Best PlacesNorfolk, NE Best Neighborhoods
2026–2027 edition · Data updated July 2026
Every neighborhood in and around Norfolk, scored on 40 measures of daily life and ranked to fit what matters to you. Costs and crime both read low, and the nearest big city is a drive away. To work out which city fits you best, start with the best places to live tool.
Norfolk ranks 982nd of 2,098 U.S. cities on the BestNeighborhood index. It scores highest on state finances by a wide margin, and distance from a big city ranks lowest.
The best neighborhoods in Norfolk
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.
Norfolk's strengths and weaknesses
Where Norfolk ranks high
- State fiscal healthBetter than 99% of cities
- Short commute13.9 minutes each way, better than 99% of cities
- State infrastructureBetter than 85% of cities
- Cheap car insuranceBetter than 82% of cities
- Housing crash safetyBetter than 79% of cities
Where Norfolk ranks low
- Big-city accessBetter than only 3% of cities
- Tree shadeBetter than only 16% of cities
- Household income$70,955 median, better than only 24% of cities
- Low property taxBetter than only 27% of cities
- TransitBetter than only 27% of cities
What it costs to buy a home in Norfolk
A household needs to earn about $64,000 a year to comfortably buy the median Norfolk home, at 20% down and today's 30-year rate. That is below the area's own median income of $70,955, so a typical household can afford the median home outright.
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's effective rate of 1.31%, 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
Norfolk runs younger than the country, and households here run smaller than average.
Residents by age
Racial and ethnic makeup has its own map. See the race and diversity map for Norfolk.
Who works in Norfolk, and how
Work in Norfolk centers on health care & social and manufacturing. Unemployment is low, and jobs are growing.
Largest industries
How people get to work
- Drive or carpool 91%
- Work from home 6%
- Transit, walk, or bike 3%
Life in Norfolk
Norfolk has more restaurants and bars per resident than 79% of cities and more parkland per resident than 92% of cities. Dining, parks, and nightlife concentrates in some parts of Norfolk and thins out in others, which the map shows.
What the weather is like in Norfolk, month by month
Norfolk sees roughly 103 pleasant days a year. July highs average about 88 degrees. January highs sit near 36, with lows near 13. The comfortable stretch runs May through September.
Show the monthly temperatures
| Month | Avg high | Avg | Avg low |
|---|---|---|---|
| January | 36° | 23° | 13° |
| April | 66° | 49° | 36° |
| July | 88° | 75° | 63° |
| October | 68° | 52° | 39° |
Flying in and out of Norfolk
The nearest airport, Sioux Gateway/Brig General Bud Day Field, is about 59 miles away and is a small airport. The nearest major hub is Eppley Airfield, about 94 miles away.
The best schools in and around Norfolk
Schools across Norfolk average a B−, better than 52% of cities.
Top elementary schools
- Newman Grove Elementary SchoolA · 70% proficient
- Westside Elementary SchoolA · 65% proficient
- Bel Air Elementary SchoolA− · 60% proficient
Top middle schools
- Sergeant Bluff-luton Middle SchoolA+ · 80% proficient
- West Middle SchoolA− · 54% proficient
- Norfolk Middle SchoolB · 46% proficient
Top high schools
- Leigh High SchoolA · 75% proficient
- Pierce Jr/sr High SchoolA− · 67% proficient
- Newman Grove High SchoolA− · 65% proficient
Grades come from K-12 test scores, with scores projected for schools missing data. See every Norfolk school and its grade on SchoolGrade.
Norfolk 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 against the other 2,097 cities.
Who Norfolk suits
Families
Schools land around the 52nd percentile and crime safety beats 76%.
Common questions about living in Norfolk
Is Norfolk a good place to live?
Using BestNeighborhood's default rankings, Norfolk ranks 982nd of 2,098 cities. It scores highest on state finances, short commutes, and state infrastructure, and lowest on distance from a big city and tree cover. How good it is for you depends on which of those you weight most, which the map lets you set.
Is Norfolk expensive to live in?
The median home is worth $227,526. The overall cost of living runs about 13% below the national average. Set against a $70,955 median income, cost of living beats 34% of cities.
Is Norfolk safe?
Yes, Norfolk is safer than 76% of cities. Safety varies a lot by neighborhood. Crime costs an estimated $257 per resident a year.
What is the weather like in Norfolk?
July highs average about 88 degrees, and January highs near 36 with lows near 13. That works out to about 103 pleasant days a year, more than 62% of cities.
Is Norfolk good for families?
Schools beat 52% of cities, crime safety beats 76%, and childcare runs $848 a month.
Compare Norfolk with other cities
Sources and methodology
Every measure on this page is scored for each neighborhood, then rolled up to Norfolk. Scores are absolute rather than ranked, which means a 60 in Norfolk 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 detail on BestNeighborhood maps:
- Walk Grade for Norfolk: walkability, transit, and biking, measured on the real street network rather than by straight line distance.
- Noise in Norfolk: road, rail, and aviation sound modeling calibrated against federal ground truth measurements.
- Conservative vs liberal map of Norfolk: precinct level election results apportioned to neighborhoods.
- Mobile and cell coverage in Norfolk: carrier by carrier coverage behind the cell score.
Norfolk 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.
- 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.