Texas · Dallas-Fort Worth-Arlington, TX metro area

Buying a home in Arlington, Texas

In Arlington, the median value of owner-occupied homes is $304,700, Tarrant County's effective property tax rate is 1.65%, a purchase mortgage carried a median $8,566 in total loan costs in 2025, and median gross rent is $1,470 a month.

Data as of : Census ACS 2020-2024, Census Vintage 2024, HMDA 2025, HUD FY 2027. Sources

Arlington home costs, fact by fact

About Arlington

Arlington has 403,672 residents and sits in the Dallas-Fort Worth-Arlington metro area, the 4th largest in the country. The median value of owner-occupied homes is $304,700, as estimated by owners and not a sale price, and 54.3% of homes are owner-occupied.

Reading the Arlington figures

Arlington prices a little below the Texas middle. Owners here estimate $304,700 for their homes, while the statewide figure is $318,100. Dallas reports $320,700, a short step up; Irving sits at $315,600. Going the other way, Grand Prairie shows $295,500 and Garland only $270,800. On ownership, Arlington's 54.3% is close to Conroe at 54.5%, yet clearly higher than Dallas (42.4%) or Irving (38.1%), so owning is the usual arrangement here rather than the exception.

Rent lines up with the big-city numbers. A monthly median of $1,470 is almost identical to Dallas ($1,472), whereas Irving comes in higher at $1,619, with Grand Prairie at $1,629. HUD publishes a rent reference for the Fort Worth-Arlington zone that sits above all of these: $1,745 for a 2-bedroom, $2,284 for a bigger home. Because it describes the whole HUD zone and is not a market median, treat it as a ruler, not a quote.

The county adds the recurring cost. Tarrant County levies 1.65% effectively, which yields a median yearly tax bill of $5,334 where homes are valued around $323,900. Put that next to the $1,470 rent when you weigh owning against renting, since the tax arrives every year whatever the mortgage looks like. Closing is the one-time layer. The 2025 HMDA records cover 18,567 loans in the county; their median loan cost is $8,566, and a typical spread runs from $5,646 up to $12,005. A gap that wide says lender and loan type drive the bill, so collect written estimates before assuming the median applies to you. For scale among the cities closest in value, College Station reports $346,700 with New Braunfels at $339,400, whereas Houston shows $277,800 next to San Antonio's $235,700, which leaves Arlington in the middle of that group. Payotte divides the city into 6 planning sectors, but no sector figures are published yet, so every comparison here stays at the city level. Owners' estimates are not sale prices, so a specific home may land above or below these figures.

Calculate for Texas

If you buy

Texas state transfer tax

Texas has no real estate transfer tax. Change the price: the amount is recalculated instantly.

Price$318,100
State transfer tax$0
Share of the price—

Default price: the Texas median value of owner-occupied homes, $318,100 (Census ACS 2025). Rule: No transfer tax exists. Buyers pay county recording fees and a state-set title insurance premium. Who pays: No transfer tax to assign. Recording fees and the title insurance premium appear on the closing statement. Not included: county and city transfer taxes, recording fees, title insurance and lender charges. Texas transfer tax guide · all 50 states.

If you sell

Capital gain and the federal tax on it

Same federal rule in every state: Section 121 of the Internal Revenue Code excludes up to $250,000 of gain on a main home ($500,000 for a married couple filing jointly).

Capital gain$350,000
Section 121 exclusion$250,000 (limit $250,000)
Taxable gain$100,000
Type of gainLong-term (owned over 1 year), 15% chosen
Federal tax on the gain$15,000

Section 121 excludes $250,000; the rest is taxable.

Gain = sale price minus your adjusted basis (purchase price, buying costs and improvements); selling expenses reduce it (IRS Publication 523). Long-term rates for sales in 2026, by taxable income including the gain (IRS Rev. Proc. 2025-32, section 4.03): 0% up to $49,450 single or $98,900 married filing jointly, 15% up to $545,500 single or $613,700 jointly, 20% above. Not included: Texas state income tax on the gain (not computed), the net investment income tax, depreciation recapture on a rental or home office, and the reduced exclusion for an early sale. Agent commissions are negotiated and never set by law. Capital gains on a home sale.

Sectors of Arlington

Arlington is divided into its 6 planning sectors, one open spot per trade in each.

  • Southeast (about 94,817 residents, estimate)
  • East (about 92,713 residents, estimate)
  • West (about 78,048 residents, estimate)
  • Southwest (about 54,825 residents, estimate)
  • North (about 50,911 residents, estimate)
  • Central (about 26,520 residents, estimate)

Source: City of Arlington GIS, Planning Sectors (Planning/ZoningInfo, layer 1). Population per area is a Payotte estimate: the sum of Census ACS 2020-2024 populations (table B01003) of the 2020 census tracts whose internal point lies inside each official boundary.

Questions about buying a home in Arlington

How much is property tax in Arlington?

Homeowners in Tarrant County pay a median $5,334 a year in property tax, 1.65% of the county median home value of $323,900 (Census ACS 2020-2024). Your bill depends on your assessed value and local rates.

What are closing costs on a mortgage in Arlington?

Home-purchase mortgages in Tarrant County carried median total loan costs of $8,566 in 2025; half of the 18,567 loans fell between $5,646 and $12,005 (HMDA). Total loan costs are the lender and settlement-service charges of the Closing Disclosure; transfer taxes and prepaid items come on top.

Is there a transfer tax when you buy a home in Arlington?

Texas has no real estate transfer tax. Article VIII, Section 29 of the Texas Constitution, added November 3, 2015, says no law enacted after January 1, 2016 may impose a transfer tax on a transaction that conveys fee simple title to real property.

Is it cheaper to rent or buy in Arlington?

It depends on your mortgage rate, down payment and how long you stay. As a benchmark, the median value of owner-occupied homes in Arlington ($304,700) equals 17.3 years of the median gross rent ($1,470 a month), both from Census ACS 2020-2024.

What natural hazards affect home insurance in Arlington?

Across Texas, the main hazards for home insurance are flood, tornado, wind and hail, and the insurer of last resort is Texas FAIR Plan Association (TFPA). Texas gets more tornadoes than any other state, according to the Texas Department of Insurance; on the coast, windstorm coverage comes from a separate policy, often from TWIA, in 14 coastal counties plus part of Harris County.

Run your own numbers: rent vs buy calculator · closing costs calculator.

Texas rules that apply in Arlington

Other large cities in Texas

Who licenses each trade in Texas · All covered cities

Sources

Texas · All states · Federal guides