A new estimate from the University of Virginia’s Cooper Center pegs Arlington’s population at 239,074 as of mid-2017.
That would make Arlington the fourth fastest-growing locality in Virginia since the 2010 U.S. Census, when Arlington’s population was 207,627. Of the top seven fastest-growing Virginia localities, according to UVA demographers, most are in Northern Virginia.
The following lists the latest population estimate and percent change since 2010 of the top seven on the list.
- Loudoun County — 396,068 (26.8%)
- New Kent County — 21,709 (17.8%)
- Falls Church City — 14,269 (15.7%)
- Arlington County — 239,074 (15.1%)
- Alexandria City — 160,719 (14.8%)
- Fredericksburg City — 27,645 (13.8%)
- Prince William County — 455,990 (13.4%)
The estimate puts the year-over-year population growth in Arlington, from mid-2016 to mid-2017, at 2,383 — about 1 percent.
The UVA estimates are significantly higher than figures cited by Arlington County in its 2017 county profile. The profile says Arlington’s population was estimated at 222,800 as of Jan. 1, 2017, an increase of only 7.3 percent since 2010. The county’s estimates are “based on housing unit counts and residential construction activity.”
Meanwhile, the U.S. Census Bureau estimated Arlington’s population at 230,050 as of July 1, 2016. The next official decennial Census count will take place in 2020.
Arlington estimates that the county’s population will reach 278,100 by 2040.