Best PlacesCrystal City, Arlington, VA Best Neighborhoods
2026–2027 edition · Data updated July 2026
Every neighborhood in and around Crystal City, 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.
Crystal City, Arlington ranks 261st 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 Crystal City, 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.
Crystal City, Arlington's strengths and weaknesses
Where Crystal City, Arlington ranks high
- Cell coverageBetter than 99% of neighborhoods
- Health outlookBetter than 99% of neighborhoods
- Educational attainmentBetter than 98% of neighborhoods
- WalkabilityBetter than 96% of neighborhoods
- School gradeA, better than 94% of neighborhoods
Where Crystal City, Arlington ranks low
- Cheap childcare$2,495 a month, better than only 1% of neighborhoods
- QuietBetter than only 2% of neighborhoods
- Low vacancyBetter than only 14% of neighborhoods
- Nice weatherabout 64 pleasant days a year, better than only 14% of neighborhoods
- State fiscal healthBetter than only 17% of neighborhoods
What it costs to buy a home in Crystal City, Arlington
A household needs to earn about $182,000 a year to comfortably buy the median Crystal City, Arlington home, at 20% down and today's 30-year rate. That runs well above the area's median income of $142,017, 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 Crystal City, Arlington's effective rate of 0.96%, 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 10 years, then pulls ahead as rent keeps rising and the mortgage builds equity. The chart tracks the running cost of each.
Who lives in Crystal City, Arlington
Crystal City, 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 Crystal City, Arlington.
Who works in Crystal City, Arlington, and how
Work in Crystal City, 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 30%
- Work from home 41%
- Transit, walk, or bike 29%
Life in Crystal City, Arlington
Crystal City, Arlington has more restaurants and bars per resident than 88% of neighborhoods and more late-night spots per resident than 82% of neighborhoods. The coast is about 21 minutes away. Dining, parks, and nightlife concentrates in some parts of Crystal City, Arlington and thins out in others, which the map shows.
What the weather is like in Crystal City, Arlington, month by month
Crystal City, 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 Crystal City, 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 Crystal City, Arlington
Schools across Crystal City, Arlington average an A, better than 94% of neighborhoods.
Top elementary schools
- Long Branch ElementaryA · 67% proficient
- Claremont ImmersionA− · 61% proficient
- Jefferson-houston Pk-8 SchoolC− · 28% proficient
Top middle schools
- Gunston MiddleA · 65% proficient
- George Washington MiddleA · 63% proficient
- Jefferson MiddleA · 62% proficient
Top high schools
- Arlington Community HighA · 68% proficient
- Alexandria City High SchoolB+ · 54% proficient
Grades come from K-12 test scores, with scores projected for schools missing data. See every Crystal City, Arlington school and its grade on SchoolGrade.
Crystal City, 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 Crystal City, Arlington against the other 5,982 neighborhoods.
Common questions about living in Crystal City, Arlington
Is Crystal City, Arlington a good place to live?
Using BestNeighborhood's default rankings, Crystal City, Arlington ranks 261st of 5,983 neighborhoods. It scores highest on cell coverage, population health, and an educated workforce, and lowest on childcare costs and noise. How good it is for you depends on which of those you weight most, which the map lets you set.
Is Crystal City, Arlington expensive to live in?
The median home is worth $681,339. The overall cost of living runs about 44% above the national average. Set against a $142,017 median income, cost of living beats 77% of neighborhoods.
Is Crystal City, Arlington safe?
Crystal City, Arlington is safer than 54% of neighborhoods. Safety varies a lot by neighborhood. Crime costs an estimated $460 per resident a year.
Compare Crystal City, Arlington with other neighborhoods
Sources and methodology
Every measure on this page is scored for each neighborhood, then rolled up to Crystal City, Arlington. Scores are absolute rather than ranked, which means a 60 in Crystal City, 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.
Crystal City, Arlington detail on BestNeighborhood maps:
- Walk Grade for Crystal City, Arlington: walkability, transit, and biking, measured on the real street network rather than by straight line distance.
- Noise in Crystal City, Arlington: road, rail, and aviation sound modeling calibrated against federal ground truth measurements.
- Conservative vs liberal map of Crystal City, Arlington: precinct level election results apportioned to neighborhoods.
- Mobile and cell coverage in Crystal City, Arlington: carrier by carrier coverage behind the cell score.
Crystal City, 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.