One of Arlington’s advisory panels is considering a push to require local landlords to make their rent increases public annually.
The legislative subcommittee of the county government’s Housing Commission has included the proposal on a list of potential 2027 legislative priorities.
Despite a year-over-year decline, Arlington’s apartment market in May retained its position as most expensive in the region and fifth most expensive urban area nationally.
The county’s median apartment-rental rate of $2,609 — $2,457 for one-bedroom units, $2,969 for two bedrooms — was down 1.4% year over year, according to figures reported May 28 by Apartment List.
Arlington’s median apartment rental rates remain modestly down year-over-year in one new national survey, while posting a slight uptick in another.
In each case, the county’s costs for renters are among the highest in the nation — fifth most expensive in one survey, seventh in the other.
Arlington is still the priciest place to rent in the D.C. metro area, even as local rents continue to trend downward from their 2022 peak.
The median one-bedroom apartment in Arlington costs $2,420 a month, topping all other metro-area cities in Zumper’s monthly Washington D.C. Metro Report, released today (Monday). Washington, D.C. was second at $2,250, followed by Alexandria at $2,230.
The median rent remains down year over year in Arlington, though the local market is showing price upticks as winter transitions to spring.
The county’s median apartment rent of $2,585 in March was up 1.4% month over month, contributing to a cumulative 2.4% from the start of the year, Apartment List said in its monthly report, released earlier this week. Nevertheless, the median rental rate remains down 1.7% from a year before.
Arlington has some of the most expensive three-bedroom apartments in the D.C. area, with a median asking price of $3,700 last month.
That equates to $44,400 on an annual basis — 17% higher than the median cost for a two-bedroom Arlington apartment and 55% higher than renting a one-bedroom unit, according to data provided by Zumper to ARLnow.
Arlington apartment rents continue to be down slightly from this time last year, although they’re up slightly from February, according to one survey.
Zumper’s monthly rent index, released yesterday (Wednesday), reported the county’s median apartment-rental asking rate as $2,380 for one-bedroom units and $3,170 for two bedrooms in February. Those rates are down 4.4% and 5.4%, respectively, from February 2025.
The cost of rent in Arlington appeared to continue a slight decline in January after decreasing in 2025.
The median price of a two-bedroom apartment, $3,120, was down 0.6% month-over-month and 4.9% year-over-year in data reported Jan. 27 by Zumper. The median cost of a one-bedroom apartment, $2,330, was flat month-over-month but down 4.1% from this time last year.
Median apartment rents in Arlington ended 2025 about 1% lower than they started the year, the first annual decrease in five years.
But according to one analysis, rents in the county remain among the priciest in the nation, about 19% higher than the D.C. area as a whole and 86% more expensive than the national median.
Arlington’s apartment-rental costs continued a seasonal slide in November, but remained the highest outside California in a national survey.
According to figures reported Dec. 3 by Apartment List, the median rent in Arlington was $2,398 for a one-bedroom unit, $2,898 for two bedrooms and $2,547 overall. That’s down 0.9% month-over-month, compared to a 1% decrease nationally, and is down 0.3% year-over-year.
The median rental cost for an Arlington apartment is down 0.9% year-over-year, according to new data, paralleling a slight nationwide decrease.
The county’s apartments remain among the most expensive in major urban areas outside California.
For the first time in months, the median rental cost for a two-bedroom Arlington apartment has dipped below $3,000.
That’s according to Apartment List, whose August report pegged the median cost of an Arlington one-bedroom unit at $2,473, a two-bedroom unit at $2,989 and the median for all sizes at $2,627.
