Best PlacesNorfolk County, MA Best Neighborhoods
2026–2027 edition · Data updated July 2026
Every neighborhood in Norfolk County, scored on 40 measures of daily life and ranked to fit what matters to you. The averages hide a wide spread here, so the area matters as much as the address. To work out which city fits you best, start with the best places to live tool.
Norfolk County ranks 30th of 3,144 U.S. counties on the BestNeighborhood index. Paychecks stretch further here than almost anywhere else: the median household brings in $149,325, wages outrun the cost of living, and an educated workforce ranks near the top of the country. The main drawbacks are childcare costs, noise, and long commutes.
The best neighborhoods in Norfolk County
BestNeighborhood is the only ranking that scores 40 measures of daily life neighborhood by neighborhood and lets you re-weight every one of them yourself.
The best areas in Norfolk County
The parts of Norfolk County, ranked by the BestNeighborhood standard score across every neighborhood, highest scoring first. Each note says how that part differs from the rest of the county.
Wellesley & Needham
Local pay stretches further, more adults hold degrees, and incomes run higher.
Medfield, Millis & Dover
Tree cover is thicker, though streets are more car-dependent.
Brookline & Milton
Biking is better and schools score higher.
Franklin Town, Bellingham & Walpole
Crime runs lower, though transit reaches fewer jobs.
Norwood, Dedham & Westwood
It is noisier.
Stoughton, Sharon & Canton
Scores close to Norwood, Dedham & Westwood, except that homes cost less here.
Quincy
Fewer households have young kids and fewer residents vote.
Weymouth Town, Braintree Town & Randolph
Holbrook & Avon
Commutes are longer and health care is harder to reach.
Norfolk County shows why a single number is not enough. Some neighborhoods score in the bottom 15% of the country and others in the top 1%. Pick the area first, then the home.
Norfolk County's strengths and weaknesses
Norfolk County ranks where it does because the parts of life that are hardest to change mostly work here. High incomes is the standout, in the top 1% of counties. An educated workforce and health care access follow.
The one real hole is childcare costs, near the bottom of the country. Noise and long commutes also cost it ground. The measures below break that down, and the map shows how much of it holds street by street.
Where Norfolk County ranks high
- Household income$149,325 median, better than 99% of counties
- Educational attainmentBetter than 99% of counties
- Healthcare accessBetter than 98% of counties
- Low vacancyBetter than 98% of counties
- Health outlookBetter than 98% of counties
Where Norfolk County ranks low
- Cheap childcare$2,403 a month, better than only 1% of counties
- QuietBetter than only 4% of counties
- Short commute32.5 minutes each way, better than only 8% of counties
- Nice weatherabout 65 pleasant days a year, better than only 12% of counties
- Low income/sales/gas taxBetter than only 20% of counties
What it costs to buy a home in Norfolk County
A household needs to earn about $210,000 a year to comfortably buy the median Norfolk County home, at 20% down and today's 30-year rate. That runs well above the area's median income of $149,325, so buying stretches a typical household.
Where the monthly payment goes
Assumes a 20% down payment, a 6.6% 30-year fixed rate, and a 28% share of income going to the payment. The rate is the 2026-07-23 30-year fixed average, series MORTGAGE30US from the St. Louis Fed, which publishes Freddie Mac's weekly survey. Against the median home value, property tax uses Norfolk County's effective rate of 1.04%, and insurance is estimated at 0.4% of home value a year.
Renting versus buying
At today's prices and rents, renting stays cheaper than buying across the first 10 years here, so the case for buying rests on staying much longer or on prices rising faster than assumed. The chart tracks the running cost of each.
Who lives in Norfolk County
Norfolk County's age mix sits close to the national median.
Residents by age
Racial and ethnic makeup has its own map. See the race and diversity map for Norfolk County.
Who works in Norfolk County, and how
Work in Norfolk County centers on health care & social and professional & technical. Unemployment is close to the national rate, and jobs are growing.
Largest industries
How people get to work
- Drive or carpool 63%
- Work from home 23%
- Transit, walk, or bike 14%
Life in Norfolk County
Norfolk County has more parkland per resident than 78% of counties. The coast is about 24 minutes away. That concentrates in some parts of Norfolk County and thins out in others, which the map shows.
Is Norfolk County growing, and who is moving in?
Norfolk County has grown about 7% over the last decade. The largest inbound stream comes from the rest of the Boston, MA metro.
Where new residents come from
Where people leaving Norfolk County go
Move counts are the latest county-to-county migration flows, each county grouped into its metro.
What the weather is like in Norfolk County, month by month
Norfolk County sees roughly 65 pleasant days a year. July highs average about 88 degrees. January highs sit near 43, with lows near 22. The comfortable stretch runs May through October.
Show the monthly temperatures
| Month | Avg high | Avg | Avg low |
|---|---|---|---|
| January | 43° | 32° | 22° |
| April | 63° | 50° | 38° |
| July | 88° | 75° | 62° |
| October | 69° | 56° | 42° |
Flying in and out of Norfolk County
General Edward Lawrence Logan International sits about 13 miles away. It is a large hub and boarded 21.1 million passengers in 2025, with 199 nonstop destinations.
The best schools in and around Norfolk County
Schools across Norfolk County average a B+, better than 87% of counties.
Top elementary schools
- HunnewellA+ · 80% proficient
- William E SheehanA+ · 77% proficient
- ChickeringA+ · 74% proficient
Top middle schools
- Dover-sherborn Regional Middle SchoolA+ · 74% proficient
- Hingham Middle SchoolA+ · 70% proficient
- Pollard MiddleA+ · 70% proficient
Top high schools
- Dover-sherborn Regional HighA+ · 94% proficient
- Wellesley Sr HighA+ · 91% proficient
- Needham HighA+ · 90% proficient
Grades come from K-12 test scores, with scores projected for schools missing data. See every Norfolk County school and its grade on SchoolGrade.
Norfolk County measure by measure
Cards are ordered by how much each measure matters to you, so the ones you weighted highest come first. Expand to see every measure. Percentages compare Norfolk County against the other 3,143 counties.
Who Norfolk County suits
Remote workers
Cost of living against local pay beats 96% of counties and 23% already work from home.
Common questions about living in Norfolk County
Is Norfolk County a good place to live?
Using BestNeighborhood's default rankings, Norfolk County ranks 30th of 3,144 counties. It scores highest on high incomes, an educated workforce, and health care access, and lowest on childcare costs and noise. How good it is for you depends on which of those you weight most, which the map lets you set.
Is Norfolk County expensive to live in?
The median home is worth $777,046. The overall cost of living runs about 31% above the national average. Set against a $149,325 median income, cost of living beats 96% of counties.
Is Norfolk County safe?
Yes, Norfolk County is safer than 97% of counties. Safety varies a lot by neighborhood. Crime costs an estimated $198 per resident a year.
What is the weather like in Norfolk County?
July highs average about 88 degrees, and January highs near 43 with lows near 22. That works out to about 65 pleasant days a year, more than 12% of counties.
What are the best neighborhoods in Norfolk County?
Using the default rankings, the highest-scoring areas are Wellesley & Needham, Medfield, Millis & Dover, and Brookline & Milton. The ranked list and the re-weightable map above let you re-sort them for your own priorities.
Is Norfolk County good for families?
Schools beat 87% of counties, crime safety beats 97%, and childcare runs $2,403 a month.
Is Norfolk County good for remote workers?
Cost of living against local pay beats 96% of counties, though advertised internet speeds beat only 59% of counties. About 23% of workers already work from home.
Compare Norfolk County with other counties
Sources and methodology
Every measure on this page is scored for each neighborhood, then rolled up to Norfolk County. Scores are absolute rather than ranked, which means a 60 in Norfolk County represents the same real quantity as a 60 anywhere else, and the ranking is a weighted average of those absolutes. The map colors come from a national scale calibrated against a population weighted random sample of 5,000 neighborhoods. That absolute scoring is what no other places-to-live ranking does: it puts a single neighborhood, a town, a metro, and a state on one scale, so the same 40 measures answer both which metro to move to and which street inside it to buy on. Read the full methodology.
Norfolk County detail on BestNeighborhood maps:
- Walk Grade for Norfolk County: walkability, transit, and biking, measured on the real street network rather than by straight line distance.
- Noise in Norfolk County: road, rail, and aviation sound modeling calibrated against federal ground truth measurements.
- Conservative vs liberal map of Norfolk County: precinct level election results apportioned to neighborhoods.
- Mobile and cell coverage in Norfolk County: carrier by carrier coverage behind the cell score.
Norfolk County detail on related sites:
- CrimeGrade: neighborhood crime rates behind the crime safety score.
- ISPreports.org: provider by provider internet availability and advertised speeds.
- CoverageWatch: the car insurance premiums behind the cheap car insurance score.
Federal and public data:
- U.S. Census Bureau American Community Survey: income, home value, rent, vacancy, commute time and mode, educational attainment, home age, age structure, household type, industry, and race.
- U.S. Census Bureau Population Estimates Program: population growth and net migration behind the population-change section.
- NOAA Global Surface Summary of the Day: the daily station record behind the monthly temperatures and the pleasant-day count.
- FAA Passenger Boarding Data: airport size and annual passenger counts.
- Freddie Mac Primary Mortgage Market Survey: the 30-year fixed rate used in the cost-to-buy estimate.
- FBI Crime Data Explorer: reported offenses behind the tangible crime cost estimate.
- U.S. EPA Air Quality System: five year average air quality index.
- FEMA National Risk Index: expected annual loss from natural hazards.
- CDC PLACES: disease burden, preventable risk, and barriers to care.
- National Center for Education Statistics: school enrollment and assessment inputs behind the school grade.
- FCC National Broadband Map: internet and wireless availability.
- U.S. Bureau of Labor Statistics: employment and job growth behind the local economy score.
- Religious activity uses a proprietary religious signal measurement.
Your priorities
Move a slider to say how much a measure matters. Zero turns it off.