Arlington is a medium-sized town located in the state of Massachusetts. With a population of 45,522 people and nine associated neighborhoods, Arlington is the 30th largest community in Massachusetts. Arlington has an unusually large stock of pre-World War II architecture, making it one of the older and more historic towns.

Arlington home prices are not only among the most expensive in Massachusetts, but Arlington real estate also consistently ranks among the most expensive in America.

Also of interest is that Arlington has more people living here who work in computers and math than 95% of the places in the US.

And if you like science, one thing you'll find is that Arlington has lots of scientists living in town - whether they be life scientists, physical scientists (like astronomers), or social scientists (like geographers!). So, if you're scientific-minded, you might like it here too.

Of important note, Arlington is also a town of artists. Arlington has more artists, designers and people working in media than 90% of the communities in America. This concentration of artists helps shape Arlington’s character.

Telecommuters are a relatively large percentage of the workforce: 26.29% of people work from home. While this number may seem small overall, as a fraction of the total workforce it is high relative to the nation. These workers are often telecommuters who work in knowledge-based, white-collar professions. For example, Silicon Valley has large numbers of people who telecommute. Other at-home workers may be self-employed people who operate small businesses out of their homes.

In addition, Arlington is home to many people who could be described as "urban sophisticates". Urban sophisticates are educated, wealthy, executives and professionals, who have urbane tastes in books, food, and travel, whether they actually live in a big city, or choose to reside in a small town. In big or medium-sized cities, urban sophisticates tend to frequent art institutions such as opera, symphonies, ballet, live theatre, and museums.

One downside of living in Arlington is that it can take a long time to commute to work. In Arlington, the average commute to work is 33.17 minutes, which is quite a bit higher than the national average. On the other hand, local public transit is widely used in the town, so leaving the car at home and taking transit is often a viable alternative. In addition, it is also a pedestrian-friendly town. Many of Arlington’s neighborhoods are dense enough and have amenities close enough together that people find it feasible to get around on foot.

Although the majority of commuting trips in the town are by private automobile, Arlington is somewhat unusual for a town of its size for having a substantial number of people who use public transportation. For a lot of people, the subway helps to get to and from their jobs every morning, which benefits everyone in the Arlington area by reducing both traffic and air pollution.

If knowledge is power, Arlington is a pretty powerful place. 74.37% of the adults in Arlington have earned a 4-year college degree, masters degree, MD, law degree, or even PhD. Compare that to the national average of 21.84% for all cities and towns.

The per capita income in Arlington in 2018 was $77,043, which is wealthy relative to Massachusetts and the nation. This equates to an annual income of $308,172 for a family of four.

Arlington is a very ethnically-diverse town. The people who call Arlington home describe themselves as belonging to a variety of racial and ethnic groups. The greatest number of Arlington residents report their race to be White, followed by Asian. Important ancestries of people in Arlington include Irish, Italian, English, German, and Polish.

Arlington also has a high percentage of its population that was born in another country: 18.48%.

The most common language spoken in Arlington is English. Other important languages spoken here include Chinese and Spanish.