Best PlacesNorton County, KS Best Neighborhoods
2026–2027 edition · Data updated July 2026
Every neighborhood in Norton County, scored on 40 measures of daily life and ranked to fit what matters to you. Several measures below read low, and the ranked lists name which ones. To work out which city fits you best, start with the best places to live tool.
Norton County ranks 2,296th of 3,144 U.S. counties on the BestNeighborhood index. It scores highest on short commutes by a wide margin, and distance from a big city ranks lowest.
The best neighborhoods in Norton 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.
Norton County's strengths and weaknesses
Where Norton County ranks high
- Short commute11.0 minutes each way, better than 99% of counties
- State infrastructureBetter than 94% of counties
- Housing crash safetyBetter than 81% of counties
- WalkabilityBetter than 77% of counties
- Local economyBetter than 74% of counties
Where Norton County ranks low
- Big-city accessBetter than only 4% of counties
- Voter turnoutBetter than only 8% of counties
- Disaster safetyBetter than only 13% of counties
- Tree shadeBetter than only 14% of counties
- Low income/sales/gas taxBetter than only 17% of counties
What it costs to buy a home in Norton County
A household needs to earn about $32,000 a year to comfortably buy the median Norton County home, at 20% down and today's 30-year rate. That is below the area's own median income of $59,986, 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 Norton County's effective rate of 1.10%, 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 Norton County
Norton County's age mix sits close to the national median, 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 Norton County.
Who works in Norton County, and how
Work in Norton County centers on health care & social and agriculture & forestry. Unemployment is low, and jobs are growing.
Largest industries
How people get to work
- Drive or carpool 76%
- Work from home 18%
- Transit, walk, or bike 6%
Life in Norton County
Norton County has fewer places to eat and drink per resident than most counties and more parkland per resident than 97% of counties. Dining, parks, and nightlife concentrates in some parts of Norton County and thins out in others, which the map shows.
Is Norton County growing, and who is moving in?
Norton County has lost about 4% of its population over the last decade. The largest inbound stream comes from Wichita, KS.
Where new residents come from
Where people leaving Norton County go
Move counts are the latest county-to-county migration flows, each county grouped into its metro.
What the weather is like in Norton County, month by month
Norton County sees roughly 113 pleasant days a year. July highs average about 94 degrees. January highs sit near 43, with lows near 19. The comfortable stretch runs May, September, and October.
Show the monthly temperatures
| Month | Avg high | Avg | Avg low |
|---|---|---|---|
| January | 43° | 29° | 19° |
| April | 71° | 53° | 39° |
| July | 94° | 80° | 67° |
| October | 72° | 55° | 42° |
Flying in and out of Norton County
The nearest airport, Hays Regional, is about 75 miles away and is a small airport. The nearest major hub is Eppley Airfield, about 233 miles away.
The best schools in and around Norton County
Schools across Norton County average a C−, better than 20% of counties.
Top elementary schools
- Almena ElemA+ · 75% proficient
- Logan ElemB+ · 55% proficient
- Eisenhower ElemC+ · 38% proficient
Top middle schools
- Norton Jr HighD · 22% proficient
- Long Island Middle SchoolD · 20% proficient
Top high schools
- Northern Valley HighD+ · 25% proficient
- Norton HighD− · 17% proficient
- Logan HighD− · 17% proficient
Grades come from K-12 test scores, with scores projected for schools missing data. See every Norton County school and its grade on SchoolGrade.
Norton 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 Norton County against the other 3,143 counties.
Common questions about living in Norton County
Is Norton County a good place to live?
Using BestNeighborhood's default rankings, Norton County ranks 2,296th of 3,144 counties. It scores highest on short commutes, state infrastructure, and a stable housing market, and lowest on distance from a big city and civic engagement. How good it is for you depends on which of those you weight most, which the map lets you set.
Is Norton County expensive to live in?
The median home is worth $118,094. The overall cost of living runs about 18% below the national average. Set against a $59,986 median income, cost of living beats 28% of counties.
Is Norton County safe?
Norton County is safer than 19% of counties. Safety varies a lot by neighborhood. Crime costs an estimated $490 per resident a year.
Compare Norton County with other counties
Sources and methodology
Every measure on this page is scored for each neighborhood, then rolled up to Norton County. Scores are absolute rather than ranked, which means a 60 in Norton 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.
Norton County detail on BestNeighborhood maps:
- Walk Grade for Norton County: walkability, transit, and biking, measured on the real street network rather than by straight line distance.
- Noise in Norton County: road, rail, and aviation sound modeling calibrated against federal ground truth measurements.
- Conservative vs liberal map of Norton County: precinct level election results apportioned to neighborhoods.
- Mobile and cell coverage in Norton County: carrier by carrier coverage behind the cell score.
Norton 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.