Best PlacesNorfolk, VA 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. The averages are not the whole story, and the strongest areas score well above them. To work out which city fits you best, start with the best places to live tool.
Norfolk ranks 286th of 445 U.S. cities on the BestNeighborhood index. It ranks low mainly on noise and state finances. It does better on cheap car insurance, which keeps it off the bottom.
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.
The best areas in Norfolk
The parts of Norfolk, ranked by the BestNeighborhood standard score across every neighborhood, highest scoring first. Each note says how that part differs from the rest of the city.
Larchmont-Edgewater, Colonial Place Riverview & Lamberts Point
More adults hold degrees, biking is better, and health outcomes score higher.
Downtown Norfolk, Ghent Square & Ghent
Streets are more walkable, though fewer households have young kids.
East Ocean View, Larrymore Lawns & Roosevelt Gardens Area
Local pay stretches further and it is quieter.
Fairmont Park, Lafayette-Winona & Lakewood-Willowwood
Incomes run higher, though more homes sit empty.
West Ocean View, Bay View & Oakdale Farms
Tree cover is thicker.
Norview, Park Crescent & Elmhurst
Homes cost less.
North Meadow Brook, Glenwood Park & Titustown
Crime runs lower and heat risk is lower.
Poplar Hills, Ingleside & Glenrock
Prices have run up less.
Central Brambleton, Ballentine Place & Bruce's Park
Health care is harder to reach and schools score lower.
Norfolk shows why a single number is not enough. Some neighborhoods score in the bottom 2% of the country and others in the top 2%. Pick the area first, then the home.
Norfolk's strengths and weaknesses
Norfolk lands in the middle because its strengths and weaknesses roughly balance. Cheap car insurance, clean air, and good schools carry most of that.
The one real hole is noise, near the bottom of the country. State finances and low incomes also cost it ground. That varies block to block rather than evenly, and the map below shows where.
Where Norfolk ranks high
- Cheap car insuranceBetter than 91% of cities
- Air qualityBetter than 84% of cities
- School gradeB, better than 79% of cities
- WalkabilityBetter than 68% of cities
- TransitBetter than 65% of cities
Where Norfolk ranks low
- QuietBetter than only 4% of cities
- State fiscal healthBetter than only 12% of cities
- Household income$69,618 median, better than only 17% of cities
- Crime safetyBetter than only 19% of cities
- Nice weatherabout 74 pleasant days a year, better than only 26% of cities
What it costs to buy a home in Norfolk
A household needs to earn about $84,000 a year to comfortably buy the median Norfolk home, at 20% down and today's 30-year rate. That runs well above the area's median income of $69,618, 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's effective rate of 0.89%, 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 8 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 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 retail trade. Unemployment is close to the national rate, and jobs are growing.
Largest industries
How people get to work
- Drive or carpool 78%
- Work from home 11%
- Transit, walk, or bike 11%
Life in Norfolk
Norfolk has more restaurants and bars per resident than 78% of cities and more parkland per resident than 83% of cities. The coast is about 5 minutes away. 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 74 pleasant days a year. July highs average about 91 degrees. January highs sit near 54, with lows near 34. The comfortable stretch runs April, May, September, and October.
Show the monthly temperatures
| Month | Avg high | Avg | Avg low |
|---|---|---|---|
| January | 54° | 43° | 34° |
| April | 73° | 61° | 51° |
| July | 91° | 81° | 73° |
| October | 75° | 65° | 56° |
Flying in and out of Norfolk
The nearest airport, Norfolk International, is about 3 miles away and is a small airport. The nearest major hub is Richmond International, about 72 miles away.
The best schools in and around Norfolk
Schools across Norfolk average a B, better than 79% of cities.
Top elementary schools
- Larchmont ElementaryA · 68% proficient
- Arrowhead ElementaryA · 65% proficient
- Ghent K-8A− · 57% proficient
Top middle schools
- Great Neck MiddleA+ · 85% proficient
- Kempsville MiddleA+ · 72% proficient
- Independence MiddleA+ · 72% proficient
Top high schools
- Frank W. Cox HighA+ · 83% proficient
- Tallwood HighA · 79% proficient
- Kempsville HighA · 74% 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 444 cities.
Who Norfolk suits
Retirees
Set weather, quiet, and health care weights on the map to test the fit.
Common questions about living in Norfolk
Is Norfolk a good place to live?
Using BestNeighborhood's default rankings, Norfolk ranks 286th of 445 cities. It scores highest on cheap car insurance, clean air, and good schools, and lowest on noise and state finances. 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 $317,652. The overall cost of living runs about 15% below the national average. Set against a $69,618 median income, cost of living beats 38% of cities.
Is Norfolk safe?
Norfolk is safer than 19% of cities. Safety varies a lot by neighborhood. Crime costs an estimated $548 per resident a year.
What is the weather like in Norfolk?
July highs average about 91 degrees, and January highs near 54 with lows near 34. That works out to about 74 pleasant days a year, more than 26% of cities.
What are the best neighborhoods in Norfolk?
Using the default rankings, the highest-scoring areas are Larchmont-Edgewater, Colonial Place Riverview & Lamberts Point, Downtown Norfolk, Ghent Square & Ghent, and East Ocean View, Larrymore Lawns & Roosevelt Gardens Area. The ranked list and the re-weightable map above let you re-sort them for your own priorities.
Is Norfolk good for families?
Schools beat 79% of cities, crime safety beats 19%, and childcare runs $983 a month.
Is Norfolk good for remote workers?
Cost of living against local pay beats 38% of cities, though advertised internet speeds beat only 60% of cities. About 11% of workers already work from home.
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.