Best PlacesPenrose, Arlington, VA Best Neighborhoods
2026–2027 edition · Data updated July 2026
Every neighborhood in and around Penrose, 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.
Penrose, Arlington ranks 367th 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 Penrose, 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.
Penrose, Arlington's strengths and weaknesses
Where Penrose, Arlington ranks high
- Health outlookBetter than 96% of neighborhoods
- Cell coverageBetter than 95% of neighborhoods
- School gradeA, better than 93% of neighborhoods
- BikingBetter than 91% of neighborhoods
- Cheap car insuranceBetter than 89% of neighborhoods
Where Penrose, 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 14% of neighborhoods
- State fiscal healthBetter than only 17% of neighborhoods
- QuietBetter than only 21% of neighborhoods
- Internet speedBetter than only 34% of neighborhoods
What it costs to buy a home in Penrose, Arlington
A household needs to earn about $219,000 a year to comfortably buy the median Penrose, Arlington home, at 20% down and today's 30-year rate. That runs well above the area's median income of $120,082, 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 Penrose, Arlington's effective rate of 0.85%, 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 Penrose, Arlington
Penrose, 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 Penrose, Arlington.
Who works in Penrose, Arlington, and how
Work in Penrose, Arlington centers on professional & technical and public administration. Unemployment is close to the national rate, and employment has held roughly flat.
Largest industries
How people get to work
- Drive or carpool 51%
- Work from home 29%
- Transit, walk, or bike 20%
Life in Penrose, Arlington
The coast is about 21 minutes away. Distance to the water changes a lot across Penrose, Arlington, which the map shows.
What the weather is like in Penrose, Arlington, month by month
Penrose, 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 Penrose, Arlington
Ronald Reagan Washington Ntl sits about 3 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 Penrose, Arlington
Schools across Penrose, Arlington average an A, better than 93% of neighborhoods.
Top elementary schools
- Long Branch ElementaryA · 67% proficient
- Claremont ImmersionA− · 61% proficient
- Campbell ElementaryA− · 57% proficient
Top middle schools
- Jefferson MiddleA · 62% 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 Penrose, Arlington school and its grade on SchoolGrade.
Penrose, 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 Penrose, Arlington against the other 5,982 neighborhoods.
Common questions about living in Penrose, Arlington
Is Penrose, Arlington a good place to live?
Using BestNeighborhood's default rankings, Penrose, Arlington ranks 367th of 5,983 neighborhoods. It scores highest on population health, cell coverage, 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 Penrose, Arlington expensive to live in?
The median home is worth $831,600. The overall cost of living runs about 32% above the national average. Set against a $120,082 median income, cost of living beats 70% of neighborhoods.
Is Penrose, Arlington safe?
Yes, Penrose, Arlington is safer than 80% of neighborhoods. Safety varies a lot by neighborhood. Crime costs an estimated $308 per resident a year.
Compare Penrose, Arlington with other neighborhoods
Sources and methodology
Every measure on this page is scored for each neighborhood, then rolled up to Penrose, Arlington. Scores are absolute rather than ranked, which means a 60 in Penrose, 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.
Penrose, Arlington detail on BestNeighborhood maps:
- Walk Grade for Penrose, Arlington: walkability, transit, and biking, measured on the real street network rather than by straight line distance.
- Noise in Penrose, Arlington: road, rail, and aviation sound modeling calibrated against federal ground truth measurements.
- Conservative vs liberal map of Penrose, Arlington: precinct level election results apportioned to neighborhoods.
- Mobile and cell coverage in Penrose, Arlington: carrier by carrier coverage behind the cell score.
Penrose, 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.