Arlington Apartments for Rent

Those for whom the employment picture has dimmed with the economic woes of the past few years may be interested to know this statistic: Arlington has consistently enjoyed the lowest unemployment rate of any county in Virginia. In fact, while unemployment in the US was nine and one-half percent in 2009, Arlington’s unemployment rate was barely over four percent.

Certainly, that can be credited to the fact that almost 29 percent of the 200,000-plus jobs in the city are for the federal, state or local government. Federal agencies headquartered in Arlington include the Drug Enforcement Administration, National Science Foundation, Transportation Security Administration, United States Department of Defense and United States Fish and Wildlife Service.

But the remaining technical, professional and service-oriented positions remain more secure than the rest of the nation, prompting BusinessWeek magazine to rank Arlington as the “safest city in which to weather a recession.”

Arlington is also – statistically, anyway – the best place to enjoy a well-paid, middle-class family life: the median income for a family is estimated to be $127,179, and the number of families headed by single parents was the lowest in the DC area, less than six percent.

Money and job security are important, but ultimately it’s quality of life that counts, and Arlington offers that, as well. This urban county, located directly across the Potomac River from DC, boasts 150 public parks, 86 miles of biking/jogging trails, 13 community centers, seven live stage theaters, eight libraries and 630 restaurants.

The county’s small geographic area, only 26 square miles, contains a surprising diversity of neighborhoods from skyscrapers to quaint residential blocks with a small-town feel. Residents enjoy open-air farmer’s markets, car-free zones and exciting shopping venues. Arlington’s arts scene has been called “a hotbed of cultural abandon” by the Washington Post, who ranked it “…one of the hippest local jurisdictions at attracting adventurous arts and artists.”