Welcome to the land of the 1%. Where you’ll find lawyers, and doctors, and business executives. And while they aren’t made of ticky-tacky, they are definitely made of money.
These are the wealthiest neighborhoods that Arlington has to offer — where houses go for well over the national median and household incomes follow suit.
But where exactly in Arlington do the richest of the rich people live? That would be Gulf Branch, where the median income is a cool $250,001.
$250,001 median income
$250,001 median income
$250,001 median income
$248,041 median income
$245,875 median income
$244,018 median income
$235,451 median income
$219,998 median income
$213,751 median income
$206,375 median income
The receipts
Compare the top ten
Pick a metric. The bars rescale. The red line is Virginia’s statewide median.
Virginia statewide median: $93,170
Virginia statewide median: $412,467
Saturday Night Science
How we determined the wealthiest neighborhoods in Arlington for 2026
Every city has its best neighborhoods — where everyone wants to live — and the worst neighborhoods — where no one wants to live. And then you have the wealthiest neighborhoods, where no one can afford to live.
And by no one, we mean you because there’s always someone richer than you.
How do you quantify richer than you? We looked at one simple criterion:
- Highest median household income
Using Saturday Night Science, we researched income data from the Census and BLS for every neighborhood in Arlington.
We ranked every neighborhood in Arlington by median income from highest to lowest. The neighborhood with the highest median income, Gulf Branch, was named the wealthiest neighborhood in Arlington.
We updated this article for 2026. This is our eleventh time ranking the most affluent neighborhoods to live in Arlington.
The full plate
Richest neighborhoods in Arlington for 2026 by median income
Click any column to sort. Search by neighborhood name.
| Rank | Neighborhood | Median Household Income |
|---|---|---|
| 2 | Gulf Branch | $250,001 |
| 2 | Rivercrest | $250,001 |
| 2 | Bellevue Forest | $250,001 |
| 4 | Donaldson Run | $248,041 |
| 5 | Riverwood | $245,875 |
| 6 | Dover Crystal | $244,018 |
| 7 | Olde Glebe | $235,451 |
| 8 | Rock Spring | $219,998 |
| 9 | Old Diminion | $213,751 |
| 10 | Woodmont | $206,375 |
| 11 | Chain Bridge Forest | $205,956 |
| 11 | Stafford Albemarle Glebe | $205,956 |
| 13 | Madison Manor | $201,868 |
| 14 | Waycroft-Woodlawn | $201,074 |
| 15 | Arlington-East Falls | $200,448 |
| 16 | Cherrydale | $193,072 |
| 17 | Yorktown | $188,526 |
| 18 | Tara-Leeway Heights | $177,947 |
| 19 | Williamsburg | $175,927 |
| 20 | Highland Park-Overlee Knolls | $175,183 |
| 21 | Bluemont | $172,202 |
| 22 | Leeway | $170,806 |
| 23 | Arlington Forest | $168,843 |
| 24 | Maywood | $166,875 |
| 25 | Arlington Heights | $163,857 |
| 26 | High View Park | $162,203 |
| 27 | Boulevard Manor | $157,952 |
| 28 | Dominion Hills | $156,072 |
| 29 | Lyon Village | $153,559 |
| 30 | Westover Village | $150,277 |
| 31 | Glebewood | $146,493 |
| 32 | Lyon Park | $142,776 |
| 33 | Arlington Ridge | $140,308 |
| 34 | Ballston-Virginia Square | $138,995 |
| 35 | Ashton Heights | $138,581 |
| 36 | Clarendon-Courthouse | $134,527 |
| 37 | Arlington View | $131,080 |
| 38 | Colonial Village | $129,188 |
| 39 | Waverly Hills | $129,015 |
| 40 | North Rosslyn | $127,447 |
| 41 | Alcova Heights | $127,157 |
| 42 | Fairlington-Shirlington | $122,000 |
| 43 | Aurora Highlands | $120,147 |
| 44 | Nauck | $114,516 |
| 45 | Radnor-Ft Myer Heights | $111,066 |
| 46 | Douglas Park | $109,851 |
| 47 | Barcroft | $109,519 |
| 48 | North Highland | $107,908 |
| 49 | Claremont | $107,823 |
| 50 | Glencarlyn | $107,800 |
| 51 | Penrose | $106,436 |
| 52 | Columbia Forest | $103,407 |
| 53 | Foxcroft Heights | $97,892 |
| 54 | Long Branch Creek | $91,386 |
| 55 | Columbia Heghts | $88,930 |
| 56 | Buckingham | $85,774 |
| 57 | Columbia Heights West | $71,130 |
| 58 | Forest Glen | $62,630 |
Source: U.S. Census ACS 2020-2024. All 58 Arlington neighborhoods.
Summary
Summary: The wealthiest pockets of Arlington
What’s the richest neighborhood to live in Arlington for 2026? According to the most recent census data, Gulf Branch looks to be the richest Arlington neighborhood to live in.
The richest neighborhoods in Arlington are Gulf Branch, Rivercrest, Bellevue Forest, Donaldson Run, Riverwood, Dover Crystal, Olde Glebe, Rock Spring, Old Diminion, and Woodmont.
The poorest neighborhood? That would be Forest Glen.
We ranked the neighborhoods from richest to poorest in the chart below. Not sold on Virginia? Take the two-minute Find Your Place quiz and see which state actually fits you.
Questions and answers
Richest Neighborhoods In Arlington FAQs
What is the richest neighborhood in Arlington?
Gulf Branch is the richest neighborhood in Arlington for 2026, with a median household income of $250,001. Rivercrest and Bellevue Forest are next.
What are the richest neighborhoods in Arlington?
The richest neighborhoods in Arlington are Gulf Branch, Rivercrest, Bellevue Forest, Donaldson Run, Riverwood, Dover Crystal, Olde Glebe, Rock Spring, Old Diminion, and Woodmont. We ranked all 58 neighborhoods by median household income, highest to lowest.
How much do people make in Gulf Branch?
The median household in Gulf Branch earns $250,001 a year, and the median home there is worth . Those two numbers travel together in most cities, and Arlington is no exception.
How do you rank the richest neighborhoods?
One measure: median household income from Census tract data, ranked highest to lowest. No composite score, no adjustments — just where the money lives.
What is the poorest neighborhood in Arlington?
Forest Glen posts the lowest median household income of the 58 Arlington neighborhoods we ranked. It anchors the bottom of the income table above.
