More and more people would prefer to live in the cities and towns that surround Arlington to avoid all the hustle and bustle.
So the question arises: what suburbs of Arlington are the worst?
Today, we’ll use Saturday Night Science to determine which Arlington ‘burbs need a little tender loving care – the sore thumbs of the Arlington area if you will. Realistically, you can only expect some of the suburbs to live up to Arlington proper, although Falls Church certainly tries.
We examined the 35 biggest suburbs of Arlington to find out the worst places to live. And while you won’t necessarily find them on the worst places to live in Virginia lists, these places are a little too far downwind of Arlington in terms of quality of life.
$63,179 median income · $317,188 median home price
We’ll get the ball rolling with Bladensburg, the absolute worst place to live around Arlington according to the data.
And in the world of worst rankings, Bladensburg beat the competition pretty handily thanks to scoring in the bottom 15% in three major categories. Income is the 2nd worst in the Arlington area, and to make matters worse, the city ranks 2nd worst when it comes to home values.
But hey, at least it’s cheap to live there. But there’s a reason for that… it’s Bladensburg.
You won’t feel bad about not having a great income for the area. There aren’t a bunch of places to spend your money anyway.
$69,572 median income · $395,747 median home price
Welcome to Brentwood. Home to KMart, Big Lots, and a lot of gas stations.
This city is 9.0 miles to Arlington. Income levels here are the 4th lowest in the metro area, where families bring in about $69,572 a year, which only goes so far even on a shoestring budget.
But on the bright side, there are a lot of fast food joints in the area.
$85,997 median income · $285,336 median home price
Back up the highway we go for the third worst Arlington suburb you can live in. You might have expected to see Greenbelt on here. While the cost of living is low, your entertainment and work options are limited. And that’s an understatement.
In terms of numbers, it’s in the worst 15% for insurance, and the adult high school dropout rate is poor compared to other Arlington suburbs.
But at least there are lovely parks to bring the kids during the day.
$92,500 median income · $363,292 median home price
If you live in Landover Hills, most likely you struggle to make ends meet every month. It ranks as the 11th lowest Arlington suburb for median household incomes.
Not only that, but this is the 3rd worst unemployed suburb you can live in if you choose to live near Arlington. Remember, we looked at 35 cities for this study.
Landover Hills is about 11.9 miles to downtown.
$57,018 median income · $320,878 median home price
Seat Pleasant has the distinction of being a Arlington suburb. Which means that’s about all it has going for it.
All snarkiness aside, Seat Pleasant has the 3rd lowest home values in the metro Arlington area, where the median price is $320,878. The median income is $216,953.
Seat Pleasant has an unemployment rate of 20.8% which ranks worst.
$97,155 median income · $326,172 median home price
Capitol Heights has 4,020 residents that probably know it’s a pretty crummy place to live when you look at the data. (Or, if you’ve ever been there, you don’t need to look at the data.)
Incomes are towards the bottom, and the poverty rate sits at 8.9%.
$69,721 median income · $437,694 median home price
Ah, College Park. You rank as the 7th worst place to live around Arlington.
It’s the place with the 7th most out of work residents in the Arlington metro area (7.1%).
$98,734 median income · $360,244 median home price
Forest Heights is a city about 7.2 miles from Arlington, but Arlington probably wishes it was further away. It ranks as the 8th worst burb.
You’d be hard-pressed to find a worse place to live. Forest Heights has the 23rd most uninsured people, 13th worst incomes, and has the 4th highest unemployment rate (10.3%) in the entire Arlington metro area.
Homes only cost $360,244 for a reason. That’s cheap for Arlington standards.
$103,250 median income · $462,197 median home price
Located in
Manassas Park city, Virginia
If you absolutely have to live near Arlington, then Manassas Park might be a place for you to consider as it’s only the 9th worst Arlington suburb.
About 5.5% of residents are out of work.
Data | Crime | Cost of living | Movers
$91,941 median income · $403,229 median home price
Rounding out the ten worst Arlington suburbs to call home is Hyattsville.
Located 9.8 miles outside the city, Hyattsville is a real pit when you look at the data. Its residents have the 27th highest unemployment rate (3.8%), and poverty is far above the area average.
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
Virginia statewide median: 4.3%
Virginia statewide median: 9.9%
On the map
Where the worst Arlington suburbs are
Saturday Night Science
Methodology: Determining The Worst Suburbs Around Arlington for 2026
To figure out how bad a Arlington suburb is to live in, we used Saturday Night Science to identify the kinds of things people like and then decide what suburbs have the least amount of those things.
Using the most recent American Community Survey data from 2020-2024, this is the criteria we used:
- High unemployment rate
- Low median household incomes
- Low population density (no things to do)
- Low home values
- A lot of high school dropouts
- High poverty
- High rate of uninsured families
We defined a suburb as any town within 30 miles of Arlington.
We also limited the analysis to places with over 2,000 people. This left us with a grand total of 35 suburbs to evaluate around Arlington.
We ranked each place with scores from 1 to 35 in each category, where 1 was the worst.
Next, we averaged the rankings for each place to create a quality-of-life index.
And finally, we crowned the city with the worst quality of life index, the “Worst Suburb near Arlington.” We’re looking at you, Bladensburg.
We updated this article for 2026, which reflects our eleventh time ranking the worst suburbs around Arlington.
The full plate
Detailed List Of The Worst Arlington Suburbs
Click any column to sort. Search by city name.
| Rank | City | Worst Score | Population | Median Income | Median Home Values |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| 1 | Bladensburg | 8.00 | 9,583 | $63,179 | $317,188 |
| 2 | Brentwood | 9.14 | 3,777 | $69,572 | $395,747 |
| 3 | Greenbelt | 9.29 | 24,678 | $85,997 | $285,336 |
| 4 | Landover Hills | 10.29 | 2,031 | $92,500 | $363,292 |
| 5 | Seat Pleasant | 10.64 | 4,489 | $57,018 | $320,878 |
| 6 | Capitol Heights | 11.57 | 4,020 | $97,155 | $326,172 |
| 7 | College Park | 11.71 | 34,540 | $69,721 | $437,694 |
| 8 | Forest Heights | 13.71 | 2,642 | $98,734 | $360,244 |
| 9 | Manassas Park | 14.29 | 16,798 | $103,250 | $462,197 |
| 10 | Hyattsville | 14.43 | 20,966 | $91,941 | $403,229 |
| 11 | Riverdale Park | 14.50 | 7,270 | $120,043 | $486,910 |
| 12 | New Carrollton | 15.50 | 13,564 | $81,509 | $399,605 |
| 13 | Mount Rainier | 15.50 | 8,245 | $68,505 | $448,597 |
| 14 | Manassas | 15.79 | 42,976 | $113,590 | $557,119 |
| 15 | Berwyn Heights | 15.93 | 3,318 | $146,591 | $440,967 |
| 16 | Dumfries | 16.29 | 5,816 | $82,355 | $596,416 |
| 17 | Indian Head | 17.00 | 4,055 | $89,063 | $345,309 |
| 18 | Laurel | 17.00 | 29,798 | $100,504 | $476,648 |
| 19 | Glenarden | 18.07 | 6,344 | $106,414 | $413,332 |
| 20 | Gaithersburg | 18.29 | 69,825 | $112,467 | $527,608 |
| 21 | Cheverly | 18.64 | 6,096 | $123,535 | $468,344 |
| 22 | Washington | 20.29 | 681,294 | $109,870 | $582,914 |
| 23 | Herndon | 20.36 | 24,672 | $148,000 | $740,680 |
| 24 | Fairfax | 21.29 | 25,026 | $132,348 | $792,535 |
| 25 | Rockville | 22.00 | 67,671 | $128,649 | $618,892 |
| 26 | Takoma Park | 22.14 | 17,632 | $108,136 | $686,399 |
| 27 | Bowie | 22.64 | 57,926 | $141,995 | $524,118 |
| 28 | La Plata | 22.64 | 10,683 | $121,208 | $481,282 |
| 29 | Leesburg | 24.00 | 49,171 | $145,205 | $865,517 |
| 30 | Alexandria | 24.43 | 156,976 | $119,681 | $676,205 |
| 31 | Kensington | 25.00 | 2,369 | $152,284 | $815,355 |
| 32 | Poolesville | 26.93 | 5,764 | $205,919 | $736,648 |
| 33 | University Park | 27.00 | 2,698 | $207,500 | $658,034 |
| 34 | Vienna | 27.50 | 16,412 | $216,953 | $1,179,673 |
| 35 | Falls Church | 28.21 | 14,710 | $143,262 | $789,604 |
Source: U.S. Census ACS 2020-2024. 35 suburbs within 30 miles of Arlington.
Summary
Summary: The areas around Arlington where the dream is more of a nightmare for 2026
Well there you have it — the worst of the ‘burbs surrounding Arlington with Bladensburg casting itself ahead of the pack.
The worst suburbs of Arlington are Bladensburg, Brentwood, Greenbelt, Landover Hills, Seat Pleasant, Capitol Heights, College Park, Forest Heights, Manassas Park, and Hyattsville.
As we mentioned earlier, the suburbs around Arlington aren’t all bad. Falls Church takes the cake as the best place to live around Arlington. Not sold on Virginia? Take the two-minute Find Your Place quiz and see which state actually fits you.
Questions and answers
Worst Suburbs Of Arlington FAQs
What is the worst suburb of Arlington?
Bladensburg ranks as the worst suburb around Arlington for 2026, according to Saturday Night Science. Brentwood and Greenbelt are next on the list.
What are the worst suburbs of Arlington?
The worst-ranked suburbs around Arlington are Bladensburg, Brentwood, Greenbelt, Landover Hills, Seat Pleasant, Capitol Heights, College Park, Forest Heights, Manassas Park, and Hyattsville. We scored all 35 places within 30 miles.
Why does Bladensburg rank as the worst suburb?
Bladensburg posts the roughest combined numbers of the 35 suburbs we scored: a median household income of $63,179, a median home value of $317,188, and a poverty rate of 21.7%.
What is the best-ranked suburb near Arlington?
Falls Church lands at the opposite end of this ranking, making it the best-ranked suburb near Arlington by these measures. Our separate best suburbs of Arlington list covers that side properly.
How do you rank the worst suburbs?
Suburbs are scored on unemployment, income, density, home values, dropouts, poverty, and insurance coverage, using Census American Community Survey data. Real numbers, light heart — every one of these towns has people making it work.
