Millennials are still flocking to Arlington.
That’s according to new rankings from the website SmartAsset, which looked at where those ages 25-44 moved in 2022. (Yes, there are millennials who are now in their mid-40s.)
Arlington was No. 6 on the list of U.S. localities where millennials moved last year, as a percentage of the population.
“About 11.5% of Arlington’s residents are new millennials,” according to SmartAsset. “The [county] saw 26,699 millennials move in in 2022, and the median age across the city is 35.6 years.”
Ranking above Arlington were mostly tech-oriented cities: Cambridge, Massachusetts; Santa Clara, California; Seattle, Washington; Sunnyvale, California; and Denver, Colorado. Neighboring Alexandria and D.C. were No. 13 and 15 on the list, respectively.
Arlington, meanwhile, was No. 1 in at least one regard.
“Arlington, VA had the highest rate of millennials moving in from out of state at 5.2% of the total population,” SmartAsset wrote. “Studywide, Arlington placed 6th. Charleston, SC (45th); Washington, DC (15th); and Sandy Springs, GA (10th) similarly saw particularly high rates of millennial transplants from out of state.”
In 2017, another ranking website declared Arlington to be the “Best City for Millennials” on account of its nightlife, diversity, public schools, and being “good for families.”
Flickr pool photo by Kevin Wolf
Sponsored by Monday Properties and written by ARLnow, Startup Monday is a weekly column that profiles Arlington-based startups, founders, and other local technology news. Monday Properties is proudly featuring Three Ballston Plaza.
A local startup is providing younger generations with a new way to understand banking and finances.
Wellthi is a software tool that grants financial advice on a social media-like platform. It can be used through its independent app that is available to download, or within mobile apps of participating banks.
“Think of it as a Facebook or LinkedIn within a mobile banking app,” founder and CEO Fonta Gilliam said. “We are helping banks rethink their mobile banking experience.”
The company, initially named Invest Sou Sou, officially launched in 2021. Since then, it has formed partnerships with Mastercard, Discover Card, Galileo Financial Technologies and IDology. Citizens Bank recently became the first banking partner to launch with Wellthi, Gilliam said.
She aims to bridge the gap between the financial services banks provide and the places younger generations turn for finance tips: social media.
“We found that a lot of banks don’t know how to talk to millennials and Gen Z. 80% of us get our financial advice not from our branch managers or a financial advisor but from places like Reddit, TikTok and Facebook,” Gilliam said. “Wellthi gives users an experience that feels like say Reddit or TikTok but in a space where users can talk to certified financial advisors versus random influencers on social media.”
Wellthi received funding from Virginia Venture Partners (VVP), an equity investment program within the Virginia Innovation Partnership Corporation. The funds given to Wellthi from VVP were partially through the U.S. Treasury Department’s State Small Business Credit Initiative for a confidential amount.
She hinted at a few other undisclosed partnerships with banks.
The VPP funding follows on a seed funding round in December worth $2.1 million, Washington Business Journal reported. Gilliam says she moved her startup from D.C. to Arlington to take advantage of the various types of support available for startups, as well as the county’s hub of tech companies.
“Arlington had incredible incentives. I was looking for a [place] that could provide venture capital for early-stage companies like mine,” Gilliam said. “I was excited about the growth happening right now in Northern Virginia from Amazon’s HQ2 to the welcoming business feel the area gives.”
She says she hopes that this proximity will turn into more interest from local consumers and small businesses in the near future.
Alternately billing it as a happy hour for renters and a millennial outreach event, a pair of Crystal City organizations is hosting an event geared toward younger residents tomorrow night.
The Crystal City Civic Association and the neighborhood’s business improvement district are co-hosting the event to engage renters in the quickly changing community.
More from Arlington County:
Co-hosted by the Crystal City Civic Association and Crystal City Business Improvement District, this happy hour is your opportunity to get engaged, get involved, and get a little refreshment in the process. Featuring special remarks from Katie Cristol, Arlington County Board member and former Crystal City resident. This event is targeted for renters in the 22202 area to promote how to get involved in civic engagement and advocacy, with the rapid changes in the neighborhood. Free drinks and light refreshments will be served. Find out more by checking out the Facebook event here.
Arlington County Board member Katie Cristol is expected to deliver remarks at the free event, which is being held at the JBG National Landing Marketing Center (241 18th Street S.) from 5:30-7:30 p.m.
Attendees are asked to RSVP online.
Pike Lane Closures Prompt Apology — “Arlington County Manager Mark Schwartz has apologized that residents, business owners, and commuters weren’t informed how their lives would be temporarily affected by a road construction project on Columbia Pike, near the Fairfax County border,” per WTOP. County officials will be holding a press briefing about the lane closures on the Pike this morning. [WTOP, Arlington County]
Park Near HQ2 May Have Security Features — “Amazon.com Inc. is weighing methods for securing its second headquarters and appears to be looking across the pond for ideas. The U.S. embassy in London… avoids fences in favor of a number of ‘defense strategies’ disguised as a ‘welcoming landscape that is experienced as a public park,’ an Amazon representative told Arlington County officials.” [Washington Business Journal]
Ballroom Closing Is a Changing of the Bro Guards — “The millennials who do end up in Arlington are being drawn to a new generation of bars and nightspots, many of which are run by chef Mike Cordero and partner Scott Parker, including the bustling three-level tequila/tacos restaurant Don Tito… Clarendon may always have a place for the venerable Whitlow’s on Wilson, where the combination of a roof deck and cover bands makes it the most likely refuge for those missing the Ballroom… But it’s clear that Clarendon — at least, its bro-centric archetype — will never be the same.” [Washington Post]
Alabama Man Busted With Loaded Gun at DCA — “An Alabama man started the new year on a sour note when he brought his loaded handgun to Ronald Reagan Washington National Airport (DCA) on the first day of the new year.” [Transportation Security Administration]
New Slate of County Board Meetings Set — “Arlington County Board members will hold 11 monthly meetings (Saturdays and the subsequent Tuesdays) in 2020, along with several hearings on the proposed fiscal 2021 budget and capital-improvement projects. Regular meetings will be held on Jan. 25, Feb. 22, March 21, April 18, May 16, June 13, July 18, Sept. 12, Oct. 17, Nov. 14 and Dec. 12 and, in each case, the following Tuesdays.” [InsideNova]
‘National Gateway’ Building Sold — “An affiliate of The Meridian Group has sold part of its National Gateway campus in Arlington County, one of a handful of office properties poised to benefit from an expected surge in demand tied to Amazon.com Inc.’s second headquarters. The Bethesda developer sold National Gateway II, a roughly 238,031-square-foot building at 3550 S. Clark St., for nearly $60 million.” [Washington Business Journal]
(Updated at 7 a.m.) Young people in Arlington have some of the best credit scores out of any community in the entire country, according to new rankings.
Experian, one of the “Big Three” consumer credit reporting agencies in the country, released a new report today (Tuesday) showing that single women in Arlington from ages 24 through 32 have the highest average credit score in the entire country.
The agency found that, when examining data from the third quarter of 2018, women in the county in that age range averaged a FICO score of 735. The metric tops out with a score of 850, and most lenders around the country use the scores to assess credit risk.
Arlington ranked slightly ahead of women in San Francisco, who have an average score of 729, and Boston, where the average is 726. Seattle’s average of 724 and Irvine, California’s score of 714 round out the top five communities.
Young, single men in the county fare nearly as well as their female counterparts. Men from ages 24 through 32 in the county boast an average credit score of 737, tied for second in the country with Cambridge, Massachusetts.
Sunnyvale, California ranks tops in the nation in that category with an average score of 738. Boston places fourth with a score of 728 and San Francisco comes in a fifth with an average of 725.
The solid fiscal health of Arlington’s millenials should probably come as no surprise, as previous studies have found that the county has some of the highest-earning young people in the country. Arlington’s proximity to D.C. and desirability to young people have helped contribute to that trend, as has the area’s recent tech boom, which looks set to continue with Amazon on the way.
Of course, like other wealthy communities across the country, opportunity for young people to succeed differs wildly across the county’s neighborhoods.
File photo
For the last four months, you might’ve noticed Anna Merod’s byline here at ARLnow; regrettably, that won’t last much longer.
Anna’s time as a spring intern is almost up, but before she leaves, she stopped by for a podcast conversation with ARLnow’s Alex Koma.
Topics included some of Anna’s favorite stories, like an analysis of racial disparities in suspensions in Arlington Public Schools and in-depth look at why millenials struggle to buy homes in Arlington, and what she’s learned in her time growing up in and covering the county.
Listen below or subscribe to the podcast on iTunes, Google Play, Stitcher or TuneIn.
(Updated at 4:20 p.m.) Arlington’s millennials have mixed reactions about buying a house in the county some day.
About 36 percent of current U.S. home buyers across the nation are millennials, or those who are under 37 years old, according to a National Association of Realtors survey.
But Eli Tucker, an Arlington-based realtor who also writes an ARLnow column, doesn’t think that home buying trend studies are accurate, because of the different life changes that people aged 20 through 37 face. Two-thirds of Tucker’s clientele is considered millennial-aged and those ages 20-34 make up about a third of Arlington’s population.
“Absolutely, those millennials that are in their thirties and have children and are starting a family have zero interest in a condo,” Tucker said. “But you talk to somebody who is 25 or 26, they have zero interest in being in anything other than a condo — but they’re both millennials.”
The cost of housing in Arlington doesn’t help.
The average cost of an Arlington single-family home is $950,000, while a townhouse costs $650,000 on average, and a condo will, on average, take a $425,000 bite out of your wallet, according to numbers cited by Tucker.
Courthouse resident, Elvin Lee, 25, already owns a condo in Arlington, something he says he couldn’t have done if he didn’t live with his parents for the first two years out of college.
Lee said he could see himself purchasing a house one day, but not until much later when he wants to start a family.
Another Arlington millennial, Adam DeSanctis, 31, and his wife want to buy a home in Arlington, but he says that the county’s pricy real estate market it too difficult to jump into.
“The area desperately needs more entry-level new home construction (single-family and condos) to keep affordability in check — especially as mortgage rates rise,” DeSanctis said via email.
Though home purchases by millennials increased by two percent over the past year, the NAR study found that millennials’ overall activity was subdued due to higher housing costs causing some to continue staying in their family’s homes.
“Home prices have rapidly increased in many communities [nationwide]” said Jessica Lautz, NAR’s survey research and communications director. “The D.C. area is no exception to that.”
Massive amount of student loan debt nationwide is contributing to the problem, said Lautz. Though the study found that millennials were more likely to have higher household incomes than past generations their age, 46 percent had student debt. The median student loan debt is $27,000.
The concern is mitigated somewhat in Arlington as salaries are higher than other communities, Lautz added.
For Kelly Kuang, 22, who just moved into a Shirlington rental apartment, she probably won’t be buying in Arlington. Her parents want her to buy a townhouse with her brother in the near future and it will likely be in a less expensive community.
“Just to be honest, Arlington is a great area from what I’ve heard, but it’s crazy expensive,” Kuang said.
Patrick Muggil, 21, who currently plans to live with his family in Pentagon City after working for a year, said he plans to save up for a house over the course of five to 10 years.
“I love the county so much that I definitely to make it work somewhere,” said Muggil. “I want to stay a long time.”
File photo
Arlington Revamps Engagement on Projects — “The County’s new ‘Six-Step Public Engagement Guide for Capital Projects’ aims to strengthen engagement and communication processes across County government – for hundreds of capital projects both large and small… The guide identifies four types of engagement that can occur with capital projects: Communicate… Consult… Involve… Collaborate.” [Arlington County]
Barre3 Opening ‘For Real’ — After construction, permitting, and inspection delays, Clarendon’s new Barre3 exercise studio has set a new opening date of March 22 — “for real.” An email to customers apologized to those who have been “waiting (and waiting and waiting)” for the studio to open in Clarendon’s Market Common shopping plaza at 2800 Clarendon Boulevard.
Millennials Buying Homes at Modest Pace — “Home purchases by Millennials ticked up over the past year, but inventory constraints and higher housing costs kept their overall activity subdued and prevented some from leaving the more affordable confines of their Gen X and Baby Boomer parents’ homes.” Meanwhile, Northern Virginia’s population continues to boom while many rural Virginia locales are shrinking. [InsideNova, InsideNova]
(Updated at 2:40 p.m.) In news that should be music to the county officials’ ears as they court Amazon, Arlington County is among the top 3 best places in the U.S. for millennials, according to new rankings compiled by Niche.com.
Arlington is third behind San Francisco (#2) and Cambridge, Mass. (#1). The Boston area is also among Amazon’s top 20 potential HQ2 destinations.
The county bested Amazon’s home city, Seattle (#4), along with D.C. (#5) and Berkeley, Calif. (#6), according to the rankings, which take into account things like the percentage of residents ages 25-34; access to coffee shops, restaurants and bars; diversity; walkability; higher education rate; and cost of living.
Niche also just announced that Arlington is its No. 5 “best city to live in America,” after Ann Arbor, Mich. (#1), Naperville, Ill. (#2), Berkeley (#3) and Plano, Texas (#4).
Those rankings “explore 15,000+ cities, towns, and neighborhoods nationwide based on cost of living, public schools, safety, jobs, local amenities, and more,” according to Niche.
Flickr pool photo by Erinn Shirley
Family Still Searching for Missing Arlington Woman — Family and friends spent the weekend searching for Katherine Hawald, who went missing Thursday, last seen in Arlington. Volunteers checked places Hawald would hang out and handed out flyers, enlisting others to assist in the search effort. [Fox 5]
Veep Participates in Veterans Day Ceremony — Vice President Mike Pence participated in the annual Veterans Day ceremony at Arlington National Cemetery on Saturday. “From the hour of our nation’s birth, our best and bravest have stepped forward to defend our freedom,” Pence said. “And as we speak, a new generation of American veterans is being forged across the wider world.” [Dept. of Defense]
Millennials Moving Out = Lower Rents — “More millennials are leaving Greater Washington than moving in, and that could spell trouble for commercial real estate developers across the region. Those young professionals helped the region avoid oversaturation of new apartments, but the diminishing pool will likely shrink demand for those units, among other potential consequences.” [Washington Business Journal]
Which Restaurants Are Open on Thanksgiving — Those hoping to avoid the hassle of making a turkey at home have a few options for dining out in Arlington on Thanksgiving. [Patch]
Burrito Bros Now Offering Taco — Perhaps responding to competition down the street, the Burrito Bros stand on Columbia Pike — formerly known as Pedro & Vinny’s — is now offering tacos. [Twitter]
Flickr pool photo by TheBeltWalk
Two Arrested After Fleeing from ACPD — Two men who fled from a traffic stop in Arlington were later arrested in Northwest D.C. Arlington police tried to stop the vehicle near Washington Blvd and N. Kirkwood Road, in the Virginia Square area, but the car took off and police did not pursue, per department rules. U.S. Park Police then tried to stop the men in D.C. and they fled again but were eventually taken into custody after crashing their car along Connecticut Avenue. [Fox 5]
WSJ Highlights W-L’s 178 Valedictorians — Washington-Lee High School in Arlington had 178 valedictorians this past school year. Having multiple valedictorians is a national trend among high schools. W-L considers any student with a 4.0 GPA or above to be a valedictorian. [Wall Street Journal, Falls Church News-Press]
Arts + Startups = Millennials? — “Arts groups should work to make common cause with high-tech firms and Millennials in an effort to bring benefits to all, one panelist said at an arts forum sponsored by Opera Nova and held Oct. 8 at Washington Golf & Country Club.” [InsideNova]
Distil Hires New CEO — Distil Networks, the cybersecurity firm with offices in Arlington and San Francisco, was just trying to hire a new Chief Operating Officer but ended up with a new CEO. Tiffany Olson Jones will lead the company, with $20 million in revenue and 65 percent annual revenue growth, from Arlington. [San Francisco Business Times]
HUNGRY Adds New Chefs — Rosslyn-based food delivery startup HUNGRY has added a number of notable chefs to its platform, including Bryan Voltaggio of VOLT and Lunchbox. [PRNewswire]
‘Speedy’ Tolliver Dies — “Roy ‘Speedy’ Tolliver, an Arlington-based bluegrass fiddler who performed at local folk festivals for 65 years and was an inaugural recipient of the Virginia Heritage Award in 2009, died Sept. 18 at an assisted living center in Arlington, Va. He was 99.” [Washington Post]
Photo courtesy Michael Thomas
