Best PlacesNorman, OK Best Neighborhoods
2026–2027 edition · Data updated July 2026
Every neighborhood in and around Norman, 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.
Norman ranks 249th of 445 U.S. cities on the BestNeighborhood index. It earns the spot by being affordable and steady rather than flashy: everyday costs run well below the national average, and crime is low. The trade is state infrastructure: the nearest large city and its jobs, flights, and culture are a drive away.
The best neighborhoods in Norman
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.
Norman's strengths and weaknesses
Norman lands in the middle because its strengths and weaknesses roughly balance. State finances, quiet, and an educated workforce carry most of that.
The one real hole is state infrastructure, near the bottom of the country. Distance from a big city and the schools also cost it ground. The detail is below, and the map is where it turns into a choice of neighborhood rather than just a place.
Where Norman ranks high
- State fiscal healthBetter than 91% of cities
- QuietBetter than 85% of cities
- Educational attainmentBetter than 83% of cities
- Housing crash safetyBetter than 82% of cities
- Cell coverageBetter than 79% of cities
Where Norman ranks low
- State infrastructureBetter than only 4% of cities
- Big-city accessBetter than only 12% of cities
- School gradeC−, better than only 14% of cities
- Air qualityBetter than only 23% of cities
- WalkabilityBetter than only 24% of cities
What it costs to buy a home in Norman
A household needs to earn about $71,000 a year to comfortably buy the median Norman home, at 20% down and today's 30-year rate. That is below the area's own median income of $77,925, 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 Norman'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 Norman
Norman 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 Norman.
Who works in Norman, and how
Work in Norman centers on education and retail trade. Unemployment is close to the national rate, and jobs are growing.
Largest industries
How people get to work
- Drive or carpool 79%
- Work from home 12%
- Transit, walk, or bike 9%
Life in Norman
Norman has more restaurants and bars per resident than 79% of cities and more parkland per resident than 91% of cities. Dining, parks, and nightlife concentrates in some parts of Norman and thins out in others, which the map shows.
What the weather is like in Norman, month by month
Norman sees roughly 76 pleasant days a year. July highs average about 93 degrees. January highs sit near 51, with lows near 30. The comfortable stretch runs April, May, September, and October.
Show the monthly temperatures
| Month | Avg high | Avg | Avg low |
|---|---|---|---|
| January | 51° | 39° | 30° |
| April | 73° | 60° | 50° |
| July | 93° | 82° | 73° |
| October | 75° | 63° | 53° |
Flying in and out of Norman
The nearest airport, Okc Will Rogers International, is about 15 miles away and is a small airport. The nearest major hub is Dallas-Fort Worth International, about 162 miles away.
The best schools in and around Norman
Schools across Norman average a C−, better than 14% of cities.
Top elementary schools
- Oakridge EsA− · 60% proficient
- Mckinley EsA− · 58% proficient
- Wayland Bonds EsA− · 55% proficient
Top middle schools
- Southridge JhsB · 45% proficient
- Whittier MsC · 35% proficient
- Highland East JhsC · 31% proficient
Top high schools
- Norman North HsB+ · 52% proficient
- Norman HsC · 35% proficient
- Moore HsC− · 29% proficient
Grades come from K-12 test scores, with scores projected for schools missing data. See every Norman school and its grade on SchoolGrade.
Norman 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 Norman against the other 444 cities.
Who Norman suits
Families
Schools land around the 14th percentile and crime safety beats 76%.
Remote workers
Cost of living against local pay beats 72% of cities and 12% already work from home.
Common questions about living in Norman
Is Norman a good place to live?
Using BestNeighborhood's default rankings, Norman ranks 249th of 445 cities. It scores highest on state finances, quiet, and an educated workforce, and lowest on state infrastructure 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 Norman expensive to live in?
The median home is worth $266,937. The overall cost of living runs about 20% below the national average. Set against a $77,925 median income, cost of living beats 72% of cities.
Is Norman safe?
Yes, Norman is safer than 76% of cities. Safety varies a lot by neighborhood. Crime costs an estimated $396 per resident a year.
What is the weather like in Norman?
July highs average about 93 degrees, and January highs near 51 with lows near 30. That works out to about 76 pleasant days a year, more than 28% of cities.
Is Norman good for families?
Schools beat 14% of cities, crime safety beats 76%, and childcare runs $968 a month.
Is Norman good for remote workers?
Cost of living against local pay beats 72% of cities, though advertised internet speeds beat only 43% of cities. About 12% of workers already work from home.
Compare Norman with other cities
Sources and methodology
Every measure on this page is scored for each neighborhood, then rolled up to Norman. Scores are absolute rather than ranked, which means a 60 in Norman 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.
Norman detail on BestNeighborhood maps:
- Walk Grade for Norman: walkability, transit, and biking, measured on the real street network rather than by straight line distance.
- Noise in Norman: road, rail, and aviation sound modeling calibrated against federal ground truth measurements.
- Conservative vs liberal map of Norman: precinct level election results apportioned to neighborhoods.
- Mobile and cell coverage in Norman: carrier by carrier coverage behind the cell score.
Norman 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.