025-19763.

State tax: Graduated, top rate 5.75%.

People and education

CITY (Arlington) Official statistic Source: U.S. Census Bureau, American Community Survey 2020–2024 5-year (via Census Reporter) · Data: ACS 2020–2024

Sort:
Indicator ⇅Value ⇅
Median age35.5
High school or higher (25+)95.2%
Bachelor's degree or higher (25+)77.1%
Born abroad22.4%
Labour force participation (16+)75.6%

Where the foreign-born residents come from (by region)

Asia10,232 (39.2%)
Latin America7,301 (28.0%)
Africa4,145 (15.9%)
Europe3,860 (14.8%)
Northern America400 (1.5%)
Oceania140 (0.5%)

Work permits are federal: see permits and first steps.

Climate

CITY (Arlington) Model estimate on a 0.5° grid Source: NASA POWER climatology (MERRA-2, 2001–2025) · Data: monthly means 2001–2025

Sort:
Month ⇅Mean temperature (°C) ⇅Mean temperature (°F) ⇅Precipitation (mm) ⇅
Jan0.13267
Feb1.33470
Mar5.84284
Apr12.25492
May17.664109
Jun22.873118
Jul25.878116
Aug25.177109
Sep21.370107
Oct14.458105
Nov7.84680
Dec2.83795

Satellite-reanalysis climatology on a grid of roughly 50 km, so it smooths local effects (hills, coast, city heat). It is not a weather-station record.

Nearby cities

CITY Calculation Source: straight-line distance from coordinates (Census Gazetteer) · Data: 2024

Sort:
City ⇅State ⇅Distance (straight line) ⇅Population ⇅Median household income ⇅Median rent ⇅
AlexandriaVA4 mi156,976$119,681$2,089
WashingtonDC5 mi702,250$109,707$1,931
BaltimoreMD39 mi568,271$64,778$1,345
RichmondVA95 mi229,359$64,587$1,372
Newport NewsVA128 mi184,216$69,634$1,339
PhiladelphiaPA131 mi1,573,916$60,521$1,500
HamptonVA134 mi137,557$69,621$1,427
NorfolkVA143 mi233,596$66,109$1,321
AllentownPA147 mi125,976$55,494$1,317
Virginia BeachVA156 mi454,808$94,579$1,753

Straight-line distance in miles, not driving distance.

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FAQ

How many people live in Arlington?

236,254 (Census Bureau ACS 2020–2024 5-year estimate).

What is the median rent in Arlington?

$2,322 a month (ACS 2020–2024), which is 19.6% of the median household income.

What is the median household income in Arlington?

$142,114 (ACS 2020–2024, in 2024 dollars).

What is the unemployment rate in Arlington?

3.7% (BLS metro area 2026M09).

Which state is Arlington in?

Virginia. See the state guide for minimum wage, taxes and pay.

Sources

Sources

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