Housing & affordability
18% of the score · 34/100
F
Median home value$289,900
Virginia Beach $340,900
Median rent$1,321/mo
Virginia Beach $1,478/mo
Cost-burdened households41%
Virginia Beach 35%
Norfolk
Norfolk County233,596 residentsNorfolk City Public Schools
58
C
Suburbgrade score
3rd of 11 Virginia Beach suburbs. Strongest on cost of living, held back by housing & affordability.
58
Virginia Beach median 54
0 · F
A+ · 100
Launch-day rule. Residents is not counted for Norfolk yet: no poll responses so far. The overall score of 58 is computed on the other six categories, re-normalised to 100%. Answer the poll →
What living here is actually like
Written summary in preparation This page is waiting for its written summary, and for a person to check it. Until then it is excluded from search engines.
What Norfolk is like to live in, by category
Bars show Norfolk against Virginia Beach. Weights are published in full.Schools
18% of the score · 58/100
C
Within-state proficiency—
Virginia Beach median 13th pct
Student–teacher ratio13.8
Virginia Beach median 14.3
Graduation rate79%
Virginia Beach median 87%
Cost of living
14% of the score · 78/100
B+
Housing cost index93
Virginia Beach 100
Eff. tax rate0.91%
Virginia Beach 0.78%
Local sales tax5.77%
Virginia Beach median 5.77%
Commute & transport
14% of the score · 64/100
C+
Mean commute23.0 min
Virginia Beach 24.9 min
Under 30 minutes72%
Virginia Beach 66%
Transit stops / sq mi1.7
Virginia Beach median 0.0 · within 2 miles
Amenities
12% of the score · 72/100
B−
Restaurants & cafés63
Virginia Beach median 23 · within 2 miles
Groceries8
Virginia Beach median 2 · within 2 miles
Parks46
Virginia Beach median 20 · within 2 miles
Employment & income
12% of the score · 48/100
D+
Median household income$66,109
Virginia Beach $82,330
Unemployment5.7%
Virginia Beach 4.8%
Professional occupations40%
Virginia Beach 43%
Residents
12% of the score · inactive
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No responses yet. Residents is excluded from the score until eight people answer.
Ask the people who live here
Twelve yes/no questions, one tap each. No dataset knows whether the yards are kept or whether anyone talks to their neighbours. Answers feed the Residents grade, which needs eight responses before it counts.
Nobody has answered for Norfolk yet. If you live here, you can be the first.
Is it quiet at night?
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Do you feel safe walking after dark?
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Can you walk to a grocery store?
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Is it good for young children?
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Are yards and streets well kept?
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Tap either button to answer — no account neededAll twelve questions →
Better than Norfolk on housing & affordability
Norfolk's weakest grade is F. Five suburbs are within 25 miles and score higher on the same four inputs.
SuburbHousingOverall
Poquoson15 mi from NorfolkC+ 54 C− Chesapeake17 mi from NorfolkC− 52 D+ Virginia Beach16 mi from NorfolkC− 64 C+ Hampton9 mi from NorfolkF 55 C− Newport News19 mi from NorfolkF 55 C− Median home value: ACS 2020–24 · Ownership rate: ACS 2020–24
Common questions about living in Norfolk
Is Norfolk, VA a good place to live?
Norfolk scores 58 out of 100, 3rd of 11 Virginia Beach suburbs. It is strongest on cost of living and weakest on housing & affordability. Every weight behind that score is published on the methodology page.
Is Norfolk expensive to live in?
Cost of living grades B+. The median home is $289,900, 15% below the Virginia Beach median, and the effective property tax rate is 0.91%. $1,321/mo is the median gross rent.
How good are the schools in Norfolk?
Schools grade C. The districts serving Norfolk sit at the — within-state proficiency percentile, with a 79% graduation rate and a 13.8 student–teacher ratio. Norfolk is served by Norfolk City Public Schools. Proficiency is only ever compared inside the same state.
How long is the commute from Norfolk?
The mean commute is 23.0 min, with 72% of workers travelling under 30 minutes and 10% working from home. Transit density is 1.7 stops per square mile.
Can you walk anywhere in Norfolk?
Within two miles there are 8 groceries, 63 restaurants and cafés and 46 parks, which grades B− on amenities.
Are the homes in Norfolk old or new?
The median home in Norfolk was built in 1964 — older than the Virginia Beach median of 1983. That is a median, so a town can be half post-war and half new-build and still land there. 56% of homes are houses rather than flats.
Every answer is built from the figures on this page, with their sources and as-of dates on the methodology page.