Housing & affordability
18% of the score · 38/100
D−
Median home value$538,800
Seattle $717,500
Median rent$1,905/mo
Seattle $2,000/mo
Cost-burdened households39%
Seattle 35%
Arlington
Snohomish County21,095 residents2 school districts
52
D+
Suburbgrade score
49th of 59 Seattle suburbs. Strongest on cost of living, held back by housing & affordability.
52
Seattle median 59
0 · F
A+ · 100
Launch-day rule. Residents is not counted for Arlington yet: no poll responses so far. The overall score of 52 is computed on the other six categories, re-normalised to 100%. Answer the poll →
What living here is actually like
Written summary in preparation This page is waiting for its written summary, and for a person to check it. Until then it is excluded from search engines.
What Arlington is like to live in, by category
Bars show Arlington against Seattle. Weights are published in full.Schools
18% of the score · 53/100
C−
Within-state proficiency52nd pct
Seattle median 70th pct
Student–teacher ratio19.1
Seattle median 18.4
Graduation rate91%
Seattle median 88%
Cost of living
14% of the score · 73/100
B
Housing cost index86
Seattle 100
Eff. tax rate0.68%
Seattle 0.77%
Local sales tax9.30%
Seattle median 10.30%
Commute & transport
14% of the score · 42/100
D−
Mean commute29.9 min
Seattle 29.2 min
Under 30 minutes50%
Seattle 55%
Transit stops / sq mi3.4
Seattle median 8.8 · within 2 miles
Amenities
12% of the score · 62/100
C
Restaurants & cafés32
Seattle median 84 · within 2 miles
Groceries3
Seattle median 6 · within 2 miles
Parks52
Seattle median 95 · within 2 miles
Employment & income
12% of the score · 47/100
D
Median household income$88,231
Seattle $115,177
Unemployment4.2%
Seattle 4.8%
Professional occupations34%
Seattle 52%
Residents
12% of the score · inactive
—
No responses yet. Residents is excluded from the score until eight people answer.
Ask the people who live here
Twelve yes/no questions, one tap each. No dataset knows whether the yards are kept or whether anyone talks to their neighbours. Answers feed the Residents grade, which needs eight responses before it counts.
Nobody has answered for Arlington yet. If you live here, you can be the first.
Is it quiet at night?
—
Do you feel safe walking after dark?
—
Can you walk to a grocery store?
—
Is it good for young children?
—
Are yards and streets well kept?
—
Tap either button to answer — no account neededAll twelve questions →
Better than Arlington on housing & affordability
Arlington's weakest grade is D−. Six suburbs are within 25 miles and score higher on the same four inputs.
SuburbHousingOverall
Mill Creek East23 mi from ArlingtonB 67 C+ Silver Firs21 mi from ArlingtonB− 65 C+ Eastmont19 mi from ArlingtonC+ 63 C+ Mukilteo19 mi from ArlingtonC 61 C Mill Creek21 mi from ArlingtonC− 65 C+ Martha Lake23 mi from ArlingtonD+ 62 C Median home value: ACS 2020–24 · Ownership rate: ACS 2020–24
Common questions about living in Arlington
Is Arlington, WA a good place to live?
Arlington scores 52 out of 100, 49th of 59 Seattle suburbs. It is strongest on cost of living and weakest on housing & affordability. Every weight behind that score is published on the methodology page.
Is Arlington expensive to live in?
Cost of living grades B. The median home is $538,800, 25% below the Seattle median, and the effective property tax rate is 0.68%. $1,905/mo is the median gross rent.
How good are the schools in Arlington?
Schools grade C−. The districts serving Arlington sit at the 52nd pct within-state proficiency percentile, with a 91% graduation rate and a 19.1 student–teacher ratio. Arlington is served by Arlington School District and Lakewood School District. Proficiency is only ever compared inside the same state.
How long is the commute from Arlington?
The mean commute is 29.9 min, with 50% of workers travelling under 30 minutes and 12% working from home. Transit density is 3.4 stops per square mile.
Can you walk anywhere in Arlington?
Within two miles there are 3 groceries, 32 restaurants and cafés and 52 parks, which grades C on amenities.
Are the homes in Arlington old or new?
The median home in Arlington was built in 1996 — newer than the Seattle median of 1985. That is a median, so a town can be half post-war and half new-build and still land there. 68% of homes are houses rather than flats.
Every answer is built from the figures on this page, with their sources and as-of dates on the methodology page.