Named #2 "Best City" in America
Bloomberg Finance and BusinessWeek named Arlington No. 2 in its rankings of "America's Best Cities," based on metrics such as school performance, green space and cultural amenities. "Home to numerous headquarters of companies and government agencies, this Washington D.C. suburb is a draw in its own right. The area is highly educated, with more than two-thirds of the population holding a college degree. Arlington has a median income level of $93,806, low levels of foreclosures, and the lowest unemployment among cities we ranked." (Sept. 2011)

County Hailed for Sept. 11 Response
The Association of Public-Safety Communications Officials - International (APCO) recently recognized Arlington's Emergency Communications Center for its "model regional response to the Pentagon incident" following the attacks of Sept. 11, 2001. (September 2011)

Top Innovator in Personnel Assessments
The International Personnel Assessment Council (IPAC) recognized Arlington with its IPAC Innovations in Assessment Award for developing The Siena Reasoning Test (SRT). (September 2011)

Arlington Wins Top Preparedness Award
Arlington's preparedness campaign that appears at Metrorail stations was recognized with a first place national award (U.S. competition) and a second place international award (global competition) by the International Association of Emergency Managers (IAEM). The awards recognize programs or processes that demonstrate innovative, multi-participant involvement between local governments/governmental entities and private sector businesses, non-governmental organizations/non-profits, or individuals which have resulted in effective and efficient incident management, emergency management or homeland security processes. (August 2011)

Arlington Wins Top Law Enforcement Awards
Arlington has recently won top honors (June 2011):

• The International Association of Chiefs of Police (IACP) has recognized Arlington as a top award winner in its 2010-2011 National Law Enforcement Challenge (third place in our population category). The program is designed to strengthen and support traffic enforcement nationwide and targets three major traffic safety priorities: occupant protection impaired driving, and speeding.
• The Virginia Association of Chiefs of Police (VACP) also recognized Arlington with a 2010 Virginia Law Enforcement Challenge award for the best traffic safety programs in the state (1st place in our population category).

Arlington Most Wheelchair-Friendly
The Christopher & Dana Reeve Foundation released a list of the 20 most wheelchair-friendly cities across the U.S., including Arlington. The Foundation is dedicated to helping those with spinal cord injuries. (May 2011) 

Arlington's Triple-Aaa Bond Rating Reaffirmed
This is the eleventh consecutive year that the County has received the coveted Triple-Aaa bond rating, with Standard & Poor's, Fitch Ratings and Moody's all giving the County's debt the highest rating. (May 2011)

Arlington First with Mobile Visitors Center
The Arlington Convention and Visitors Service (ACVS) received two VIRGO awards at this year’s Virginia Tourism Summit -- the first for Arlington’s innovative electric-powered Mobile Visitors Center as the state’s Visitor Center of the Year. Also, the VIRGO Award for Regional Marketing Initiative went to Arlington; our Northern Virginia Visitors Consortium partners from Alexandria, Fairfax, Loudoun and Prince William/Manassas; and the Virginia Tourism Corporation (VTC). (2011)

Arlington Named Most Educated
Arlington has the highest percentage of total population with a bachelor's or graduate degree, making ours the most educated county in the country. (April 2011)

Arlington Named #4 "Least Stressed County" in the U.S.
The Associated Press Economic Stress Index ranked Arlington the #4 "least economically stressed" county in the U.S. The index is based on the combined impact of unemployment, foreclosures and bankrupty. (Mar. 2011)

Arlington Wins Top Transparency Award
The Arlington County website won a Sunny Award, presented by the Editors of Sunshine Review to honor the most transparent government websites in the nation. These outstanding websites have scored an "A" transparency grade on Sunshine Review's Transparency Checklist.  This year, only 112 of the more than 6,000 government websites ranked by Sunshine Review earned a Sunny Award. (March 2011)

Sheriff Beth Arthur Honored
Arlington County Sheriff Beth Arthur was honored with the Washington Area Toyota Dealers’ Tribute to Working Women award in October. For the past 16 years, this prestigious tribute has selected a handful of working women from hundreds of applications from candidates who have demonstrated a commitment and dedication to improve the community where they live and work. Sheriff Arthur was one of seven women named this year by a distinguished panel of judges, including executives from the automotive, employment, broadcast, and publishing industries. (2010)

Best Practices in Cost-Cutting
Arlington's Energy Manager, John Morrill, was named by Governor Bob McDonnell to a new task force to identify cost-cutting best practices. 

A+ for Transparency
The Sunshine Review awarded Arlington a rare "A+" for transparency on our website, the highest grade in the Commonwealth. (2010)

"Best Places"
USNews & World Report named Arlington an "Editors' Pick" for Best Place to Live, saying that "Arlington has a folksy, small-town air." (2010)

Distinguished Budget Presentation
The Government Finance Officers Association (GFOA) honored Arlington's budget book -- for the 25th year in a row -- for the GFOA's Distinguished Budget Presentation Awards Program (pdf), "to make examples of high quality budgets readily accessible to encourage and assist other governments to improve the quality of their own budget documents." (2010)

#13 "Least Economically Stressed County"
The Associated Press Economic Stress Index ranked Arlington as the #13 "least economically stressed" county in the U.S. (June 2010)

Best City for Families
Parenting Magazine named Arlington #1 in its 2010 list of "Best Cities for Families," citing our community's "fabulous schools, great home values, and an attractive unemployment rate." 

Highest-paid County
With an average weekly pay of $1,594, Arlington ranks in the top 10 of highest wage earners in the country, according to the Bureau of Labor Statistics. (2010)

Top 20 "Least Economically Stressed Counties"
The Associated Press Economic Stress Index ranked Arlington as the #10 "least economically stressed" county in the U.S. (March 2010)

Arlington Named to "Smart 7"
Arlington County has been named one of 7 "Smart Communities" by the Intelligent Community Forum, a think tank that studies the economic and social development of the 21st Century community. ICF seeks to share the best practices of the world's Intelligent Communities in adapting to the demands of the Broadband Economy, in order to help communities everywhere find sustainable renewal and growth. Each year, about 400 communities across the globe apply for the designation of “Smart Communities.” (2010)

Oasis of Stability
The New York Times hailed Arlington's Rosslyn-to-Ballston corridor as an "oasis of stability amid a downturn." Read the story. (Oct. 2009) 

Jay Fisette Named 2009 Public Official of the Year
The Virginia Transit Association (VTA) selected Jay Fisette, Vice Chairman of the Arlington County Board, as the recipient of the 2009 Public Official of the Year Award. According to the VTA, "Mr. Fisette has been a forceful champion of smart growth, sustainability and livable communities at the local, regional, state and national levels, promoting smart growth principles, such as linking land use and transportation, sound urban design and open spaces, public transportation and pedestrian safety. Because of his advocacy, he was presented with the VTA honor."

Innovative Government
The National Association of Counties (NACo) recognized four Arlington County Government programs for using new, innovative systems to better serve residents (2009):

• Citizen Outreach Program -- helps residents pay their taxes and avoid penalties by informing residents about payment deadlines and information through automated phone calls.
• Assessment and Collection Enterprise (ACE) System -- new tax-collection system replaced 12 smaller ones.
• REFS/Maps -- new catalogue system allows for more efficient access to files and information and integrates it with GIS software.
• “Leaders Challenge” -- this high-potential development program puts participants in high pressure situations to enhance decision making skills.

Arlington Named Top 100 Places To Live
Arlington was named one of “America's Top 100 Places to live for 2009” by Relocate-America. This year, the organization selected "communities with visionary leaders, improving or thriving economies including housing & realization of 'green' initiatives."

#1 Place to Ride Out a Recession
Business Week named Arlington the top place in the country to live during a recession, citing the presence of the federal government, which "employs thousands of residents, keeps lawyers, lobbyists, accountants, and journalists busy, and pumps money into the region through outsourcing jobs and multimillion-dollar contracts." (2008) Read more>>>

Barbara Donnellan Named Volunteer of the Year
Leadership Greater Washington presented its highest honor -- the 2009 Fannie Mae Volunteer of the Year Award -- to Barbara Donnellan, Arlington's deputy county manager. Donnellan was honored for her role in expanding the Youth Leadership Greater Washington program through enhanced planning, fundraising, and recruiting. The program provides a six-month, hands-on leadership development and community education program for high school sophomores and juniors in the Greater Washington region. (2009)

Arlington's Pet Preparedness Honored
The Metropolitan Washington Council of Governments (COG) recognized Arlington County and its partners with its Community Partnership Award for a robust plan to simultaneously shelter both people and their pets, should an evacuation be required. The plan was tested in a full-scale exercise in 2008. Arlington's Office of Emergency Management partnered with the County’s Department of Human Services, Virginia’s Office of Emergency Management, the Animal Welfare League of Arlington (AWLA) and the Arlington Chapter of the American Red Cross. (2009) Read the press release>>>

Carl Newby Named International President of SWANA
The International Board of Directors of the Solid Waste Association of North America (SWANA) recently named Carl Newby of Arlington County’s Department of Environmental Services (DES) as their 2008-09 International President. A public works manager for over 26 years, Carl has served Arlington County since 1993. For over 20 years, Carl has served as an active local and national member of SWANA, a leading professional association in the solid waste management field with over 8,200 members. He also serves as a Trustee for the Arlington/Alexandria Waste Disposal Trust Fund which manages the Arlington/Alexandria Waste to Energy facility. 

Arlington Community Process Recognized
A planning process considered to be an embodiment of “the Arlington Way” was recognized by the National Association for County Community and Economic Development (NACCED) at its annual conference. Arlington received the award in the Public/Policy/Program Management category for the community process developed for review of a proposal to amend the Zoning Ordinance to allow accessory dwellings (ADs). ADs can increase the supply of affordable housing without government subsidies and facilitate elders’ ability to age in place.  The process was led by the CPHD Housing Division and involved extensive research, 58 meetings on the proposal including two community forums, a special website, and regular email updates to more than 200 people. (2008)

County Manager Earns Leadership Arlington Legacy Award
County Manager Ron Carlee is one of three community leaders recognized May 29, 2008 by Leadership Arlington for visionary leadership and dedication to the Arlington community and Leadership Arlington. Arlington County also was recognized as a Community Champion for its support of the program. In the past decade, Leadership Arlington has strengthened our community through enlightening, inspiring and connecting leaders. The 10-month program provides a forum for the business, nonprofit and public sectors to discuss the issues and opportunities facing Arlington. It also enhances personal and professional leadership skills. Each year, Arlington County government sponsors more than a half-dozen County staffers as participants. (2008)

Community Involvement Award
The Arlington Committee on Jamestown was recognized by Jamestown 2007 with the Community Involvement Award. The citation reads:  Community Involvement Award presented to Arlington County by Jamestown 2007 in official recognition of the variety and number of community projects that will benefit the county for years to come and in appreciation of exceptional contributions to your community and to the commemoration of the 400th Anniversary of Jamestown.

Forbes Magazine: Arlington Best in Education
Forbes Magazine named Arlington as the #1 place in the nation to Educate Your Child. The magazine considered a number of factors: school support; private school options; library popularity; college town; college options.

Distinguished Public Service Award
Arlington County Bar Foundation selected Terri Lynch, the Director of Arlington County’s Office on Aging since 1982, the 2007 recipient of the Foundation’s William Winston Award. The board cited Ms. Lynch's "personal initiative and extraordinary efforts to develop strong ties and lasting coalitions... in a common effort to advocate effectively for needs of the elderly in our area, and in particular for the disadvantaged elderly.”

Arlington Economic Development Honored
Virginia Economic Developers Association (VEDA) honored AED Director Terry Holzheimer with its prestigious Cardinal Award for outstanding leadership in the economic development field. Read more.

Department of Defense Honors Arlington
In May 2006, Arlington County Government won a prestigious 2006 Department of Defense award from the Virginia Committee for Employer Support of the Guard and Reserve (ESGR). Annually, the ESGR Committee recognizes several businesses, organizations, and government agencies in the state. They are judged outstanding employers for their personnel policies and practices in support of their employees, who are also part-time members of the National Guard and Armed Forces Reserves. Read more.

Arlington's Budget Recognized
The Government Finance Officers Association awarded Arlington its Distinguished Budget Presentation Award for the budget year beginning in 2006.