Trend: Steady
Number of 0-1 vehicle households.
Comparison of Zero & One Car Households, Arlington County vs Region, 2012
| Arlington | Region | |
| Zero Car Households | 12% | 13% |
| One Car Households | 37% | 49% |
Vehicles per Household, Arlington County & Region, 2000-2012
| Arlington County | Region | |||||
| Vehicles per Household | 2000 | 2010 | 2012 | 2000 | 2010 | 2012 |
| 0 | 12.4% | 11.6% | 11.5% | 13% | 12.3% | 12.6% |
| 1 | 48.4% | 48.8% | 48.8% | 37.4% | 36.6% | 36.9% |
| 2 | 29.6% | 29.9% | 30.4% | 35% | 34.3% | 34.1% |
| 3+ | 9.7% | 9.7% | 9.3% | 14.6% | 16.8% | 16.4% |
Vehicle Availability by Household Size, 2010-2013
| 1-Person Households | 2-Person Households | 3-Person Households | 4-Person Households | |||||
| Vehicles | 2010 | 2013 | 2010 | 2013 | 2010 | 2013 | 2010 | 2013 |
| 0 | 19.2% | 22.3% | 7.6% | 7.5% | 6.4% | 6.7% | 9.3% | 5.5% |
| 1 | 73.4% | 72% | 35.4% | 38.3% | 32.6% | 27.8% | 16.7% | 15.5% |
| 2 | 6.1% | 4.8% | 51.8% | 46.6% | 31.3% | 39.8% | 42.4% | 47.9% |
| 3 | 0.8% | 0.9% | 4.7% | 6.5% | 22.3% | 22.9% | 15.8% | 19.4% |
| 4+ | 0.6% | 0.0% | 0.5% | 1.1% | 7.4% | 2.8% | 15.8% | 11.7% |
Description
This is a measure of households in Arlington with access to vehicles. For comparison, the same measure is presented for the region, demonstrating context for the changes in Arlington and showing whether Arlington is performing better or worse than its counterparts.
Importance
A higher share of total households with one or no vehicles would signify that Arlington residents are able to travel without the use of a personal vehicle. This would, in turn, be a measure of how accessible the transportation system is and how much mobility it provides Arlington residents. The share of one or zero vehicle households residing in Arlington compared to the overall share residing in the region provides a benchmark for measurement. This measure supports the MTP Goal 2: Move More People Without More Traffic and Goal 5: Manage Effectively and Efficiently.
Current Status
Since 2000, Arlington County has been steady in the breakdown of vehicles per household. Roughly 60 percent of households have one or no vehicles, compared to about 50 percent of households in the region. Even in a region with significant transit infrastructure, Arlington households are less likely than others in the Washington metropolitan region to have more than one vehicle.
When household size is considered, there was a three percent uptick in the number of one-person household with no vehicles between 2010 and 2013. Two-person households saw a slight drop from two vehicles available (five percent drop) and a slight increase in one-vehicle available (three percent rise).
Data Source
- Decennial Census (2000, 2010)
- American Community Survey (five-year estimates for 2008-2012, and one-year estimates for 2010 and 2013)