Work & commute · Arlington

Work & commute in Arlington, VA

About one in 5 of Arlington’s working residents works in town. The top destinations are Washington (28%), Tysons (7%) and Alexandria (4%). Half commute less than 6 miles.

Census LEHD commute flows, 2023 Census ACS commute times

Work in town

20%

22,412 of 110,416 working residents

Typical commute

6 mi

Half commute less than this, straight-line

Average commute time

26 min

One way, from the Census survey

Work from home

35%

of workers, from the Census survey

Coming and going

Who leaves, who stays, who comes in

On a workday 88,004 Arlington residents head out of town to work, 22,412 work right here, and 133,119 people come in from elsewhere to fill jobs in Arlington.

88,004live here, work elsewhere

22,412live and work here

133,119work here, live elsewhere

Leave for workStayCome in

The map

Where Arlington goes to work

Washington, DC4.9 mi away

28%30,954

Arlington (in town)right here

20%22,412

Tysons7.4 mi away

7%8,144

Alexandria4.2 mi away

4%4,933

Reston14.4 mi away

3%3,551

Springfield8 mi away

2%2,151

McNair17.6 mi away

2%1,942

Bethesda, MD7.6 mi away

1%1,382

Chantilly18.4 mi away

1%1,281

Fair Oaks13.8 mi away

1%1,097

Everywhere elseother towns and states

29%32,569

Lines run between town centers; a thicker line means more commuters. The top 10 towns each way.

How far

How far Arlington commutes

Straight-line distance from home to work, for every working resident. Roads add to it, so real drives run longer.

73%

18%

73%Under 10 mi

18%10–24 mi

2%25–50 mi

6%Over 50 mi

Job hub or commuter town?

Arlington is balanced between jobs and homes

1.41jobs per working resident

Balanced

About as many jobs as working residents (1.41 per resident).

The jobs

What the jobs in Arlington are

155,531 jobs are based in Arlington. Here is what they are, next to the jobs Arlington’s own residents hold wherever they work.

Jobs based in Arlington

155,531 jobs

Goods (factories, building, farms)2%

Trade, transport & utilities12%

Services (health, schools, offices…)85%

$1,250 a month or less7%

$1,251–$3,333 a month13%

Over $3,333 a month80%

Jobs Arlington residents hold

110,416 working residents

Goods (factories, building, farms)4%

Trade, transport & utilities9%

Services (health, schools, offices…)87%

$1,250 a month or less8%

$1,251–$3,333 a month13%

Over $3,333 a month80%

+14%

Jobs based in Arlington, 2013 → 2023: 136,963 → 155,531. Big swings can come from how a large employer reports its locations, not only from real openings or closings.

About these numbers

How to read this page

Every worker, home to workThe Census links each worker’s home block to their main job’s block, for jobs covered by unemployment insurance. That’s most jobs, but not the self-employed.

Where the employer saysA job counts where the employer reports it. Some big employers report one address for many sites, which can make a few commutes look longer than they are.

Two surveysFlows, distances and jobs: LEHD 2023. Commute time and working from home: the Census American Community Survey.

Source: U.S. Census Bureau, LEHD Origin-Destination Employment Statistics (LODES 8), 2023, primary jobs; American Community Survey 5-year estimates.