Quick Answer
North Arlington homes generally sell for more than South Arlington homes because North Arlington has a higher concentration of detached single-family houses on larger lots, while South Arlington has a larger share of condos, garden apartments, and townhomes. The gap is driven mostly by land and property type, not by any single quality difference between the two halves of the county.
Where Is the Dividing Line Between North and South Arlington?
The line most people use is Arlington Boulevard (U.S. Route 50). Anything north of Route 50 is generally called North Arlington; anything south of it is South Arlington.
It’s worth being clear about what this line is and isn’t:
- It is not an official government boundary. Arlington County is a single 26-square-mile jurisdiction with one county government, one police department, and one public school system.
- It is a real estate shorthand. Agents, appraisers, and buyers have used it for decades because the housing on either side of Route 50 genuinely developed differently.
- ZIP codes roughly follow it. North Arlington covers 22201, 22203, 22205, 22207, 22209, and 22213. South Arlington covers 22202, 22204, and 22206.
If you’re trying to figure out which side a specific address falls on, the ZIP code is a fast first check, but the Route 50 line is the one the market actually prices off of.
Why Are North Arlington Homes Worth More?
Four structural reasons, in order of how much they actually move the price.
1. Property type mix is the single biggest factor
This is the reason most “median price” comparisons overstate the gap. When you compare a ZIP code where 70% of the sales are detached houses against a ZIP code where a large share of the sales are one-bedroom condos, you are not comparing neighborhoods. You are comparing property types.
North Arlington’s inventory skews heavily toward detached single-family homes. South Arlington includes large concentrations of mid- and high-rise condominiums (Crystal City, Pentagon City, National Landing), garden-style apartments, and post-war townhome communities such as Fairlington and Shirlington.
Compare a detached house to a detached house and the gap narrows considerably. It does not disappear, but it stops looking like the two-to-one difference the raw ZIP medians suggest.
2. Lot size and zoning
North Arlington contains a larger share of the county’s bigger-lot residential zoning. Neighborhoods like Country Club Hills, Rock Spring, Donaldson Run, and Bellevue Forest were platted with substantially larger lots than the tighter street grids common south of Route 50.
In a land-constrained market like Arlington, the dirt is the asset. A quarter-acre lot in a Metro-accessible county 10 minutes from the District carries value almost independent of the house sitting on it.
3. Teardown and new-construction economics
Because North Arlington land values support it, a large volume of the county’s new single-family construction happens there. Builders buy a 1940s or 1950s house, replace it with a 5,000-square-foot new build, and sell it well into seven figures.
Every one of those sales becomes a comparable sale. Over a decade, that steadily lifts the entire neighborhood’s comp set, including for the original homes that were never torn down. South Arlington sees this activity too, but at lower volume and lower price points, so the lift is slower.
4. Housing age and original build quality
Much of North Arlington’s detached housing stock was built between the 1920s and the 1950s as custom or semi-custom colonials and bungalows on individual lots. Large parts of South Arlington were developed slightly later and more efficiently, often as planned multi-family or attached communities built to house a rapidly growing federal workforce.
Neither approach is “better.” But larger original floor plans and individually built homes tend to command higher prices per unit, and that difference compounds over eighty years.
North vs. South Arlington at a Glance
| North Arlington | South Arlington | |
|---|---|---|
| General boundary | North of Arlington Blvd (Route 50) | South of Arlington Blvd (Route 50) |
| Main ZIP codes | 22201, 22203, 22205, 22207, 22209, 22213 | 22202, 22204, 22206 |
| Dominant property type | Detached single-family | Mixed: condo, garden apartment, townhome, some detached |
| Typical lot sizes | Larger share of big-lot zoning | Generally tighter lots, more attached product |
| Metro service | Orange/Silver line (Rosslyn, Ballston corridor) | Blue/Yellow line (Pentagon City, Crystal City / National Landing) |
| New construction | High volume of teardown/rebuild single-family | More multi-family and mixed-use redevelopment |
| Entry price point | Higher | Lower. Arlington’s most accessible price points |
| County government | Same. Arlington County | Same. Arlington County |
What About Schools?
North and South Arlington are served by the same school division: Arlington Public Schools. There is no separate district, no separate tax rate, and no separate funding stream.
What differs is attendance zones, and those change. Arlington has redistricted multiple times in recent years as enrollment has shifted. If schools matter to your decision, verify the current assigned schools for a specific address directly with Arlington Public Schools rather than relying on a listing description, a ZIP code, or what a neighbor told you five years ago. Boundaries are the county’s to set, and they move.
How Should Buyers Think About the Price Gap?
Here’s the part most articles skip, laid out so you can draw your own conclusion.
Both halves of Arlington share the same county government, the same countywide real estate tax rate, the same county services, and comparable access to the District. What differs is the housing itself and what it costs.
The number worth looking at is price per square foot. The per-square-foot gap between north and south is considerably narrower than the price-per-house gap. That single fact tells you most of what you need to know: North Arlington buyers are largely paying for more square footage and more land, not for a categorically different product.
South Arlington also has its own demand drivers. National Landing, Pentagon City and Crystal City, has absorbed sustained corporate and infrastructure investment, including Amazon’s second headquarters, all of it on the south side of Route 50.
Whether that math favors north or south depends entirely on your budget, the square footage you actually need, and how you weigh land against location. That’s your call to make, but make it on per-square-foot data and your own priorities, not on a reputational shorthand.
What This Means If You’re Selling
Selling in North Arlington: Your competition is often new construction. If your home is an original 1940s or 1950s colonial, the pricing question isn’t just “what did the house down the street sell for”. It’s “what is my lot worth to a builder, and does my house’s condition put me above or below that number?” Sometimes the answer is that a modest pre-list investment moves you into a different buyer pool entirely. Sometimes the answer is to price to the land and sell as-is. Getting that call right is worth six figures on a North Arlington lot.
Selling in South Arlington: Your risk is being priced against the wrong comps. If you own a detached house in Douglas Park or Arlington Heights and the automated valuation tools are averaging you against nearby condo sales, you will be under-priced. A detached home in South Arlington needs to be compared to other detached homes in South Arlington, and to detached homes just across Route 50, not to a ZIP-wide median.
In both cases, the mistake is the same one: letting a ZIP code median stand in for an actual analysis of your specific home.
Frequently Asked Questions
Is North Arlington more expensive than South Arlington?
Yes, on average. North Arlington’s median sale prices run substantially higher than South Arlington’s. However, a large portion of that gap comes from property mix. North Arlington sells more detached single-family homes, while South Arlington sells more condos and attached homes. Comparing detached house to detached house narrows the gap considerably.
What is the boundary between North and South Arlington?
Arlington Boulevard, also known as U.S. Route 50. It is an informal real estate convention, not an official government boundary. Arlington County is one unified jurisdiction with one county government.
Which ZIP codes are North Arlington?
22201, 22203, 22205, 22207, 22209, and 22213 are generally considered North Arlington. 22202, 22204, and 22206 are generally considered South Arlington.
Do North and South Arlington have different property tax rates?
No. Arlington County sets one countywide real estate tax rate. For calendar year 2026, the County Board adopted a rate of $1.053 per $100 of assessed value. The average residential assessment countywide rose to $882,900 for 2026, up from $854,900 the prior year.
Do North and South Arlington have different schools?
They are served by the same school division, Arlington Public Schools. Individual attendance zones differ by address and have been redrawn several times in recent years. Always verify current school assignments for a specific address with Arlington Public Schools.
Is South Arlington a good investment?
South Arlington offers Arlington County’s most accessible price points with the same countywide tax rate, county services, and commute access. Areas near National Landing have absorbed significant corporate and infrastructure investment. As with any market, results depend on the specific property, the price paid, and the holding period, no area guarantees a return.
Thinking About Selling in Arlington?
I’m David Mount, a REALTOR® with The Redux Group of eXp Realty. Over 12+ years in Northern Virginia I’ve sold more than 200 homes, and I work both sides of Arlington Boulevard. Because the right pricing strategy for a North Arlington teardown lot is nothing like the right strategy for a detached home in South Arlington.
If you’re weighing a sale in the next 12 months, I’ll give you an honest read on what your home is actually worth, what (if anything) is worth doing before you list, and which buyer pool you should be targeting.
Request a free Arlington home valuation →
Related reading:
- Arlington Home Sellers Guide 2026
- Selling an Inherited Property in Northern Virginia
- Downsizing: Selling to Buy a Smaller Home Locally
- Selling a Luxury Home in Northern Virginia
Equal Housing Opportunity. David Mount is a licensed REALTOR® in the Commonwealth of Virginia with The Redux Group of eXp Realty. This article discusses housing stock, zoning, tax rates, and publicly reported market data. It is not a recommendation of any neighborhood or community, and it is not legal, tax, or financial advice. Buyers and sellers should independently verify any information material to their decision.
Last updated: August 2026. Market figures cited from Arlington County Department of Real Estate Assessments (January 2026 assessment release), the Arlington County Board’s adopted FY2027 budget (April 2026), and the Northern Virginia Association of REALTORS® monthly market statistics. Market conditions change. Contact me for current data on your specific neighborhood.
Sources: Arlington County 2026 Property Values · Arlington County FY2027 Adopted Budget · NVAR Market Statistics