Living in Arlington, TX

Crime rates in Arlington are a touch above the national midpoint. The violent crime index comes in at 109 and property crime at 117, where 100 represents the U.S. average. That's not alarming, but it's enough that you should spend real time researching specific neighborhoods rather than assuming everywhere is equally fine. Talk to people who live there, walk the streets at different hours, and check the local police department's crime map. FBI UCR data.

Housing costs in Arlington are reasonable. Median rent sits at $1,470/month with median household income at $75,171/year — a 23.5% rent-to-income ratio. That's well within the comfort zone that most financial advisors recommend. It's not dirt cheap, but most working households can afford rent here without financial strain. Other costs like groceries and utilities will vary, but the rent picture is solid. Census ACS 2023 data.

Worth considering, yes. At 23 minutes average, the commute in Arlington isn't brutal but it's not trivial either. 72.4% drive alone, 0.3% ride transit, and 13.1% work remotely. Where you live relative to your office will make a bigger difference than the city-wide average suggests.

About what you'd expect anywhere. The average monthly utility bill in Arlington runs around $244 for electricity, gas, water, and sewer combined. The national average is $230, so you're right in line. Your actual bill depends on home size, insulation quality, and how much you run the AC or heater — but no surprises here.

A fair amount. The total effective tax rate is roughly 10.3% when you combine income, property, and sales taxes. Sales tax alone is 8.3%. That's close to the national average — not punishing, not light. If you're relocating from a low-tax state, run the numbers for your income level before committing. The difference can add up to thousands per year.

Everything on this page is built from public government sources: rent and income figures from the Census Bureau's American Community Survey (ACS 5-Year Estimates, 2023); commute and transportation data from Census ACS tables B08303 and B08006; crime rates from the FBI Uniform Crime Report; utility cost estimates from the U.S. Energy Information Administration. We refresh each dataset monthly through an automated pipeline and cross-check for anomalies. No surveys, no user-submitted guesses — just official federal data presented in a way that's actually useful for people researching a move.