Best PlacesAurora Highlands, Arlington, VA Best Neighborhoods
2026–2027 edition · Data updated July 2026
Every neighborhood in and around Aurora Highlands, Arlington, scored on 40 measures of daily life and ranked to fit what matters to you. Local pay runs high here, and housing takes the biggest bite out of it. To work out which city fits you best, start with the best places to live tool.
Aurora Highlands, Arlington ranks 173rd of 5,983 U.S. neighborhoods on the BestNeighborhood index. It scores highest on population health by a wide margin, and childcare costs are the weak spot.
The best neighborhoods in Aurora Highlands, 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.
Aurora Highlands, Arlington's strengths and weaknesses
Where Aurora Highlands, Arlington ranks high
- Health outlookBetter than 98% of neighborhoods
- Educational attainmentBetter than 96% of neighborhoods
- School gradeA, better than 94% of neighborhoods
- WalkabilityBetter than 93% of neighborhoods
- Household income$138,670 median, better than 88% of neighborhoods
Where Aurora Highlands, Arlington ranks low
- Cheap childcare$2,495 a month, better than only 1% of neighborhoods
- Nice weatherabout 64 pleasant days a year, better than only 15% of neighborhoods
- State fiscal healthBetter than only 17% of neighborhoods
- Low vacancyBetter than only 25% of neighborhoods
- Short commute27.5 minutes each way, better than only 30% of neighborhoods
What it costs to buy a home in Aurora Highlands, Arlington
A household needs to earn about $234,000 a year to comfortably buy the median Aurora Highlands, Arlington home, at 20% down and today's 30-year rate. That runs well above the area's median income of $138,670, 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 Aurora Highlands, Arlington's effective rate of 0.84%, 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 Aurora Highlands, Arlington
Aurora Highlands, Arlington runs younger 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 Aurora Highlands, Arlington.
Who works in Aurora Highlands, Arlington, and how
Work in Aurora Highlands, Arlington centers on professional & technical and public administration. Unemployment is low, and jobs are growing.
Largest industries
How people get to work
- Drive or carpool 34%
- Work from home 31%
- Transit, walk, or bike 36%
Life in Aurora Highlands, Arlington
Aurora Highlands, Arlington has more restaurants and bars per resident than 82% of neighborhoods and more late-night spots per resident than 78% of neighborhoods. The coast is about 21 minutes away. Dining, parks, and nightlife concentrates in some parts of Aurora Highlands, Arlington and thins out in others, which the map shows.
What the weather is like in Aurora Highlands, Arlington, month by month
Aurora Highlands, Arlington sees roughly 64 pleasant days a year. July highs average about 92 degrees. January highs sit near 49, with lows near 30. The comfortable stretch runs April, May, September, and October.
Show the monthly temperatures
| Month | Avg high | Avg | Avg low |
|---|---|---|---|
| January | 49° | 38° | 30° |
| April | 72° | 59° | 48° |
| July | 92° | 81° | 73° |
| October | 74° | 63° | 53° |
Flying in and out of Aurora Highlands, Arlington
Ronald Reagan Washington Ntl sits about 1 miles away. It is a large hub and boarded 12.0 million passengers in 2025, with 128 nonstop destinations.
The best schools in and around Aurora Highlands, Arlington
Schools across Aurora Highlands, Arlington average an A, better than 94% of neighborhoods.
Top elementary schools
- Claremont ImmersionA− · 61% proficient
Top middle schools
- Gunston MiddleA · 65% proficient
Top high schools
- Arlington Community HighA · 68% proficient
Grades come from K-12 test scores, with scores projected for schools missing data. See every Aurora Highlands, Arlington school and its grade on SchoolGrade.
Aurora Highlands, 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 Aurora Highlands, Arlington against the other 5,982 neighborhoods.
Common questions about living in Aurora Highlands, Arlington
Is Aurora Highlands, Arlington a good place to live?
Using BestNeighborhood's default rankings, Aurora Highlands, Arlington ranks 173rd of 5,983 neighborhoods. It scores highest on population health, an educated workforce, and good schools, and lowest on childcare costs and the weather. How good it is for you depends on which of those you weight most, which the map lets you set.
Is Aurora Highlands, Arlington expensive to live in?
The median home is worth $890,872. The overall cost of living runs about 45% above the national average. Set against a $138,670 median income, cost of living beats 76% of neighborhoods.
Is Aurora Highlands, Arlington safe?
Yes, Aurora Highlands, Arlington is safer than 63% of neighborhoods. Safety varies a lot by neighborhood. Crime costs an estimated $624 per resident a year.
Compare Aurora Highlands, Arlington with other neighborhoods
Sources and methodology
Every measure on this page is scored for each neighborhood, then rolled up to Aurora Highlands, Arlington. Scores are absolute rather than ranked, which means a 60 in Aurora Highlands, 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.
Aurora Highlands, Arlington detail on BestNeighborhood maps:
- Walk Grade for Aurora Highlands, Arlington: walkability, transit, and biking, measured on the real street network rather than by straight line distance.
- Noise in Aurora Highlands, Arlington: road, rail, and aviation sound modeling calibrated against federal ground truth measurements.
- Conservative vs liberal map of Aurora Highlands, Arlington: precinct level election results apportioned to neighborhoods.
- Mobile and cell coverage in Aurora Highlands, Arlington: carrier by carrier coverage behind the cell score.
Aurora Highlands, 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.