Arlington Wins Top Digital County Award In U.S. For 2022

ARLINGTON, VA — Arlington County was named the No. 1 digital county in the U.S. for 2022 by the Center for Digital Government and National Association of Counties.

The recognition marks the fifth time that Arlington has received the top honor in the 150,000-to-249,999 population category.

The association’s Digital Counties Survey Award provides a measure of technology performance through a review of the programs and plans of counties across the nation, recognizing how counties perform in the areas of open government, transparency, public engagement, strategic planning, shared services, cybersecurity and operations.

Arlington County’s collaboration with regional partners and the business community were highlighted as reasons for the first-place recognition.

"This award is a testament to Arlington’s investments in technology to better serve our residents, bolster the business community, and create an environment where innovative companies can thrive," Arlington County Board Chair Katie Cristol said in a statement Wednesday.

In 2021, Carrabus County in North Carolina edged out Arlington for the top spot in their population category.

For 2022, in the category of 1 million population or more, Fairfax County came in second place to King County, Washington. In the category of 250,000 to 499,999 population, Prince William County was ranked No. 2, behind Placer County, California.

In 2021, the Arlington County Board approved signing an agreement with developer JBG Smith to use a share of county-owned excess dark fiber and conduit access in the National Landing area. The agreement supports businesses, federal agencies, educational institutions, the public and other organizations with access to high-speed wired or wireless data-transmission capacity.

In exchange for conduit access for 75 years with an option of 24 additional years, JBG Smith agreed to provide Arlington with funds that offer an opportunity to support Arlington's digital equity goals. Arlington will receive $2.8 million upfront and an additional $700,000 when connection is established to another section of dark fiber in the future.

“Over the past several years, JBG Smith has been working to create a first-of-its-kind 5G Smart City in National Landing to attract entrepreneurs, universities, and global technology companies by providing them with the digital infrastructure necessary to shape the future of their industries,” said Adam Rashid, senior vice president and head of Smart Cities & Digital Infrastructure at JBG Smith.

Arlington County and JBG Smith plan to use the Innovation District in National Landing as a testbed for the next generation of artificial intelligence, internet of things, augmented and virtual reality, autonomy, cloud and edge computing, and cybersecurity.

The award from the Center for Digital Government and National Association of Counties acknowledges that Arlington “is committed to empowering businesses through technology,” said Shannon Flanagan-Watson, interim director of Arlington Economic Development.

Arlington County will receive the Digital Counties Survey Award at the National Association of Counties Annual Conference & Exposition in Aurora, Colorado, on July 21.