Arlington's Advantage: Lower Taxes and Utility Costs Benefit Residents

Published on May 28, 2025

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The City of Arlington is facing a challenging Fiscal Year 2026. Throughout the next several months, our “Piecing it Together” budget series will provide a high-level overview of the unique situational and economic factors impacting Arlington’s budget this year. Have a question or topic you’d like to see included? Send us a message.

A comparison of North Texas cities finds that Arlington residents benefit from comparatively lower city property taxes and utility bills than other municipalities. Among the findings:

Arlington’s residential and commercial water rates are among the lowest in DFW.
The City’s garbage/recycling fees are competitive among neighboring cities.
The City's property tax rate and per capita tax levy are lower than most neighboring cities.
Arlington operates as a lean organization in terms of city employees per capita while growing levels of public safety staffing compared to the region.
Arlington boasts a higher median household income and a lower unemployment rate than many major Texas cities,
The City has more affordable median home prices compared to several neighboring Dallas-Fort Worth area communities.

Property Taxes and Utility Bills

Graph showing the total average annual payment of various north Texas cities. Arlington is $1,956, Lewisville $2,011, Fort Worth, $2,149, Euless $2,267, Carrollton $2,268, Dallass $2,304, Bedford $2,337, McKinney $2,346, Irving $2,442, Richardson $2,486, Plano $2,660, Garland $2,743, Mansfield $3,043, Frisco $3,049.

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City property taxes and water utility bills are less expensive for Arlington residents when compared to average total bills in other Dallas-Fort Worth area cities. Arlington residents pay an average total of $1,956 combined annually for City property taxes, water and sanitary sewer fees and trash and recycling fees. That’s less than the average $2,149 paid by Fort Worth residents for the same bills. Residents in Irving, Richardson, Plano, and Garland pay an average total ranging from $2,400 to $2,700, while Mansfield residents pay an average total of $3,043 a year.

Water Rates: Breaking it down further, Arlington’s residential water rates for 10,000 gallons per month is one of the lowest in the region. Arlington charges $40.92 per 10,000 gallons, compared to $50.38 in Mansfield, $54.70 in North Richland Hills or $80.03 in Euless.

Trash Rates: At $20.14 a month, Arlington’s garbage and recycling rates are lower than many surrounding communities, including Fort Worth, Dallas, Plano, Frisco and Irving.

Property tax rate: The City of Arlington’s property tax rate is currently $0.5998 per $100 of assessed value. When you compare this to neighboring cities, you’ll find that Arlington’s property tax rate is lower than those in Mansfield, Kennedale, Dalworthington Gardens, Fort Worth and Dallas.

Tax Levy per capita: A tax levy per capital is the average tax burden per resident if the total tax levy were equally distributed among everyone living in an area. It does not reflect the actual amount any single individual pays though.

Arlington’s Fiscal Year 2025 tax levy per capita is $652, far lower than the $1,184 per capita in Fort Worth or $1,167 in Dallas. Arlington’s tax levy per capita is also lower than Mesquite and Garland, which is near $750, as well as Plano, Carrollton and Irving, which ranges from $904 to $971.

City Employees

The City of Arlington is a lean organization compared to city employees per capita in other Dallas-Fort Worth area communities, largely due to outsourced services such as garbage, ambulance and median mowing, for example. Arlington, which is the 50^th largest city in America with more than 398,000 residents, has 3,003 full-time employees. That breaks down to just 76 employees per 10,000 residents.

Public Safety: The Arlington Police Department 712 sworn police officers. Arlington’s sworn police officers per capita is slightly less than Fort Worth’s 2.01 sworn police officers and Dallas’ 2.41 sworn police officers. But Arlington has more police officers per capita than many area cities, including Grand Prairie, Plano, Richardson and Frisco. Since 2009, which was the opening of AT&T Stadium, Arlington has added 91 new police officers.

The Arlington Fire Department has 497 sworn firefighters. Arlington has 1.44 sworn firefighters and EMS personnel for every 10,000 residents, the same as the City of Fort Worth. Arlington has more firefighters and EMS personnel per capita than Plano, Grand Prairie, Lewisville and Frisco. Since 2009, Arlington has added 172 new firefighter positions.

Library: With a staff of 71 people, the Arlington Public Library employs just .18 employees per 10,000 residents. That’s lower than the smaller area communities of McKinney, Garland, Mesquite, and Frisco. Arlington Public Library branches are well utilized, with patrons checking out more than 1.6 million books, movies, e-books, digital audiobooks and e-magazines. Last year, the City’s seven branches welcomed more than 735,000 visitors.

Parks & Recreation: Arlington Parks and Recreation, which has 245 employees caring for 100 public parks, six recreation centers, four golf courses and numerous other athletic fields and recreational amenities, has .56 employees per 10,000 population. That’s roughly the same as Fort Worth’s Parks & Recreation Department, but fewer than the smaller cities of Frisco, Carrollton, Mesquite and Grand Prairie. Arlington Parks and Recreation saw its 2024 ParkScore, which rates parks systems in 100 of the country’s largest cities, climb 27 ranking spots from 2023 to 2024. The Trust for Public Land now ranks Arlington No. 4 in Texas and No. 47 nationwide.

Jobs and Housing

Median income: Arlington’s median household income is $73,519, higher than in Mesquite, Dallas, Corpus Christi and San Antonio, according to the U.S. Census Bureau’s latest estimates.

Unemployment: Arlington’s unemployment rate is 4.1, lower than both the state and federal unemployment rate.

Home Prices: The median home price per square foot in Arlington is $182, again similar to the price in Fort Worth and more affordable than the smaller neighboring cities of Garland, Irving and Carrollton. The median home sale price in Arlington is $330,000, according to Redfin. That’s in line with neighboring Fort Worth, where the median home price is about $5,000 higher. Homes in Arlington are more affordable than in Dallas, where the median home sale price is $428,000, and in Plano, where the median home sale price is $540,000.