Arlington, Virginia

Arlington is where Northern Virginia stops being suburban. A 26-square-mile county directly across the Potomac from Washington, it has eleven Metro stations, a skyline of its own, and the Pentagon, Reagan National Airport, and Arlington National Cemetery inside its borders. It also has, tucked between the Metro corridors, some of the region’s most established single-family neighborhoods.

Two Metro corridors

Arlington’s planning since the 1970s has concentrated density around its Metro stations and protected the neighborhoods between them, and the result is easy to read on a map.

The Rosslyn–Ballston corridor follows the Orange and Silver Lines through five stations: Rosslyn, with its office towers and views of the District; Courthouse, the county’s civic center; Clarendon, the restaurant and nightlife hub; Virginia Square, quieter and residential; and Ballston, with a mall, offices, and a dense cluster of apartments. High-rise condos line the corridor, and within a few blocks the towers give way to single-family streets.

The Blue and Yellow Line corridor along Richmond Highway is Crystal City and Pentagon City, rebranded together with Potomac Yard as National Landing after Amazon chose the area for its second headquarters. Amazon’s first towers opened in 2023 and the area is still building. Reagan National Airport and the Pentagon are each one stop away.

The neighborhoods between

North Arlington’s single-family neighborhoods are the county’s other face. Lyon Village, Lyon Park, and Ashton Heights sit within walking distance of Clarendon and Virginia Square: early-20th-century bungalows and colonials, many expanded or replaced. Cherrydale and Westover lie along Langston Boulevard and Washington Boulevard, each with a small commercial strip, and East Falls Church has its own Metro station at the county’s western tip.

South Arlington has a different texture. Fairlington is 3,400 brick townhouses and apartments from the early 1940s, now condominiums and a National Register historic district. Next door, the Village at Shirlington offers restaurants, a theater, and apartments along I-395. Aurora Highlands and Arlington Ridge are single-family and duplex neighborhoods on the rise above Crystal City. Columbia Pike, South Arlington’s main street, runs through garden apartments, condos, and single-family blocks and has been redeveloping steadily, though it remains the one major corridor without a Metro station.

Getting around

Eleven Metro stations cover most of the county, and I-66, I-395, Route 50, and the George Washington Parkway carry drivers into the District and out to the region. Reagan National Airport is in the county. Arlington is also among the most bike-friendly places in Virginia, with the Custis, W&OD, Four Mile Run, and Mount Vernon trails all passing through.

Schools

Arlington Public Schools is an independent system, not part of Fairfax County. Three comprehensive high schools serve the county, Yorktown in the north, Washington-Liberty in the center, and Wakefield in the south, alongside option programs such as H-B Woodlawn and Arlington Tech. Zones are neighborhood-based and adjusted periodically, so confirm any address with APS.

Buying or selling here

Arlington buyers are paying for location, and the calculation is usually about the walk to a station, the school zone, and how much house the budget allows in a market where a modest lot can carry a large price. Condos near the stations offer the most attainable entry; single-family homes in the North Arlington neighborhoods are the premium tier; Fairlington and the South Arlington duplexes and townhouses sit in between. Sellers benefit from a market with deep, steady demand, and from presenting the walkability and transit access that buyers came for.

Guides to individual neighborhoods

Arlington is large enough that its submarkets behave differently from one another. Each of these has its own guide:

• The Rosslyn–Ballston corridor — five Metro stations in two miles.
• National Landing — Crystal City and Pentagon City.
• Arlington Ridge and Aurora Highlands — the hill above the Pentagon.
• Columbia Pike — the county’s most affordable corridor.
• Shirlington and Fairlington — a village center and a 1940s garden community.
• Westover and Cherrydale — North Arlington’s village centers.