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44. Arlington, VA
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Arlington
WINNER
Top 100 rank: 44
Population: 210,000
Compare Arlington to Top 10 Best Places
Arlington's prime location directly across the Potomac River from Washington, D.C., means that some residents can bike or walk to work in the city. Of course, with the Pentagon and a wealth of other employment options located right in Arlington, a commute across the river isn't always necessary. In fact, Arlington residents have enjoyed several years of job growth, and there are new projects still in the works; 1.4 million square feet of commercial space is currently under construction. --E.R.
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Arlington stats
  City stats Best places avg.
Median family income
(per year)
$132,580 $96,825
Job growth %
(2000-2011)*
9.66% 25.01%
See jobs near Arlington
Median home price $485,000 $269,768
See Arlington homes for sale
Test scores reading
(% above/below state average)
4.1% 28.2%
Test scores math
(% above/below average)
5.3% 29.2%
Personal crime incidents (per 1,000) 33 2
Property crime incidents (per 1,000) 373 20
Restaurants
(within 15 miles)
7,462 3,134
High temp in July ° F 88.9° 86.8°
Low temp in Jan ° F 24.6° 18.4°
Median age 33.8 35.2
Financial City stats Best places avg.
Median family income
(per year)
$132,580 $96,825
Family purchasing power
(annual, cost-of-living adjusted)
$128,969 $93,218
State sales tax 5.00% 5.57%
State income tax rate
(highest bracket)
5.75% 7.31%
State income tax rate
(lowest bracket)
2.00% 3.08%
Auto insurance premiums
(Average price quotes, for the state)
$1,237 $1,596
Job growth %
(2000-2011)*
9.66% 25.01%
See jobs near Arlington
Housing
Median home price $485,000 $269,768
Average property taxes N.A. $6,517
See Arlington homes for sale
Education
Colleges, universities and
professional schools (within 30 miles)
43 8
Test scores reading
(% above/below state average)
4.1% 28.2%
Test scores math
(% above/below average)
5.3% 29.2%
% students attending public/private
schools (located within town limits)
89.2/10.8 91.5/8.5
Quality of life
Air quality index*
(% of days AQI ranked as good)
77.1% 77.3%
Personal crime incidents (per 1,000) 33 2
Property crime incidents (per 1,000) 373 20
Median commute time (in minutes) 26.0 22.2
% population with commute
45 mins. or longer
14.9% 14.9%
% population walk or bike to work 6.8% 3.2%
Leisure and culture
Movie theaters
(within 15 miles)
75 33
Restaurants
(within 15 miles)
7,462 3,134
Bars
(within 15 miles)
193 199
Public golf courses
(within 30 miles)
198 169
Libraries
(within 15 miles)
190 70
Museums (accredited by AAM;
within 30 miles)
30 10
Ski resorts (within 100 miles) 4 6
Arts funding (Dollars per person of state funds spent on arts) 0.7 1.4
Weather
Annual rainfall
(inches)
43.96 34.21
% clear days in the area 29 32
High temp in July ° F 88.9° 86.8°
Low temp in Jan ° F 24.6° 18.4°
Median age 33.8 35.2
Completed at least some college
(% of residents)
83.0% 72.6%
Married % 39.4% 57.9%
Divorced % 7.9% 8.0%
Racial diversity index
(100 is national average; higher numbers indicate greater diversity)
123.5 118.4
From the September 2012 issue
Notes: *County data
Due to erroneous job, cost-of-living, and test score stats for a small number of places, this city's rank changed slightly from an earlier version. Details.

Due to an error by our data provider, an earlier version listed incorrect stats for this city's number of colleges.
(3) Crime incidences are estimates based on FBI 2011 Universal Crime and incidence reports, OnBoard analysis.

(II) Sales tax notes:
California (1%) and Virginia (1%) levy mandatory, statewide add-on sales taxes at the local level; these are included in their state sales tax rates.
Arlington is a county without any incorporated municipalities. However, we treat it as a city here because it is included in the Census Bureau's annual list of incorporated places.
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