The 10 Best Neighborhoods In Arlington, VA For 2024


The best Arlington neighborhoods are Dover Crystal and Lyon Village for 2024 based on Saturday Night Science.

Best Neighborhoods In Arlington
Source: Wikipedia User Mariordo (Mario Roberto Durán Ortiz) | CC BY-SA 3.0

What’s the best part of Arlington?

It could be where everyone knows their neighbor. Or it could be where home prices are the highest, meaning it’s where everyone wants to live.

Instead of relying on public opinion and speculation, we wanted to get the facts straight and find out which neighborhoods in Arlington are the best based on Saturday Night Science.

Whether you live in the sticks or in an apartment building downtown, you want a little pocket that you can call home. And each neighborhood offers different perks and benefits.

Smaller neighborhoods usually have obvious benefits — less crime, a slower pace of life, and a lower cost of living. But not all Arlington neighborhoods are created equal. Some are better than others. But which ones?

If you’re thinking of moving to Virginia and Arlington is on the top of your list, check out the best neighborhoods for 2024.


Table Of Contents: Top Ten | Methodology | Summary | Table


The Best Neighborhoods In Arlington For 2024

  1. Dover Crystal
  2. Lyon Village
  3. Cherrydale
  4. Riverwood
  5. Bellevue Forest
  6. Stafford Albemarle Glebe
  7. Chain Bridge Forest
  8. Rivercrest
  9. Yorktown
  10. Williamsburg

So what’s the best neighborhood to live in Arlington for 2024? According to the most recent census data, Dover Crystal looks to be the best Arlington neighborhood to live in.

Read on to see how we determined the places around Arlington that deserve a little bragging rights, or maybe you’re interested in the worst neighborhoods in Arlington.

For more Virginia reading, check out:

The 10 Best Neighborhoods To Live In Arlington

Population: 487
Median Home Value: $1,202,800 (best)
Median Income: $244,018 (Fifth best)
More on Dover Crystal: Data | Real Estate

Lyon Village Arlington, VA

Source: Wikipedia User | CC BY-SA 3.0

Population: 4,308
Median Home Value: $963,500 (Ninth best)
Median Income: $153,559 (25th best)
More on Lyon Village: Data | Real Estate

Cherrydale Arlington, VA

Source: Wikipedia User | GFDL

Population: 3,888
Median Home Value: $966,020 (Eighth best)
Median Income: $193,072 (12th best)
More on Cherrydale: Data | Real Estate

Population: 213
Median Home Value: $1,202,800 (best)
Median Income: $245,875 (Fourth best)
More on Riverwood: Data | Real Estate

Population: 894
Median Home Value: $1,123,400 (Third best)
Median Income: $250,001 (best)
More on Bellevue Forest: Data | Real Estate

Population: 378
Median Home Value: $941,800 (Tenth best)
Median Income: $205,956 (Eighth best)
More on Stafford Albemarle Glebe: Data | Real Estate

Population: 221
Median Home Value: $941,800 (Tenth best)
Median Income: $205,956 (Eighth best)
More on Chain Bridge Forest: Data | Real Estate

Population: 251
Median Home Value: $1,123,400 (Third best)
Median Income: $250,001 (best)
More on Rivercrest: Data | Real Estate

Yorktown Arlington, VA

Source: Flickr User wfyurasko | CC BY 2.0

Population: 3,515
Median Home Value: $878,050 (16th best)
Median Income: $188,526 (13th best)
More on Yorktown: Data | Real Estate

Population: 3,536
Median Home Value: $873,800 (17th best)
Median Income: $175,927 (15th best)
More on Williamsburg: Data | Real Estate

Methodology: How We Determined The Best Arlington, VA Neighborhoods In 2024

To rank the best neighborhoods in Arlington, we had to determine what criteria define “best” and then apply Saturday Night Science to it.

Using FBI crime, Census, and extrapolated BLS data, we arrived at the following set of criteria:

  • High incomes
  • Low unemployment rates
  • Low crime
  • High home prices
  • High population densities (A proxy for things to do)

We then ranked each neighborhood with scores from 1 to 53 in each category, where 1 was the best.

Next, we averaged the rankings for each neighborhood to create a best neighborhood index.

And finally, we crowned the neighborhood with the lowest best neighborhood index, the “Best City Neighborhood In Arlington.” We’re lookin’ at you, Dover Crystal.

Read on below to learn more about what it’s like to live in the best places Arlington, Virginia has to offer. Or skip to the end to see the list of all the neighborhoods in the city, from best to worst.

We updated this article for 2024. This report is our tenth time ranking the best neighborhoods to live in Arlington.

Summary: Putting A Bow On Our Analysis Of The Best Neighborhoods In Arlington

If you’re measuring the neighborhoods in Arlington where crime is low and everyone wants to live, this is an accurate list.

The best neighborhoods in Arlington are Dover Crystal, Lyon Village, Cherrydale, Riverwood, Bellevue Forest, Stafford Albemarle Glebe, Chain Bridge Forest, Rivercrest, Yorktown, and Williamsburg.

As mentioned earlier, the neighborhoods in Arlington aren’t all good. Forest Glen takes the title of the worst neighborhood to live in Arlington.

The worst neighborhoods in Arlington are Forest Glen, Foxcroft Heights, Glencarlyn, Columbia Heghts, and Penrose.

We ranked the neighborhoods from best to worst in the chart below.

For more Virginia reading, check out:

Best Neighborhoods To Live In Arlington For 2024 Detailed Data

Rank Neighborhood Population Home Value Median Income
1 Dover Crystal 487 $1,202,800 $244,018
2 Lyon Village 4,308 $963,500 $153,559
3 Cherrydale 3,888 $966,020 $193,072
4 Riverwood 213 $1,202,800 $245,875
5 Bellevue Forest 894 $1,123,400 $250,001
6 Stafford Albemarle Glebe 378 $941,800 $205,956
7 Chain Bridge Forest 221 $941,800 $205,956
8 Rivercrest 251 $1,123,400 $250,001
9 Yorktown 3,515 $878,050 $188,526
10 Williamsburg 3,536 $873,800 $175,927
11 Waycroft-Woodlawn 1,733 $765,667 $201,074
12 Woodmont 782 $1,045,150 $206,375
13 Arlington-East Falls 6,264 $815,625 $200,448
14 Arlington Heights 2,985 $692,333 $163,857
15 Donaldson Run 2,382 $1,001,400 $248,041
16 Lyon Park 5,861 $1,014,283 $142,776
17 Old Diminion 1,431 $930,133 $213,751
18 Waverly Hills 3,026 $781,500 $129,015
19 Dominion Hills 1,989 $828,400 $156,072
20 Leeway 2,346 $889,750 $170,806
21 Tara-Leeway Heights 2,486 $898,333 $177,947
22 Highland Park-Overlee Knolls 1,601 $764,875 $175,183
23 Arlington Ridge 5,642 $762,480 $140,308
24 Maywood 892 $887,500 $166,875
25 Bluemont 7,513 $686,520 $172,202
26 Ballston-Virginia Square 13,585 $557,354 $138,995
27 North Rosslyn 2,808 $725,280 $127,447
28 North Highland 3,672 $619,943 $107,908
29 Clarendon-Courthouse 9,742 $729,067 $134,527
30 Boulevard Manor 2,135 $787,100 $157,952
31 Westover Village 1,868 $856,100 $150,277
32 High View Park 2,061 $825,620 $162,203
33 Ashton Heights 5,280 $718,471 $138,581
34 Arlington Forest 2,658 $709,500 $168,843
35 Aurora Highlands 14,687 $696,714 $120,147
36 Fairlington-Shirlington 10,634 $440,233 $122,000
37 Arlington View 1,610 $629,950 $131,080
38 Nauck 5,477 $520,367 $114,516
39 Alcova Heights 2,470 $682,533 $127,157
40 Radnor-Ft Myer Heights 11,938 $507,543 $111,066
41 Columbia Forest 6,004 $383,783 $103,407
42 Buckingham 6,495 $695,520 $85,774
43 Colonial Village 3,244 $511,000 $129,188
44 Douglas Park 10,273 $598,000 $109,851
45 Claremont 2,599 $492,783 $107,823
46 Long Branch Creek 4,042 $530,975 $91,386
47 Barcroft 3,485 $641,033 $109,519
48 Columbia Heights West 7,321 $270,140 $71,130
49 Penrose 4,816 $573,700 $106,436
50 Columbia Heghts 6,804 $315,933 $88,930
51 Glencarlyn 2,271 $619,725 $107,800
52 Foxcroft Heights 1,367 $590,600 $97,892
53 Forest Glen 626 $403,000 $62,630
About Chris Kolmar

Chris Kolmar has been in the real estate business for almost ten years now. He originally worked for Movoto Real Estate as the director of marketing before founding HomeSnacks.

He believes the key to finding the right place to live comes down to looking at the data, reading about things to do, and, most importantly, checking it out yourself before you move.

If you've been looking for a place to live in the past several years, you've probably stumbled upon his writing already.

You can find out more about him on LinkedIn or his website.