diff --git a/cpp/CMakeLists.txt b/cpp/CMakeLists.txt
index 36121c7bc65..06e8c8fb19d 100644
--- a/cpp/CMakeLists.txt
+++ b/cpp/CMakeLists.txt
@@ -615,7 +615,7 @@ endif(UNIX)
 set(ARROW_LINK_LIBS)
 
 # Libraries to link statically with libarrow.so
-set(ARROW_STATIC_LINK_LIBS)
+set(ARROW_STATIC_LINK_LIBS double-conversion)
 
 if (ARROW_WITH_BROTLI)
   SET(ARROW_STATIC_LINK_LIBS
@@ -694,6 +694,7 @@ else ()
   set(ARROW_MIN_TEST_LIBS
     arrow_shared
     ${ARROW_LINK_LIBS}
+    double-conversion
     ${BOOST_SYSTEM_LIBRARY}
     ${BOOST_FILESYSTEM_LIBRARY}
     ${BOOST_REGEX_LIBRARY}
diff --git a/cpp/cmake_modules/ThirdpartyToolchain.cmake b/cpp/cmake_modules/ThirdpartyToolchain.cmake
index e25f954d296..19d14d855da 100644
--- a/cpp/cmake_modules/ThirdpartyToolchain.cmake
+++ b/cpp/cmake_modules/ThirdpartyToolchain.cmake
@@ -25,13 +25,13 @@ if (NOT "$ENV{ARROW_BUILD_TOOLCHAIN}" STREQUAL "")
   set(BROTLI_HOME "$ENV{ARROW_BUILD_TOOLCHAIN}")
   set(FLATBUFFERS_HOME "$ENV{ARROW_BUILD_TOOLCHAIN}")
   set(GFLAGS_HOME "$ENV{ARROW_BUILD_TOOLCHAIN}")
+  set(GLOG_HOME "$ENV{ARROW_BUILD_TOOLCHAIN}")
   set(GRPC_HOME "$ENV{ARROW_BUILD_TOOLCHAIN}")
   # Using gtest from the toolchain breaks AppVeyor builds
   if (NOT MSVC)
     set(GTEST_HOME "$ENV{ARROW_BUILD_TOOLCHAIN}")
   endif()
   set(JEMALLOC_HOME "$ENV{ARROW_BUILD_TOOLCHAIN}")
-  set(GRPC_HOME "$ENV{ARROW_BUILD_TOOLCHAIN}")
   set(LZ4_HOME "$ENV{ARROW_BUILD_TOOLCHAIN}")
   # orc disabled as it's not in conda-forge (but in Anaconda with an incompatible ABI)
   # set(ORC_HOME "$ENV{ARROW_BUILD_TOOLCHAIN}")
@@ -41,7 +41,6 @@ if (NOT "$ENV{ARROW_BUILD_TOOLCHAIN}" STREQUAL "")
   set(THRIFT_HOME "$ENV{ARROW_BUILD_TOOLCHAIN}")
   set(ZLIB_HOME "$ENV{ARROW_BUILD_TOOLCHAIN}")
   set(ZSTD_HOME "$ENV{ARROW_BUILD_TOOLCHAIN}")
-  set(GLOG_HOME "$ENV{ARROW_BUILD_TOOLCHAIN}")
 
   if (NOT DEFINED ENV{BOOST_ROOT})
     # Since we have to set this in the environment, we check whether
@@ -56,6 +55,10 @@ if (DEFINED ENV{BROTLI_HOME})
   set(BROTLI_HOME "$ENV{BROTLI_HOME}")
 endif()
 
+if (DEFINED ENV{DOUBLE_CONVERSION_HOME})
+  set(DOUBLE_CONVERSION_HOME "$ENV{DOUBLE_CONVERSION_HOME}")
+endif()
+
 if (DEFINED ENV{FLATBUFFERS_HOME})
   set(FLATBUFFERS_HOME "$ENV{FLATBUFFERS_HOME}")
 endif()
@@ -64,6 +67,10 @@ if (DEFINED ENV{GFLAGS_HOME})
   set(GFLAGS_HOME "$ENV{GFLAGS_HOME}")
 endif()
 
+if (DEFINED ENV{GLOG_HOME})
+  set(GLOG_HOME "$ENV{GLOG_HOME}")
+endif()
+
 if (DEFINED ENV{GRPC_HOME})
   set(GRPC_HOME "$ENV{GRPC_HOME}")
 endif()
@@ -108,10 +115,6 @@ if (DEFINED ENV{ZSTD_HOME})
   set(ZSTD_HOME "$ENV{ZSTD_HOME}")
 endif()
 
-if (DEFINED ENV{GLOG_HOME})
-  set(GLOG_HOME "$ENV{GLOG_HOME}")
-endif()
-
 # ----------------------------------------------------------------------
 # Some EP's require other EP's
 
@@ -165,6 +168,12 @@ else()
   set(BROTLI_SOURCE_URL "https://github.com/google/brotli/archive/${BROTLI_VERSION}.tar.gz")
 endif()
 
+if (DEFINED ENV{DOUBLE_CONVERSION_SOURCE_URL})
+  set(DOUBLE_CONVERSION_SOURCE_URL "$ENV{DOUBLE_CONVERSION_SOURCE_URL}")
+else()
+  set(DOUBLE_CONVERSION_SOURCE_URL "https://github.com/google/double-conversion/archive/${DOUBLE_CONVERSION_VERSION}.tar.gz")
+endif()
+
 if (DEFINED ENV{ARROW_FLATBUFFERS_URL})
   set(FLATBUFFERS_SOURCE_URL "$ENV{ARROW_FLATBUFFERS_URL}")
 else()
@@ -183,6 +192,12 @@ else()
   set(GFLAGS_SOURCE_URL "https://github.com/gflags/gflags/archive/${GFLAGS_VERSION}.tar.gz")
 endif()
 
+if (DEFINED ENV{ARROW_GLOG_URL})
+  set(GLOG_SOURCE_URL "$ENV{ARROW_GLOG_URL}")
+else()
+  set(GLOG_SOURCE_URL "https://github.com/google/glog/archive/${GLOG_VERSION}.tar.gz")
+endif()
+
 if (DEFINED ENV{ARROW_GRPC_URL})
   set(GRPC_SOURCE_URL "$ENV{ARROW_GRPC_URL}")
 else()
@@ -245,12 +260,6 @@ else()
   set(ZSTD_SOURCE_URL "https://github.com/facebook/zstd/archive/${ZSTD_VERSION}.tar.gz")
 endif()
 
-if (DEFINED ENV{ARROW_GLOG_URL})
-  set(GLOG_SOURCE_URL "$ENV{ARROW_GLOG_URL}")
-else()
-  set(GLOG_SOURCE_URL "https://github.com/google/glog/archive/${GLOG_VERSION}.tar.gz")
-endif()
-
 # ----------------------------------------------------------------------
 # ExternalProject options
 
@@ -436,6 +445,43 @@ endif()
 
 include_directories(SYSTEM ${Boost_INCLUDE_DIR})
 
+# ----------------------------------------------------------------------
+# Google double-conversion
+
+if("${DOUBLE_CONVERSION_HOME}" STREQUAL "")
+  set(DOUBLE_CONVERSION_PREFIX "${CMAKE_CURRENT_BINARY_DIR}/double-conversion_ep/src/double-conversion_ep")
+  set(DOUBLE_CONVERSION_HOME "${DOUBLE_CONVERSION_PREFIX}")
+  set(DOUBLE_CONVERSION_INCLUDE_DIR "${DOUBLE_CONVERSION_PREFIX}/include")
+  set(DOUBLE_CONVERSION_STATIC_LIB "${DOUBLE_CONVERSION_PREFIX}/lib/${CMAKE_STATIC_LIBRARY_PREFIX}double-conversion${CMAKE_STATIC_LIBRARY_SUFFIX}")
+
+  set(DOUBLE_CONVERSION_CMAKE_ARGS
+        "-DCMAKE_BUILD_TYPE=${CMAKE_BUILD_TYPE}"
+        "-DCMAKE_CXX_FLAGS=${EP_CXX_FLAGS}"
+        "-DCMAKE_CXX_FLAGS_${UPPERCASE_BUILD_TYPE}=${EP_CXX_FLAGS}"
+        "-DCMAKE_INSTALL_PREFIX=${DOUBLE_CONVERSION_PREFIX}")
+  ExternalProject_Add(double-conversion_ep
+    ${EP_LOG_OPTIONS}
+    INSTALL_DIR ${DOUBLE_CONVERSION_PREFIX}
+    URL ${DOUBLE_CONVERSION_SOURCE_URL}
+    CMAKE_ARGS ${DOUBLE_CONVERSION_CMAKE_ARGS}
+    BUILD_BYPRODUCTS "${DOUBLE_CONVERSION_STATIC_LIB}")
+  set(DOUBLE_CONVERSION_VENDORED 1)
+else()
+  find_package(double-conversion REQUIRED)
+  set(DOUBLE_CONVERSION_VENDORED 0)
+endif()
+
+include_directories(SYSTEM ${DOUBLE_CONVERSION_INCLUDE_DIR})
+ADD_THIRDPARTY_LIB(double-conversion
+  STATIC_LIB ${DOUBLE_CONVERSION_STATIC_LIB})
+
+if (DOUBLE_CONVERSION_VENDORED)
+  add_dependencies(arrow_dependencies double-conversion_ep)
+endif()
+
+# ----------------------------------------------------------------------
+# Google gtest & gflags
+
 if(ARROW_BUILD_TESTS OR ARROW_BUILD_BENCHMARKS)
   add_custom_target(unittest ctest -L unittest)
 
diff --git a/cpp/src/arrow/symbols.map b/cpp/src/arrow/symbols.map
index 437299934e1..69717f089d8 100644
--- a/cpp/src/arrow/symbols.map
+++ b/cpp/src/arrow/symbols.map
@@ -72,6 +72,7 @@
 
       # Statically linked C++ dependencies
       boost::*;
+      double_conversion::*;
       google::*;
       # glog
       *MakeCheckOpValueString*;
diff --git a/cpp/src/arrow/util/CMakeLists.txt b/cpp/src/arrow/util/CMakeLists.txt
index 8b7ed7ad43e..d3d60fb9ffd 100644
--- a/cpp/src/arrow/util/CMakeLists.txt
+++ b/cpp/src/arrow/util/CMakeLists.txt
@@ -19,11 +19,40 @@
 # arrow_util
 #######################################
 
-file(GLOB_RECURSE ARROW_UTIL_HEADERS "*.h")
-
 # Headers: top level
 install(FILES
-  ${ARROW_UTIL_HEADERS}
+  bit-stream-utils.h
+  bit-util.h
+  bpacking.h
+  checked_cast.h
+  compiler-util.h
+  compression.h
+  compression_brotli.h
+  compression_lz4.h
+  compression_snappy.h
+  compression_zlib.h
+  compression_zstd.h
+  cpu-info.h
+  decimal.h
+  hash-util.h
+  hash.h
+  io-util.h
+  key_value_metadata.h
+  lazy.h
+  logging.h
+  macros.h
+  memory.h
+  parallel.h
+  rle-encoding.h
+  sse-util.h
+  stl.h
+  stopwatch.h
+  string.h
+  thread-pool.h
+  type_traits.h
+  variant.h
+  visibility.h
+  windows_compatibility.h
   DESTINATION include/arrow/util)
 
 #######################################
diff --git a/cpp/src/arrow/util/parsing.h b/cpp/src/arrow/util/parsing.h
index 4f2dc7894ab..04aff1e68fa 100644
--- a/cpp/src/arrow/util/parsing.h
+++ b/cpp/src/arrow/util/parsing.h
@@ -15,6 +15,8 @@
 // specific language governing permissions and limitations
 // under the License.
 
+// This is a private header for string-to-number parsing utilitiers
+
 #ifndef ARROW_UTIL_PARSING_H
 #define ARROW_UTIL_PARSING_H
 
@@ -24,6 +26,8 @@
 #include <string>
 #include <type_traits>
 
+#include <double-conversion/double-conversion.h>
+
 #include "arrow/type.h"
 #include "arrow/type_traits.h"
 
@@ -79,7 +83,7 @@ class StringConverter<BooleanType> {
 
 // Ideas for faster float parsing:
 // - http://rapidjson.org/md_doc_internals.html#ParsingDouble
-// - https://github.com/google/double-conversion
+// - https://github.com/google/double-conversion [used here]
 // - https://github.com/achan001/dtoa-fast
 
 template <class ARROW_TYPE>
@@ -87,18 +91,49 @@ class StringToFloatConverterMixin {
  public:
   using value_type = typename ARROW_TYPE::c_type;
 
-  StringToFloatConverterMixin() { ibuf.imbue(std::locale::classic()); }
+  StringToFloatConverterMixin()
+      : main_converter_(flags_, main_junk_value_, main_junk_value_, "inf", "nan"),
+        fallback_converter_(flags_, fallback_junk_value_, fallback_junk_value_, "inf",
+                            "nan") {}
 
   bool operator()(const char* s, size_t length, value_type* out) {
-    ibuf.clear();
-    ibuf.str(std::string(s, length));
-    ibuf >> *out;
-    // XXX Should we reset errno on failure?
-    return !ibuf.fail() && ibuf.eof();
+    value_type v;
+    // double-conversion doesn't give us an error flag but signals parse
+    // errors with sentinel values.  Since a sentinel value can appear as
+    // legitimate input, we fallback on a second converter with a different
+    // sentinel to eliminate false errors.
+    TryConvert(main_converter_, s, length, &v);
+    if (ARROW_PREDICT_FALSE(v == static_cast<value_type>(main_junk_value_))) {
+      TryConvert(fallback_converter_, s, length, &v);
+      if (ARROW_PREDICT_FALSE(v == static_cast<value_type>(fallback_junk_value_))) {
+        return false;
+      }
+    }
+    *out = v;
+    return true;
   }
 
  protected:
-  std::istringstream ibuf;
+  static const int flags_ =
+      double_conversion::StringToDoubleConverter::ALLOW_CASE_INSENSIBILITY;
+  // Two unlikely values to signal a parsing error
+  static constexpr double main_junk_value_ = 0.7066424364107089;
+  static constexpr double fallback_junk_value_ = 0.40088499148279166;
+
+  double_conversion::StringToDoubleConverter main_converter_;
+  double_conversion::StringToDoubleConverter fallback_converter_;
+
+  inline void TryConvert(double_conversion::StringToDoubleConverter& converter,
+                         const char* s, size_t length, float* out) {
+    int processed_length;
+    *out = converter.StringToFloat(s, static_cast<int>(length), &processed_length);
+  }
+
+  inline void TryConvert(double_conversion::StringToDoubleConverter& converter,
+                         const char* s, size_t length, double* out) {
+    int processed_length;
+    *out = converter.StringToDouble(s, static_cast<int>(length), &processed_length);
+  }
 };
 
 template <>
diff --git a/cpp/thirdparty/versions.txt b/cpp/thirdparty/versions.txt
index 381282bd801..711e553176c 100644
--- a/cpp/thirdparty/versions.txt
+++ b/cpp/thirdparty/versions.txt
@@ -18,19 +18,20 @@
 # Toolchain library versions
 
 BOOST_VERSION=1.67.0
-GTEST_VERSION=1.8.0
-GFLAGS_VERSION=v2.2.0
-GBENCHMARK_VERSION=v1.4.1
+BROTLI_VERSION=v0.6.0
+DOUBLE_CONVERSION_VERSION=v3.1.1
 FLATBUFFERS_VERSION=02a7807dd8d26f5668ffbbec0360dc107bbfabd5
-RAPIDJSON_VERSION=v1.1.0
+GBENCHMARK_VERSION=v1.4.1
+GFLAGS_VERSION=v2.2.0
+GLOG_VERSION=v0.3.5
+GRPC_VERSION=1.14.1
+GTEST_VERSION=1.8.0
 JEMALLOC_VERSION=17c897976c60b0e6e4f4a365c751027244dada7a
-SNAPPY_VERSION=1.1.3
-BROTLI_VERSION=v0.6.0
 LZ4_VERSION=v1.7.5
-ZLIB_VERSION=1.2.8
-ZSTD_VERSION=v1.2.0
-PROTOBUF_VERSION=v3.6.1
-GRPC_VERSION=1.14.1
 ORC_VERSION=1.5.1
+PROTOBUF_VERSION=v3.6.1
+RAPIDJSON_VERSION=v1.1.0
+SNAPPY_VERSION=1.1.3
 THRIFT_VERSION=0.11.0
-GLOG_VERSION=v0.3.5
+ZLIB_VERSION=1.2.8
+ZSTD_VERSION=v1.2.0