Each edition grades its towns against each other only.
For most people who can afford it, yes. Norton grades A− overall, 107th among Massachusetts's 282 graded towns. It has 39 miles of trail. The median household earns $125K and crime is low: it reports less per resident than 88% of U.S. towns. The trade-off is money: the typical home is worth about $594K, 6.8 years of the Providence metro’s $87K median household income. 22% of the land in Norton is conserved, near the Massachusetts town median (19%) and above the median of U.S. towns (4.3%). Norton is home to Wheaton College (Massachusetts). Norton is more walkable than 78% of U.S. towns.
Where Norton beats most towns.
Census counts: 1,428 in 1790, 19,202 in 2020. The archive holds 18 old photos and papers going back to 1794 and 8 maps from 1885 on.
3 places on the National Register of Historic Places.
Each subject compared with towns across the country (schools within Massachusetts), ordered by how far Norton is from typical.
How TownRatings grades towns →
Museums, parks, gardens and other places to visit around Norton. Close and well known come first.
Big draw10 mi Stadium & arenaGillette Stadium
Big draw27 mi Stadium & arenaFenway Park
Big draw34 mi LakeLake Chaubunagungamaug
Big draw35 mi MuseumThe Breakers
18 mi MuseumUSS Massachusetts
Big draw26 mi MuseumIsabella Stewart Gardner MuseumGillette Stadium: Bernard Gagnon, CC BY-SA 3.0 · Fenway Park: Gatorfan252525, CC BY-SA 4.0 · Lake Chaubunagungamaug: Bree from Worcester, MA, USA, CC BY-SA 2.0 · The Breakers: UpstateNYer, CC BY-SA 3.0 · USS Massachusetts: USN, Public domain · Isabella Stewart Gardner Museum: Sean Dungan, CC BY-SA 4.0
Who provides power, water and the rest in Norton, and how to reach them.
EPA SDWIS (Oct 9, 2026) · HIFLD + EIA-861 2025 · Census 2020 ZCTAs · NCES 2024–25 · registration: vote.gov, updated Nov 18, 2024.
Ordered by what stands out in Norton.
Norton pairs an A− overall with homes cheaper than the Massachusetts norm, sees little violent crime and is healthy by national standards but mid-pack in Massachusetts.
Violent crime is rare: 22 reported in 2025, 1.1 per 1,000 residents.
Norton’s property crime rate is 0.9 per 1,000 residents, against 4.9 in Massachusetts’ towns and 9.9 across U.S. towns.
| Norton | Massachusetts towns | U.S. towns | |
|---|---|---|---|
| Property crimes per 1,000 (2025) | 0.9 per 1,000 residents | 4.9 | 9.9 |
| Violent crimes per 1,000 (2025) | 1.1 per 1,000 residents | 1.5 | 1.6 |
FBI crime data, 2025 · crimes reported to police
Its public schools are run by the Norton school district. Two of its 5 schools are below, each with why it’s listed. The largest public high school is Norton High, with 685 students.
| School | Level | Students | Letter |
|---|---|---|---|
| Norton MiddleLargest public middle schoolGrades 6–8 | Grades 6–8 | 527 | C+ |
| Norton HighLargest public high schoolGrades 9–12 | Grades 9–12 | 685 | A− |
NCES · EDFacts · graded within MA on state tests and graduation
Within Massachusetts it is less healthy than 56% of the 279 graded towns: Massachusetts sets a high bar. Against the 5,108 U.S. towns with household incomes like Norton’s, it is healthier than 61%, a smaller edge than it has nationally: part of it comes with its incomes.
Norton beats the Massachusetts average on 9 of 32 CDC measures and trails it on 0. 29% of adults have high blood pressure in Norton.
| Norton | Massachusetts towns | U.S. towns | |
|---|---|---|---|
| High blood pressure (CDC PLACES) | 29% | 32% | 35% |
| Diabetes (CDC PLACES) | 8.2% | 9.3% | 12% |
| Obesity (CDC PLACES) | 28% | 28% | 35% |
| Frequent mental distress (CDC PLACES) | 18% | 16% | 17% |
| What stands out | Norton | MA |
|---|---|---|
| Fewer uninsured adults | 3.7% | 5.2% |
| Fewer adults facing food insecurity | 9.4% | 12.4% |
CDC PLACES 2025 · modeled estimates for adults · CMS · HRSA
Most working residents leave Norton for work: only 7% work in town. Norton’s average trip to work is 33 minutes. The top destinations are Boston (12%), Mansfield (4%) and Taunton (3%).
| Norton | Massachusetts towns | U.S. towns | |
|---|---|---|---|
| Average trip to work | 33 minutes | 30 minutes | 25 minutes |
| Median household income | $125,000 | $120,000 | $80,000 |
| Below the poverty line | 4.7% | 6% | 9.6% |
| Working residents who work in town | 7.4% | 9.9% | 8% |
Census LEHD 2023 · ACS
The trail density in Norton is 1.4 miles per square mile. Woodward Forest, at 186 acres with 2.5 miles of trail, is the biggest park or preserve.
| Biggest places to walk | Trails | Acres |
|---|---|---|
| 1. Woodward Forest | 2.5 mi | 186 |
| 2. Canoe River Greenbelt amd Recreational Area | 1 mi | 49 |
| 3. Bertha Smith Land | 0.8 mi | 61 |
Trails & parks © OpenStreetMap contributors · Conserved land: USGS PAD-US
Expected storm and flood damage is lower than in 73% of U.S. communities. Since 1978, 44 flood insurance claims have been paid out in Norton.
FEMA flood insurance claims · FEMA National Risk Index · OpenFEMA
Norton has chilly, snowy winters and pleasant summers, with plenty of rain. July afternoons reach 84°, January nights drop to 19° and about 50 inches of snow falls in a winter.
NOAA U.S. Climate Normals, 1991–2020
Norton grades A− overall with a typical home of about $594K, below the Massachusetts typical value; only 21 of the 109 Massachusetts towns graded A− or better can say that.
The typical Norton home is worth about $594,000, up 3.8% in a year, 9% below the Massachusetts typical home. 84% of Norton households own their home.
| Norton | Massachusetts towns | U.S. towns | |
|---|---|---|---|
| Median rent | $1,911 a month | $1,682 a month | $1,185 a month |
| Households that own their home | 84% | 79% | 73% |
Census ACS, 2020–24 · Zillow Home Value Index · Redfin Data Center
No broad age group is more than 4 points off the Massachusetts average. 46% of adults 25 and older have a bachelor’s degree or more, vs 47% across Massachusetts.
| Norton | Massachusetts towns | U.S. towns | |
|---|---|---|---|
| Under 18 | 17% | 20% | 22% |
| Bachelor’s degree or more, 25+ | 46% | 47% | 29% |
| Median age | 39.6 years | 43.4 years | 40.5 years |
| Aged 65 or older | 17% | 19% | 18% |
49% women, 51% men
That’s an even split within the survey’s margin of ±2.4 points. Across Massachusetts, 51.1% of residents are women. Median age: women 40.2, men 38.8.
| Norton | MA | U.S. | |
|---|---|---|---|
| Under 10 | 8.9% | 10.2% | 11.6% |
| 10 to 17 | 8.4% | 9.2% | 10.3% |
| 18 to 24 | 15.1% | 9.8% | 9.1% |
| 25 to 34 | 10.6% | 14% | 13.7% |
| 35 to 44 | 14.6% | 13% | 13.2% |
| 45 to 54 | 8.9% | 12.3% | 12.2% |
| 55 to 64 | 16% | 13.6% | 12.7% |
| 65 to 74 | 10.9% | 10.5% | 10.2% |
| 75 and older | 6.5% | 7.4% | 7% |
| No diploma | 5.2% | 8.6% | 10.4% |
| High school | 25.9% | 22.6% | 26% |
| Some college | 13% | 14.1% | 19.1% |
| Associate’s | 10% | 7.5% | 8.8% |
| Bachelor’s | 31.2% | 25.5% | 21.6% |
| Graduate | 14.6% | 21.8% | 14.1% |
U.S. Census Bureau · ACS 2020-2024 5-year estimates
6 within 15 miles of the center of Norton
About 13 of every 100 Norton residents are enrolled in college, against 8 across Massachusetts.
3 places in Norton on the National Register of Historic Places.
8 notable people were born in Norton.
Town in Massachusetts, United States
Norton is a town in Bristol County, Massachusetts, United States, and contains the villages of Norton Center and Chartley. The population was 19,202 at the 2020 census. Home of Wheaton College, Norton hosted the Dell Technologies Championship, a tournament of the PGA Tour held annually on the Labor Day holiday weekend at the TPC Boston golf club until 2018.
From Wikipedia, licensed CC BY-SA 4.0 · facts via Wikidata (CC0)
3 towns share a border with Norton.
Short answers, built from the data on this page.
For most people who can afford it, yes. Norton grades A− overall, better than 76% of U.S. towns and #107 of 282 in Massachusetts. It grades A− for health, A for safety and C+ for schools. Cost of living is its weak spot, with a D.
Yes. Cost of living, which also weighs rents, property taxes and how many households pay 30% or more of their income for housing, grades D.
8 notable people were born here, including George Leonard and Edward Hammond Clarke.
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