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County · code 51013

Arlington CountyVirginia

Arlington County is a county in Virginia, with Arlington as its seat, founded in 1801.

  • Founded1801
  • Named forArlington House, The Robert E. Lee Memorial
  • Land area26 sq mi + 0.1 sq mi water
  • Population238,643 2020 Census
  • Parcels mapped38,688 checked 15 October 2026
Open the free map Click any parcel in Arlington County: acreage, parcel id, address and who publishes the map. No sign-in.

Updated

Alexandria cityFalls Church cityDistrict of Columbia, DCFairfax Census outline

Where it is

Arlington on the map of Virginia

Virginia has 133 counties and county equivalents, each with its own records office. Shapes with a page are links.

Accomack CountyAlbemarle CountyAlleghany CountyAmelia CountyAmherst CountyAppomattox CountyAugusta CountyBath CountyBedford CountyBland CountyBotetourt CountyBrunswick CountyBuchanan CountyBuckingham CountyCampbell CountyCaroline CountyCarroll CountyCharles City CountyCharlotte CountyChesterfield CountyClarke CountyCraig CountyCulpeper CountyCumberland CountyDickenson CountyDinwiddie CountyEssex CountyFairfax CountyFauquier CountyFloyd CountyFluvanna CountyFranklin CountyFrederick CountyGiles CountyGloucester CountyGoochland CountyGrayson CountyGreene CountyGreensville CountyHalifax CountyHanover CountyHenrico CountyHenry CountyHighland CountyIsle of Wight CountyJames City CountyKing and Queen CountyKing George CountyKing William CountyLancaster CountyLee CountyLoudoun CountyLouisa CountyLunenburg CountyMadison CountyMathews CountyMecklenburg CountyMiddlesex CountyMontgomery CountyNelson CountyNew Kent CountyNorthampton CountyNorthumberland CountyNottoway CountyOrange CountyPage CountyPatrick CountyPittsylvania CountyPowhatan CountyPrince Edward CountyPrince George CountyPrince William CountyPulaski CountyRappahannock CountyRichmond CountyRoanoke CountyRockbridge CountyRockingham CountyRussell CountyScott CountyShenandoah CountySmyth CountySouthampton CountySpotsylvania CountyStafford CountySurry CountySussex CountyTazewell CountyWarren CountyWashington CountyWestmoreland CountyWise CountyWythe CountyYork CountyAlexandria cityBristol cityBuena Vista cityCharlottesville cityChesapeake cityColonial Heights cityCovington cityDanville cityEmporia cityFairfax cityFalls Church cityFranklin cityFredericksburg cityGalax cityHampton cityHarrisonburg cityHopewell cityLexington cityLynchburg cityManassas cityManassas Park cityMartinsville cityNewport News cityNorfolk cityNorton cityPetersburg cityPoquoson cityPortsmouth cityRadford cityRichmond cityRoanoke citySalem cityStaunton citySuffolk cityVirginia Beach cityWaynesboro cityWilliamsburg cityWinchester cityArlington County Arlington
Counties of Virginia · Arlington highlighted

History

Formed in 1801 from Fairfax County and Washington County

An old deed may name a county that no longer exists, or a boundary that has since moved.

Originally named Alexandria, the county was created in 1801 when the federal government established a circuit court for the District of Columbia, formed from territory that Virginia had ceded in 1791. In 1846, the federal government retroceded the area west of the Potomac River to Virginia, and Virginia officially extended its jurisdiction in 1847. The county was renamed Arlington in 1920, after Arlington House, The Robert E. Lee Memorial.

Boundary changes from the Newberry Library, Atlas of Historical County Boundaries.

  1. 1801
    Arlington County created Alexandria (now Arlington, Virginia) created as one of two original counties when the federal government established a circuit court for the seat of national government, now called the District of Columbia; the counties were to administer the new judicial system and perform other functions. Alexandria covered the area west of the Potomac River that had been ceded from Virginia in 1791. Alexandria shared concurrent jurisdiction of the Potomac with Washington.
    from Fairfax (Va.)from Washington
    · U.S. Stat., vol. 2, ch. 15 [1801]/pp. 103-108
  2. 1846
    Changed The District of Columbia ceded Alexandria (now Arlington) to Virginia. · U.S. Stat., vol. 9, ch. 35[1846]/pp. 35-37 and appendix 3/p. 1000
  3. 1847
    Changed Virginia officially extended its jurisdiction over Alexandria (now Arlington), which had been ceded to Virginia by the District of Columbia on 7 September 1846. Despite disputes over details of the D.C.-Virginia line in the Potomac River, there has been no mappable change in the boundary with the District to present.
    D.c.
    · Va. Acts 1846-1847, ch. 53/pp. 41-48
  4. 1902
    Lost territory Alexandria (now Arlington) lost to creation of Alexandria as an independent city, 1st class. · Bain, "Body Incorporate," 18-21; Swindler, 10:166, 169
  5. 1915
    Lost territory Alexandria (now Arlington) lost small area to the independent city of Alexandria. · Bain, Annexation, [240]; Alexandria Planning Dept., correspondence, January 1990
  6. 1920
    Renamed Alexandria renamed Arlington.
    formerly Alexandria
    · Va. Acts 1920, Jan. reg. sess., ch. 241, sec. 1/p. 343
  7. 1930
    Lost territory Arlington lost to the independent city of Alexandria. · Alexandria Planning Dept., correspondence, January 1990; Bain, Annexation, [243]

Land and parcels

What the maps cover in Arlington

Who publishes each layer, how good it is, and when we last checked.

Official
from the office that keeps the record
Good enough
a reliable statewide or national copy
Fallback
a guide only; check the official record
Missing
nothing public found yet

People and land

Arlington by the Census

Population
238,643 2020 Census count
Housing units
119,085 2020 Census count
Land area
26 square miles
Water area
0.1 square miles
People per sq mi
9,179 population ÷ land area

Source: US Census Bureau, 2020 Census; US Census Bureau, 2020 Gazetteer Files. Not endorsed or certified by the Census Bureau.

Rules and offices

Who to ask before you build, dig or sell

Official county pages only. We link to them; we do not copy them, because they change.

Inside a city or town, permits usually come from that city rather than the county.

Permits

Zoning and code

GIS and maps

County government

See your own lot on these maps

Open Arlington County on Parcel Chart's free map and click your parcel. Save it with a free account; the full record of your place (site map, projects, documents) is Pro, in early access.

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Questions

Common questions about Arlington County

When was Arlington County founded?
Arlington County was founded in 1801, formed from Fairfax County and Washington County, and named after Arlington House, The Robert E. Lee Memorial.
Is there an online parcel map for Arlington County?
Yes. Arlington County publishes a parcel map of 38,688 parcels, rated good enough here. You can click any parcel on it in Parcel Chart's free map, no sign-in needed.
Has Arlington County's boundary or name changed?
Arlington County was created in 1801 from Fairfax County and Washington County. Since then the Atlas of Historical County Boundaries records 6 later changes, chiefly involving Alexandria County and D.c. County. It was formerly called Alexandria.
Who issues building permits in Arlington County?
The county's page on building permits: Permit Arlington Center. Inside a city or town, ask that city first.
Is my lot in a flood zone?
We do not have flood maps for Arlington County yet. Look up the address on FEMA's Flood Map Service Center, which shows the effective flood map for any lot.

Nearby

Counties next door