Arlington’s population continues to grow as the number of jobs in the county shrinks, according to new data.
Arlington County just released its 2016 Profile, which includes vital statistics like population, employment and demographics.
According to the county, Arlington’s estimated population on Jan. 1, 2016 was 220,400, up from 216,700 on Jan. 1, 2015 and up 6.1 percent compared to 2010.
Arlington’s population is projected to reach 283,000 by 2040. That projection is unchanged from last year.
The number of jobs in Arlington County, meanwhile, declined over the past year.
There were 211,000 employees working in Arlington on Jan. 1, compared to 221,700 in 2015. Much of that can be attributed to a shrinking government workforce in Arlington — 23 percent of the jobs in Arlington were government employees on Jan. 1, compared to 24.2 percent of the labor force last year. That’s a loss of more than 5,100 government jobs.
Still, the projected number of jobs in Arlington in 2040 remains steady at just over 300,000. The profile presents a picture of a county that remains a major employment center and a sought-after place to live.
“Arlington has more private office space than the downtowns of Los Angeles, Dallas, Denver,
Seattle, or Atlanta,” it says. “Arlington continues to grow with the addition of new development. In 2015,
2,161 residential units were completed.”
Photo courtesy James Mahony