Each edition grades its towns against each other only.
Norfolk gives you more for your money than most places: homes are within reach, about $126K for a typical one, or 2 years of the Massena area’s $63K median household income. It grades B− overall, ranked 400th of 745 in New York. The low prices come with trade-offs. CDC estimates put its residents' health behind 76% of the country and its public schools trail 75% of New York towns on state tests and graduation. On the plus side, it reports less crime per resident than 98% of U.S. towns. Norfolk has 3 places on the National Register of Historic Places, among them Raymondville Parabolic Bridge and Hepburn Library. Only 5 of the 265 New York towns we compare have a lower typical home value than Norfolk. Lost Nation State Forest, at 858 acres with 1 miles of trail, is the biggest park or preserve.
Where Norfolk beats most towns.
Raymondville Parabolic BridgeWhere Norfolk’s working residents go each day. Line width shows the share.
Census LEHD 2023
Each subject compared with towns across the country (schools within New York), ordered by how far Norfolk is from typical.
How TownRatings grades towns →
Census counts: 1,309 in 1830, 4,453 in 2020. The archive holds 3 old photos and papers going back to 2011 and 3 maps from 1906 on.
3 places on the National Register of Historic Places.
Who provides power, water and the rest in Norfolk, and how to reach them.
EPA SDWIS (Oct 9, 2026) · HIFLD + EIA-861 2025 · Census 2020 ZCTAs · NCES 2024–25 · registration: vote.gov, updated Aug 3, 2026.
Ordered by what stands out in Norfolk.
Norfolk has homes that are cheap against local pay, but it trails Potsdam and its other neighbors on schools and has lost a quarter or more of its jobs in ten years.
At 2 years of the Massena area’s $63K median household income, the typical home (about $126K) costs less against local pay than in 89% of New York towns; that ratio is one input to its A− for cost of living. The median property tax bill is $2,270, against $6,582 across New York, another input to its cost-of-living grade.
Norfolk’s median rent is $788 a month, where New York’s towns sit at $1,103 a month and U.S. towns at $1,185 a month. The typical Norfolk home is worth about $126,000, up 1.6% in a year, 76% below the New York typical home.
Census ACS, 2020–24 · Zillow Home Value Index · Redfin Data Center
Each of its 6 graded neighbors has a higher School Grade than its C, Potsdam highest at B+.
Its public schools are run by the Norwood-Norfolk Central School District. Two of its 3 schools are below, each with why it’s listed.
| School | Level | Students | Letter |
|---|---|---|---|
| Norwood-Norfolk Elementary SchoolLargest public elementary schoolGrades PK–4 | Grades PK–4 | 341 | D |
| Norwood-Norfolk SchoolLargest public high schoolGrades 9–12 | Grades 9–12 | 290 | A+ |
NCES · EDFacts · graded within NY on state tests and graduation
Violent crime is rare: 4 reported in 2025, 0.9 per 1,000 residents.
Norfolk’s property crime rate is 0.7 per 1,000 residents, against 7.6 in New York’s towns and 9.9 across U.S. towns.
| Norfolk | New York towns | U.S. towns | |
|---|---|---|---|
| Property crimes per 1,000 (2025) | 0.7 per 1,000 residents | 7.6 | 9.9 |
| Violent crimes per 1,000 (2025) | 0.9 per 1,000 residents | 0.8 | 1.6 |
FBI crime data, 2025 · crimes reported to police
43% of Norfolk adults have obesity. Norfolk beats the New York average on 1 of 32 CDC measures and trails it on 14. 39% of Norfolk adults have high blood pressure.
| Norfolk | New York towns | U.S. towns | |
|---|---|---|---|
| Obesity (CDC PLACES) | 43% | 33% | 35% |
| Frequent physical distress (CDC PLACES) | 16% | 14% | 14% |
| High blood pressure (CDC PLACES) | 39% | 34% | 35% |
| Smoke cigarettes (CDC PLACES) | 17% | 13% | 14% |
| What stands out | Norfolk | NY |
|---|---|---|
| Fewer uninsured adults | 6.5% | 7.9% |
| More adults with COPD | 9.6% | 6% |
CDC PLACES 2025 · modeled estimates for adults · CMS · HRSA
Jobs based here fell from 534 in 2013 to 413. The average commute for its 1,499 working residents takes 24.5 minutes, against 32.6 across New York.
Most working residents leave Norfolk for work: only 9% work in town. Since 2013, Norfolk has lost 121 jobs, to 413 in 2023. 13% of residents live below the poverty line in Norfolk.
| Norfolk | New York towns | U.S. towns | |
|---|---|---|---|
| Below the poverty line | 13% | 9.5% | 9.6% |
| Median household income | $68,000 | $82,000 | $80,000 |
Census LEHD 2023 · ACS
Norfolk has cold, snowy winters and pleasant summers. The July high in Norfolk is 80°F.
NOAA U.S. Climate Normals, 1991–2020
8.2 miles of trail in 5 parks and preserves. Norfolk’s trail density is 0.1 miles per square mile.
| Norfolk | New York towns | U.S. towns | |
|---|---|---|---|
| Miles of trail per square mile | 0.1 miles per square mile | 0.4 | 0.4 |
| Conserved land | 6.8% | 5.2% | 4.3% |
| Biggest places to walk | Trails | Acres |
|---|---|---|
| 1. Lost Nation State Forest | 1 mi | 858 |
| 2. Raymondville State Forest | 0.3 mi | 635 |
| 3. Grantville State Forest | 0.1 mi | 766 |
Trails & parks © OpenStreetMap contributors · Conserved land: USGS PAD-US
Expected storm and flood damage is higher than in 58% of U.S. communities.
FEMA National Risk Index · OpenFEMA
2 within 15 miles of the center of Norfolk
About 6 of every 100 Norfolk residents are enrolled in college, about the same as New York.
3 places in Norfolk on the National Register of Historic Places.
3 notable people were born in Norfolk.
Town in New York, United States
Norfolk (/nɒr'fɒrk/) is a town in St. Lawrence County in the U.S. state of New York. The town is in the northern part of the county and is north of Potsdam. The population was 4,453 at the 2020 census.
From Wikipedia, licensed CC BY-SA 4.0 · facts via Wikidata (CC0)
6 towns share a border with Norfolk.
It grades higher overall than all 5 graded towns on its borders; Potsdam (B−) comes closest. Potsdam next door grades higher for schools (B+ to Norfolk’s C) and lower for cost of living (C+ to A−).
| Town | NY rank | Overall | Cost | Safety | Schools | Health |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| Norfolk | #400 | B− | A− | A+ | C | C− |
| Louisville | #618 | C− | B | — | B− | C |
| Potsdam | #404 | B− | C+ | — | B+ | B |
| Stockholm | #635 | C− | C+ | — | B | C+ |
| Massena | #628 | C− | B | — | B− | C− |
| Madrid | — | — | B+ | — | C+ | C |
| Brasher | #601 | C− | B+ | — | B− | C |
Madrid has fewer than 2,500 residents, so it gets subject grades but no overall grade. Louisville, Potsdam, Stockholm, Massena, Madrid and Brasher report no FBI crime data of their own. Compare Norfolk with a neighbor →
Short answers, built from the data on this page.
Norfolk grades B− overall, better than 49% of U.S. towns and #400 of 745 in New York. It grades C− for health, A+ for safety and C for schools. Health is its weak spot, with a C−.
Not for the area. Cost of living, which also weighs rents, property taxes and how many households pay 30% or more of their income for housing, grades A−.
3 notable people were born here, including William P. Rogers and George Marquis Bogue.
