Best PlacesBuckingham, Arlington, VA Best Neighborhoods
2026–2027 edition · Data updated July 2026
Every neighborhood in and around Buckingham, 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.
Buckingham, Arlington ranks 528th of 5,983 U.S. neighborhoods on the BestNeighborhood index. It scores highest on cell coverage by a wide margin, and childcare costs are the weak spot.
The best neighborhoods in Buckingham, 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.
Buckingham, Arlington's strengths and weaknesses
Where Buckingham, Arlington ranks high
- Cell coverageBetter than 99% of neighborhoods
- Crime safetyBetter than 94% of neighborhoods
- School gradeB+, better than 88% of neighborhoods
- WalkabilityBetter than 87% of neighborhoods
- Cheap car insuranceBetter than 86% of neighborhoods
Where Buckingham, 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
- QuietBetter than only 22% of neighborhoods
- Internet speedBetter than only 27% of neighborhoods
What it costs to buy a home in Buckingham, Arlington
A household needs to earn about $186,000 a year to comfortably buy the median Buckingham, Arlington home, at 20% down and today's 30-year rate. That runs well above the area's median income of $111,926, 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 Buckingham, Arlington's effective rate of 0.79%, 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 Buckingham, Arlington
Buckingham, 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 Buckingham, Arlington.
Who works in Buckingham, Arlington, and how
Work in Buckingham, Arlington centers on professional & technical and public administration. Unemployment sits above the national rate, and jobs are growing.
Largest industries
How people get to work
- Drive or carpool 39%
- Work from home 33%
- Transit, walk, or bike 28%
Life in Buckingham, Arlington
The coast is about 22 minutes away. Distance to the water changes a lot across Buckingham, Arlington, which the map shows.
What the weather is like in Buckingham, Arlington, month by month
Buckingham, 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 Buckingham, 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 Buckingham, Arlington
Schools across Buckingham, Arlington average a B+, better than 88% of neighborhoods.
Top elementary schools
- Long Branch ElementaryA · 67% proficient
- Claremont ImmersionA− · 61% proficient
- Barrett ElementaryC · 35% proficient
Top middle schools
- Swanson MiddleA+ · 79% proficient
- Jefferson MiddleA · 62% proficient
- Kenmore MiddleA− · 53% 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 Buckingham, Arlington school and its grade on SchoolGrade.
Buckingham, 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 Buckingham, Arlington against the other 5,982 neighborhoods.
Common questions about living in Buckingham, Arlington
Is Buckingham, Arlington a good place to live?
Using BestNeighborhood's default rankings, Buckingham, Arlington ranks 528th of 5,983 neighborhoods. It scores highest on cell coverage, low crime, 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 Buckingham, Arlington expensive to live in?
The median home is worth $712,196. The overall cost of living runs about 41% above the national average. Set against a $111,926 median income, cost of living beats 54% of neighborhoods.
Is Buckingham, Arlington safe?
Yes, Buckingham, Arlington is safer than 94% of neighborhoods. Safety varies a lot by neighborhood. Crime costs an estimated $224 per resident a year.
Compare Buckingham, Arlington with other neighborhoods
Sources and methodology
Every measure on this page is scored for each neighborhood, then rolled up to Buckingham, Arlington. Scores are absolute rather than ranked, which means a 60 in Buckingham, 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.
Buckingham, Arlington detail on BestNeighborhood maps:
- Walk Grade for Buckingham, Arlington: walkability, transit, and biking, measured on the real street network rather than by straight line distance.
- Noise in Buckingham, Arlington: road, rail, and aviation sound modeling calibrated against federal ground truth measurements.
- Conservative vs liberal map of Buckingham, Arlington: precinct level election results apportioned to neighborhoods.
- Mobile and cell coverage in Buckingham, Arlington: carrier by carrier coverage behind the cell score.
Buckingham, 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.