Norfolk, Virginia
Cost of living, housing, income, commute, climate, and safety — compiled for relocators researching Norfolk.
Key figures
Each metric shows how Norfolk compares with the U.S. baseline (ACS/BLS nationals where available; catalog-city averages for crime, climate, and commute). Income, housing, population, and crime are for the incorporated city (city limits), not the broader metro/MSA — unemployment is county-level (BLS LAUS).
- Population
- 235,037City limits · not metro/MSA
- Median household income
- $64,017Incorporated place (ACS)18% below U.S. avgU.S. $78,538
- Housing cost index
- 91ACS home+rent vs U.S. (100 = avg)9% below U.S. avgU.S. 100
- Median home value
- $271,900City limits (ACS)10% below U.S. avgU.S. $303,400
- Median rent
- $1,246City limits (ACS)8% below U.S. avgU.S. $1,348
- Unemployment
- 4.1%County LAUS · not city-onlyNear U.S. avg (4.2 pts)U.S. 4.2 pts
- Avg commute
- 22 min12% below U.S. avgU.S. 25 min
- Walk Score
- 45Near U.S. avg (45)U.S. 45
- Violent crime rate
- 545.7annualized per 100k · citywide9% below U.S. avgU.S. 602.7
- Property crime rate
- 3461.5annualized per 100k · citywide12% above U.S. avgU.S. 3084.9
- Summer high
- 87°FNear U.S. avg (87°F)U.S. 87°F
- Winter low
- 35°FNear U.S. avg (34°F)U.S. 34°F
- Annual rainfall
- 49.2 in50% above U.S. avgU.S. 32.9 in
- Sunny days
- 2477% below U.S. avgU.S. 266
Compare Norfolk with another city
Norfolk, Virginia counts about 235,037 residents inside the city limits. Median household income is roughly $64,017, while the ACS housing-cost index sits near 91 — below the national housing-cost baseline (100 ≈ U.S. average). A typical home near $271,900 and rents around $1,246 frame most shortlists.
Norfolk is compact enough that a single wrong neighborhood choice is easy to feel day to day — visit at commute hour before signing. Figures on this page are merged from Census ACS, BLS LAUS, FBI Crime Data Explorer, and NOAA Climate Normals — use them to compare Norfolk with nearby alternatives before you relocate.
Federal-contractor suburbs and Atlantic coastal towns pull different budgets. The normals show about 49.2 inches of rain and 247 sunny days across a typical year. Plan on roughly 22 minutes each way for a typical commute; Walk Score is about 45. Unemployment recently ran near 4.1%, broadly in line with many large U.S. counties. Violent-offense rates near 545.7 per 100k sit in a mid-to-elevated band versus many peer cities in this catalog.
Nearby & similar cities
Continue researching with these internal links — each page is a full data profile.
Sources
- Census / ACS: U.S. Census Bureau ACS 2023 5-year (Norfolk city, 1600000US5157000)
- BLS: BLS LAUS LAUCN517100000000003 (Norfolk city, May 2026)
- Crime: FBI CIUS Table 8 (2019) city offenses known to law enforcement — rates per 100k; CDE API unavailable at enrich time
- Climate: NOAA 1991–2020 Monthly Normals (USW00013737 NORFOLK INTL AP)
Last updated 2026-07-28