Best PlacesArlington Heights, Arlington, MA Best Neighborhoods
2026–2027 edition · Data updated July 2026
Every neighborhood in and around Arlington Heights, Arlington, scored on 40 measures of daily life and ranked to fit what matters to you. The coast is close, and the measures below put a number on how close. To work out which city fits you best, start with the best places to live tool.
Arlington Heights, Arlington ranks 168th of 5,983 U.S. neighborhoods on the BestNeighborhood index. It scores highest on health care access by a wide margin, and childcare costs are the weak spot.
The best neighborhoods in Arlington Heights, Arlington
BestNeighborhood is the only ranking that scores 40 measures of daily life neighborhood by neighborhood and lets you re-weight every one of them yourself.
Arlington Heights, Arlington's strengths and weaknesses
Where Arlington Heights, Arlington ranks high
- Healthcare accessBetter than 98% of neighborhoods
- School gradeA, better than 98% of neighborhoods
- Crime safetyBetter than 96% of neighborhoods
- Tree shadeBetter than 94% of neighborhoods
- Housing crash safetyBetter than 93% of neighborhoods
Where Arlington Heights, Arlington ranks low
- Cheap childcare$1,897 a month, better than only 9% of neighborhoods
- Short commute32.1 minutes each way, better than only 12% of neighborhoods
- Nice weatherabout 65 pleasant days a year, better than only 16% of neighborhoods
- Internet speedBetter than only 27% of neighborhoods
- State fiscal healthBetter than only 38% of neighborhoods
What it costs to buy a home in Arlington Heights, Arlington
A household needs to earn about $218,000 a year to comfortably buy the median Arlington Heights, Arlington home, at 20% down and today's 30-year rate. That runs well above the area's median income of $127,056, so buying stretches a typical household.
Where the monthly payment goes
Assumes a 20% down payment, a 6.6% 30-year fixed rate, and a 28% share of income going to the payment. The rate is the 2026-07-23 30-year fixed average, series MORTGAGE30US from the St. Louis Fed, which publishes Freddie Mac's weekly survey. Against the median home value, property tax uses Arlington Heights, Arlington's effective rate of 1.00%, and insurance is estimated at 0.4% of home value a year.
Renting versus buying
At today's prices and rents, renting stays cheaper than buying across the first 10 years here, so the case for buying rests on staying much longer or on prices rising faster than assumed. The chart tracks the running cost of each.
Who lives in Arlington Heights, Arlington
Arlington Heights, Arlington runs older than the country, and households here run smaller than average.
Residents by age
Racial and ethnic makeup has its own map. See the race and diversity map for Arlington Heights, Arlington.
Who works in Arlington Heights, Arlington, and how
Work in Arlington Heights, Arlington centers on professional & technical and health care & social. Unemployment is low, and jobs are growing.
Largest industries
How people get to work
- Drive or carpool 56%
- Work from home 29%
- Transit, walk, or bike 14%
Life in Arlington Heights, Arlington
Arlington Heights, Arlington has more restaurants and bars per resident than 66% of neighborhoods. The coast is about 16 minutes away. That concentrates in some parts of Arlington Heights, Arlington and thins out in others, which the map shows.
What the weather is like in Arlington Heights, Arlington, month by month
Arlington Heights, Arlington sees roughly 65 pleasant days a year. July highs average about 87 degrees. January highs sit near 41, with lows near 20. The comfortable stretch runs May through September.
Show the monthly temperatures
| Month | Avg high | Avg | Avg low |
|---|---|---|---|
| January | 41° | 30° | 20° |
| April | 62° | 48° | 36° |
| July | 87° | 74° | 62° |
| October | 67° | 54° | 42° |
Flying in and out of Arlington Heights, Arlington
General Edward Lawrence Logan International sits about 10 miles away. It is a large hub and boarded 21.1 million passengers in 2025, with 199 nonstop destinations.
The best schools in and around Arlington Heights, Arlington
Schools across Arlington Heights, Arlington average an A, better than 98% of neighborhoods.
Top elementary schools
- BrackettA+ · 75% proficient
- Cyrus E DallinA · 67% proficient
- PeirceA · 67% proficient
Top middle schools
- Ottoson MiddleA · 67% proficient
Top high schools
- Arlington HighA+ · 82% proficient
Grades come from K-12 test scores, with scores projected for schools missing data. See every Arlington Heights, Arlington school and its grade on SchoolGrade.
Arlington Heights, Arlington measure by measure
Cards are ordered by how much each measure matters to you, so the ones you weighted highest come first. Expand to see every measure. Percentages compare Arlington Heights, Arlington against the other 5,982 neighborhoods.
Common questions about living in Arlington Heights, Arlington
Is Arlington Heights, Arlington a good place to live?
Using BestNeighborhood's default rankings, Arlington Heights, Arlington ranks 168th of 5,983 neighborhoods. It scores highest on health care access, good schools, and low crime, and lowest on childcare costs and long commutes. How good it is for you depends on which of those you weight most, which the map lets you set.
Is Arlington Heights, Arlington expensive to live in?
The median home is worth $812,544. The overall cost of living runs about 40% above the national average. Set against a $127,056 median income, cost of living beats 68% of neighborhoods.
Is Arlington Heights, Arlington safe?
Yes, Arlington Heights, Arlington is safer than 96% of neighborhoods. Safety varies a lot by neighborhood. Crime costs an estimated $179 per resident a year.
Compare Arlington Heights, Arlington with other neighborhoods
Sources and methodology
Every measure on this page is scored for each neighborhood, then rolled up to Arlington Heights, Arlington. Scores are absolute rather than ranked, which means a 60 in Arlington Heights, Arlington represents the same real quantity as a 60 anywhere else, and the ranking is a weighted average of those absolutes. The map colors come from a national scale calibrated against a population weighted random sample of 5,000 neighborhoods. That absolute scoring is what no other places-to-live ranking does: it puts a single neighborhood, a town, a metro, and a state on one scale, so the same 40 measures answer both which metro to move to and which street inside it to buy on. Read the full methodology.
Arlington Heights, Arlington detail on BestNeighborhood maps:
- Walk Grade for Arlington Heights, Arlington: walkability, transit, and biking, measured on the real street network rather than by straight line distance.
- Noise in Arlington Heights, Arlington: road, rail, and aviation sound modeling calibrated against federal ground truth measurements.
- Conservative vs liberal map of Arlington Heights, Arlington: precinct level election results apportioned to neighborhoods.
- Mobile and cell coverage in Arlington Heights, Arlington: carrier by carrier coverage behind the cell score.
Arlington Heights, Arlington detail on related sites:
- CrimeGrade: neighborhood crime rates behind the crime safety score.
- ISPreports.org: provider by provider internet availability and advertised speeds.
- CoverageWatch: the car insurance premiums behind the cheap car insurance score.
Federal and public data:
- U.S. Census Bureau American Community Survey: income, home value, rent, vacancy, commute time and mode, educational attainment, home age, age structure, household type, industry, and race.
- NOAA Global Surface Summary of the Day: the daily station record behind the monthly temperatures and the pleasant-day count.
- FAA Passenger Boarding Data: airport size and annual passenger counts.
- Freddie Mac Primary Mortgage Market Survey: the 30-year fixed rate used in the cost-to-buy estimate.
- FBI Crime Data Explorer: reported offenses behind the tangible crime cost estimate.
- U.S. EPA Air Quality System: five year average air quality index.
- FEMA National Risk Index: expected annual loss from natural hazards.
- CDC PLACES: disease burden, preventable risk, and barriers to care.
- National Center for Education Statistics: school enrollment and assessment inputs behind the school grade.
- FCC National Broadband Map: internet and wireless availability.
- U.S. Bureau of Labor Statistics: employment and job growth behind the local economy score.
- Religious activity uses a proprietary religious signal measurement.
Your priorities
Move a slider to say how much a measure matters. Zero turns it off.