Arlington is the second-most “shopaholic” city in the U.S., according to consumer budgeting website Bundle.com.
Using several data sources, Bundle calculated that Arlington residents spend an average of $254.58 per month on clothes, shoes and other apparel. That’s second only to Washington, D.C., where residents spend an average of $263.00 per month on wearable goods.
The national average, according to Bundle, is $142.08 per month.
Immediately below Arlington on the “shopaholic” top 10 list is Nashville, Tenn.; Scottsdale, Ariz.; Dallas; San Francisco; San Jose, Calif.; Seattle; Austin, Tex. and Bakersfield, Calif.
“We’re a nation of shopaholics, with Sex and the City’s Carrie Bradshaw (obsessed with shoes and designer labels) and How I Met Your Mother’s Barney Stinson (obsessed with suits and luxury goods) representing on our television sets what two of America’s estimated 18 million shopaholics might look like in real life,” Bundle said.
Arlington is, of course, a county — but it’s considered a Census-Designated Place for statistical purposes and is thus included on a number of “top city” lists.
While Arlington may be near the top of the “shopaholic” list, that doesn’t mean that all residents are benefiting from the county’s affluence. Recently, the number of families served by the Arlington Food Assistance Center reached an all-time high. Nationwide, new census data out today shows that a record 49.1 million Americans are living in poverty.