Best PlacesBallston-Virginia Square, Arlington, VA Best Neighborhoods
2026–2027 edition · Data updated July 2026
Every neighborhood in and around Ballston-Virginia Square, 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.
Ballston-Virginia Square, Arlington ranks 7th 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 Ballston-Virginia Square, 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.
Ballston-Virginia Square, Arlington's strengths and weaknesses
Where Ballston-Virginia Square, Arlington ranks high
- Health outlookBetter than 99% of neighborhoods
- WalkabilityBetter than 99% of neighborhoods
- Educational attainmentBetter than 98% of neighborhoods
- School gradeA, better than 98% of neighborhoods
- Cell coverageBetter than 97% of neighborhoods
Where Ballston-Virginia Square, 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
- Internet speedBetter than only 22% of neighborhoods
- Short commute29.1 minutes each way, better than only 22% of neighborhoods
What it costs to buy a home in Ballston-Virginia Square, Arlington
A household needs to earn about $166,000 a year to comfortably buy the median Ballston-Virginia Square, Arlington home, at 20% down and today's 30-year rate. That is only a little above the area's median income of $152,135; the gap is small, which keeps homes within reach of local pay.
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 Ballston-Virginia Square, Arlington's effective rate of 0.94%, and insurance is estimated at 0.4% of home value a year.
Renting versus buying
At today's prices, buying tends to cost more than renting for about the first 9 years, then pulls ahead as rent keeps rising and the mortgage builds equity. The chart tracks the running cost of each.
Who lives in Ballston-Virginia Square, Arlington
Ballston-Virginia Square, 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 Ballston-Virginia Square, Arlington.
Who works in Ballston-Virginia Square, Arlington, and how
Work in Ballston-Virginia Square, Arlington centers on professional & technical and public administration. Unemployment is low, and employment has held roughly flat.
Largest industries
How people get to work
- Drive or carpool 29%
- Work from home 43%
- Transit, walk, or bike 28%
Life in Ballston-Virginia Square, Arlington
Ballston-Virginia Square, Arlington has more restaurants and bars per resident than 72% of neighborhoods and more late-night spots per resident than 66% of neighborhoods. The coast is about 22 minutes away. Dining, parks, and nightlife concentrates in some parts of Ballston-Virginia Square, Arlington and thins out in others, which the map shows.
What the weather is like in Ballston-Virginia Square, Arlington, month by month
Ballston-Virginia Square, 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 Ballston-Virginia Square, Arlington
Ronald Reagan Washington Ntl sits about 4 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 Ballston-Virginia Square, Arlington
Schools across Ballston-Virginia Square, Arlington average an A, better than 98% of neighborhoods.
Top elementary schools
- Taylor ElementaryA+ · 83% proficient
- Glebe ElementaryA+ · 76% proficient
- Ashlawn ElementaryA+ · 73% proficient
Top middle schools
- Swanson MiddleA+ · 79% proficient
Top high schools
- Washington-liberty HighA · 78% proficient
- Arlington Community HighA · 68% proficient
Grades come from K-12 test scores, with scores projected for schools missing data. See every Ballston-Virginia Square, Arlington school and its grade on SchoolGrade.
Ballston-Virginia Square, 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 Ballston-Virginia Square, Arlington against the other 5,982 neighborhoods.
Common questions about living in Ballston-Virginia Square, Arlington
Is Ballston-Virginia Square, Arlington a good place to live?
Using BestNeighborhood's default rankings, Ballston-Virginia Square, Arlington ranks 7th of 5,983 neighborhoods. It scores highest on population health, walkability, and an educated workforce, 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 Ballston-Virginia Square, Arlington expensive to live in?
The median home is worth $622,043. The overall cost of living runs about 48% above the national average. Set against a $152,135 median income, cost of living beats 80% of neighborhoods.
Is Ballston-Virginia Square, Arlington safe?
Yes, Ballston-Virginia Square, Arlington is safer than 90% of neighborhoods. Safety varies a lot by neighborhood. Crime costs an estimated $255 per resident a year.
Compare Ballston-Virginia Square, Arlington with other neighborhoods
Sources and methodology
Every measure on this page is scored for each neighborhood, then rolled up to Ballston-Virginia Square, Arlington. Scores are absolute rather than ranked, which means a 60 in Ballston-Virginia Square, 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.
Ballston-Virginia Square, Arlington detail on BestNeighborhood maps:
- Walk Grade for Ballston-Virginia Square, Arlington: walkability, transit, and biking, measured on the real street network rather than by straight line distance.
- Noise in Ballston-Virginia Square, Arlington: road, rail, and aviation sound modeling calibrated against federal ground truth measurements.
- Conservative vs liberal map of Ballston-Virginia Square, Arlington: precinct level election results apportioned to neighborhoods.
- Mobile and cell coverage in Ballston-Virginia Square, Arlington: carrier by carrier coverage behind the cell score.
Ballston-Virginia Square, 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.