Best PlacesNorfolk, NY 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. This page is for people who live here or already know they want to. To work out which city fits you best, start with the best places to live tool.
Norfolk ranks 21,291st of 50,333 U.S. towns on the BestNeighborhood index. It scores highest on transit by a wide margin, and property taxes are the weak spot.
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
- TransitBetter than 91% of towns
- Disaster safetyBetter than 91% of towns
- School gradeB+, better than 84% of towns
- WalkabilityBetter than 80% of towns
- BikingBetter than 76% of towns
Where Norfolk ranks low
- Low property taxBetter than only 4% of towns
- Big-city accessBetter than only 14% of towns
- Cheap car insuranceBetter than only 15% of towns
- Low income/sales/gas taxBetter than only 15% of towns
- Cheap childcare$1,088 a month, better than only 18% of towns
What it costs to buy a home in Norfolk
A household needs to earn about $35,000 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 $71,733, 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 1.89%, and insurance is estimated at 0.4% of home value a year.
Renting versus buying
At today's prices, buying tends to cost more than renting for about the first 5 years, then pulls ahead as rent keeps rising and the mortgage builds equity. The chart tracks the running cost of each.
Who lives in Norfolk
Norfolk runs older 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 education and health care & social. Unemployment is low, and the job base is shrinking.
Largest industries
How people get to work
- Drive or carpool 93%
- Work from home 3%
- Transit, walk, or bike 4%
Life in Norfolk
The map and measures below break down dining, culture, and green space by neighborhood across Norfolk.
What the weather is like in Norfolk, month by month
Norfolk sees roughly 72 pleasant days a year. July highs average about 84 degrees. January highs sit near 29, with lows near 10. The comfortable stretch runs May through September.
Show the monthly temperatures
| Month | Avg high | Avg | Avg low |
|---|---|---|---|
| January | 29° | 20° | 10° |
| April | 56° | 44° | 32° |
| July | 84° | 71° | 58° |
| October | 63° | 50° | 38° |
Flying in and out of Norfolk
The nearest airport, Massena International-Richards Field, is about 10 miles away and is a small airport. The nearest major hub is Bradley International, about 230 miles away.
The best schools in and around Norfolk
Schools across Norfolk average a B+, better than 84% of towns.
Top elementary schools
- Saint Lawrence Elementary SchoolA · 65% proficient
- Nightengale Elementary SchoolA · 63% proficient
- Norwood-norfolk Elementary SchoolB− · 43% proficient
Top middle schools
- J William Leary Junior High SchoolB− · 40% proficient
- St Lawrence Middle SchoolC · 35% proficient
- Norwood-norfolk Middle SchoolC · 34% proficient
Top high schools
- Norwood-norfolk SchoolA+ · 95% proficient
- Saint Lawrence High SchoolA+ · 95% proficient
- Massena Senior High SchoolA+ · 85% 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 50,332 towns.
Common questions about living in Norfolk
Is Norfolk a good place to live?
Using BestNeighborhood's default rankings, Norfolk ranks 21,291st of 50,333 towns. It scores highest on transit, low disaster risk, and good schools, and lowest on property taxes and distance from a big city. 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 $115,780. The overall cost of living runs about 12% below the national average. Set against a $71,733 median income, cost of living beats 53% of towns.
Is Norfolk safe?
Yes, Norfolk is safer than 73% of towns. Safety varies a lot by neighborhood. Crime costs an estimated $241 per resident a year.
Compare Norfolk with other towns
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.