Norfolk is a somewhat small town located in the state of Massachusetts. With a population of 11,552 people and two associated neighborhoods, Norfolk is the 167th largest community in Massachusetts. Norfolk home prices are not only among the most expensive in Massachusetts, but Norfolk real estate also consistently ranks among the most expensive in America.Norfolk is a decidedly white-collar town, with fully 90.44% of the workforce employed in white-collar jobs, well above the national average. Overall, Norfolk is a town of managers, professionals, and sales and office workers. There are especially a lot of people living in Norfolk who work in management occupations (16.87%), business and financial occupations (13.62%), and sales jobs (11.01%). Also of interest is that Norfolk has more people living here who work in computers and math than 95% of the places in the US. One interesting thing about the economy is that relatively large numbers of people worked from their home: 25.65% of the workforce. While this number may seem small overall, as a fraction of the total workforce this is high compared to the rest of the county. These workers are often telecommuters who work in knowledge-based, white-collar professions. For example, Silicon Valley has large numbers of people who telecommute. Other at-home workers may be self-employed people who operate small businesses out of their homes. Because of many things, Norfolk is a very good place for families to consider. With an enviable combination of good schools, low crime, college-educated neighbors who tend to support education because of their own experiences, and a high rate of home ownership in predominantly single-family properties, Norfolk really has some of the features that families look for when choosing a good community to raise children. Is Norfolk perfect? Of course not, and if you like frenetic nightlife, it will be far from your cup of tea. But overall this is a solid community, with many things to recommend it as a family-friendly place to live. In Norfolk, however, the average commute to work is quite long. On average, people spend 36.53 minutes each day getting to work, which is significantly higher than the national average. One bright side is that local public transit is widely used, so it may be an option to avoid the headache of driving in the heavy traffic by leaving the car at home and taking transit. Even though Norfolk is a smaller town, it has many people who hop on public transportation – mostly the train for their daily commute to work. Typically, these people are commuting to good jobs in the surrounding cities.Do you have a 4-year college degree or graduate degree? If so, you may feel right at home in Norfolk. 54.89% of adults here have a 4-year degree or graduate degree, whereas the national average for all cities and towns is just 21.84%. The per capita income in Norfolk in 2022 was $61,391, which is upper middle income relative to Massachusetts, and wealthy relative to the rest of the US. This equates to an annual income of $245,564 for a family of four. Norfolk is a somewhat ethnically-diverse town. The people who call Norfolk home describe themselves as belonging to a variety of racial and ethnic groups. The greatest number of Norfolk residents report their race to be White, followed by Black or African-American. Important ancestries of people in Norfolk include Irish, Italian, English, German, and Polish. The most common language spoken in Norfolk is English. Other important languages spoken here include Spanish and French.
