Rent affordability
How much rent can you afford in Norfolk, VA?
You need an income of about $68,000 a year to rent a typical 1-bedroom in Norfolk under the 30% rule. That apartment rents for about $1,438 a month in the Virginia Beach-Norfolk-Newport News, VA-NC metro as of August 2026, plus about $262 for utilities, internet, and renters insurance. At Norfolk's median household income of $66,109, the rule leaves about $1,390 a month for rent.
- Metro 1-bedroom
- $1,438 / month
- Income needed
- $68,000 / year
- Housing share
- 31% of gross
- Apartment utilities
- $163 / month
Max rent in Norfolk, VA
$1,390/mo
30% of gross income is $1,652 a month. Utilities, internet, and renters insurance take $262, which leaves $1,390 for rent.
A typical 1-bedroom in the Virginia Beach metro rents for about $1,438, $48 over your max.
- Take-home
- $4,313/moAfter estimated federal tax, state tax, and FICA.
- Move-in cash
- $2,780First month and a one-month deposit, at your max rent.
- Landlord screen
- $1,836/moHighest rent if a landlord wants income of 36× the rent.
Monthly budget
Where take-home pay of $4,313 goes at your max rent of $1,390. Each slice is its share of take-home.
- Rent32%$1,390
- Electric, gas, water4%$163
- Internet2%$86
- Renters insurance<1%$13
- Left over62%$2,661
Housing comes to $1,652 a month, 30% of gross income and 38% of take-home. That leaves $2,661 for food, transportation, savings, and everything else.
Search Norfolk, VA
Find 1-bedrooms in Norfolk, VA under $1,350
Rounded down from your max rent of $1,390.
What renters in Norfolk pay and earn
Of the 94,965 households in Norfolk, 54% rent. The median renter household earns $46,991 a year. Median gross rent, which is rent plus utilities across every lease including ones signed years ago, is $1,321 a month. 55% of renters spend 30% or more of income on rent and utilities, and 27% spend half or more.
A new 1-bedroom lease in the Virginia Beach-Norfolk-Newport News, VA-NC metro asks about $1,438, 30% more than the $1,104 median gross rent for a 1-bedroom in Norfolk, utilities included. Budget from the asking rent: it is what a new lease costs.
Source: U.S. Census Bureau, American Community Survey 5-year estimates, 2020–2024, for Norfolk city, Virginia. See how Norfolk compares in the affordability rankings.
Rent in Norfolk
These rents are the Virginia Beach-Norfolk-Newport News, VA-NC metro medians. Norfolk does not have its own rent series. Updated August 2026, +6.7% from a year earlier. The 1-bedroom median moved from $1,347 in August 2025 to $1,438 in August 2026. The 2-bedroom median moved from $1,519 in August 2025 to $1,621 in August 2026. Studio and 3-bedroom figures are estimates scaled from the published 1- and 2-bedroom medians.
This series is the metro median from Apartment List, not a single building. brightplace also stores each community's asking rent from daily listing scrapes. That history stays on the property page, because a building's price is not the city median. brightplace lists 10 apartment communities with units available in Norfolk, about 182 apartments in all. Browse communities in Norfolk.
How median rent changed
Each point is the overall median asking rent for one month. The vertical scale runs from the low to the high in this period, not from zero. Percentages on the right are the change since August 2025, marked by the dashed line.
Virginia Beach-Norfolk-Newport News, VA-NC median rent: $1,623 in August 2025 to $1,732 in August 2026, up 6.7%. Low $1,620, high $1,732. 1-bedroom $1,438 in August 2026. 2-bedroom $1,621 in August 2026.
| Month | Overall | 1-bedroom | 2-bedroom |
|---|---|---|---|
| August 2025 | $1,623 | $1,347 | $1,519 |
| September 2025 | $1,621 | $1,346 | $1,517 |
| October 2025 | $1,620 | $1,345 | $1,516 |
| November 2025 | $1,622 | $1,346 | $1,518 |
| December 2025 | $1,623 | $1,347 | $1,519 |
| January 2026 | $1,628 | $1,352 | $1,524 |
| February 2026 | $1,642 | $1,363 | $1,536 |
| March 2026 | $1,659 | $1,377 | $1,552 |
| April 2026 | $1,672 | $1,388 | $1,565 |
| May 2026 | $1,680 | $1,394 | $1,572 |
| June 2026 | $1,694 | $1,406 | $1,585 |
| July 2026 | $1,714 | $1,422 | $1,604 |
| August 2026 | $1,732 | $1,438 | $1,621 |
True monthly cost
What a typical apartment costs each month at the metro median rent: rent plus an apartment utility estimate, state-average internet, and state-average renters insurance. Studio and 3-bedroom rents are estimates. Utilities and insurance are estimates, not a quote from a building.
| Cost | Studio | 1-bedroom | 2-bedroom | 3-bedroom |
|---|---|---|---|---|
| Rent | $1,300 | $1,438 | $1,621 | $2,303 |
| Utilities (estimate) | $147 | $163 | $238 | $338 |
| Internet (estimate) | $86 | $86 | $86 | $86 |
| Renters insurance (estimate) | $13 | $13 | $13 | $13 |
| Total | $1,546 | $1,700 | $1,958 | $2,740 |
The household utility median in Norfolk is $410 a month. Apartment bills are lower than that all-household figure, so the estimate scales a national apartment baseline instead of using it directly.
Take-home pay and max rent
Single filer, standard deduction, estimated Virginia income tax and FICA. Max rent is 30% of gross minus about $262 a month for 1-bedroom utilities, internet, and renters insurance. The landlord column is the highest rent when a landlord wants income of 36× the rent.
| Gross income | Take-home / month | Max rent | Landlord screen |
|---|---|---|---|
| $40,000 | $2,690 | $738 | $1,111 |
| $60,000 | $3,933 | $1,238 | $1,666 |
| $80,000 | $5,064 | $1,738 | $2,222 |
| $100,000 | $6,141 | $2,238 | $2,777 |
Rent versus buying in the metro
The monthly cost of the median-priced home in Virginia Beach-Norfolk-Newport News, VA-NC was about $2,894, which is $1,162 more than the $1,732 median rent. That ownership cost was unchanged from a year earlier. The metro's price-to-income ratio is 4.29. The ratio was unchanged from a year earlier. Over five years it was up 13.2%. This is a metro-level comparison from Harvard's Joint Center for Housing Studies, not a payment on a specific house.
Household income in Norfolk
The calculator starts from Norfolk's median household income of $66,109 (±$1,785), the Census Bureau's 2020–2024 estimate for Norfolk city, Virginia. The 5-year series is the one the Census publishes for every city. The 1-year figures below are newer but cover only larger areas. The U.S. Census Bureau's 2024 American Community Survey 1-year estimates put median household income at $92,090 in Virginia (down 0.5% from 2023).
Household utility bills in Virginia
These are typical monthly bills for all household types in Virginia, not an apartment quote. The rent calculator uses a smaller apartment estimate for electricity, gas, water, sewer, and trash, plus the internet row. The all-household core of those housing bills is $412 a month.
| Bill | Monthly |
|---|---|
| Electricity | $149 |
| Natural gas | $94 |
| Water | $40 |
| Sewer | $65 |
| Trash | $64 |
| Internet | $86 |
Nearby and similar cities
Norfolk's median household utility bill runs 10% above Virginia Beach. Rent on this page is the Virginia Beach metro median, which covers Norfolk.
In brightplace's rent affordability rankings, the Virginia Beach metro is 87 of 218: a typical 1-bedroom with utilities takes 32% of the median renter household's income in Virginia Beach.
Among 100 large cities ranked by income left after a typical 1-bedroom, Norfolk is 78.
Questions about renting in Norfolk
How much rent can I afford in Norfolk, VA?
Keep rent, utilities, internet, and renters insurance within 30% of gross income. At Norfolk's median household income of $66,109, that leaves about $1,390 a month for rent. A typical 1-bedroom in the Virginia Beach-Norfolk-Newport News, VA-NC metro rents for about $1,438 as of August 2026, and the other costs add about $262, so it calls for about $68,000 a year.
What salary do you need to live in Norfolk?
To keep a typical 1-bedroom within 30% of gross income in Norfolk, you need about $68,000 a year: $1,438 in rent plus about $262 for utilities, internet, and renters insurance. A 2-bedroom at the metro median of $1,621 needs about $78,320. The median renter household in Norfolk earns $46,991 a year, per Census estimates for 2020–2024.
How much rent can I afford on $60,000 a year in Norfolk?
On $60,000 a year, the 30% rule allows $1,500 a month for housing. After about $262 for utilities, internet, and renters insurance, that leaves about $1,238 for rent, $200 less than the $1,438 typical 1-bedroom in the Virginia Beach-Norfolk-Newport News, VA-NC metro. A single filer in Virginia takes home about $3,933 a month after estimated federal and Virginia income tax and FICA. This is an estimate, not tax advice.
What income do landlords require in Norfolk?
Many landlords in Virginia screen for gross annual income of about 36 times the monthly rent, the same as three times the rent each month. For a $1,438 1-bedroom, that is about $51,768 a year. Requirements vary by building, so check the listing before paying an application fee.
What is the average rent in Norfolk?
In the Virginia Beach-Norfolk-Newport News, VA-NC metro, which includes Norfolk, VA, estimated median rent as of August 2026 is $1,732 overall, $1,438 for a 1-bedroom, $1,621 for a 2-bedroom. Overall rent is +6.7% from a year earlier. The Census Bureau's 2020–2024 median gross rent in Norfolk, which counts utilities and leases signed years ago, is $1,321 a month.
How much are utilities for an apartment in Norfolk?
A 1-bedroom apartment in Norfolk, VA is estimated at about $163 a month for electricity, gas, and water, before internet. That scales a national apartment baseline by the local household utility median of $410. Actual bills depend on the building, what the lease includes, and how much you use.
Methodology and sources
Updated . Max rent is 30% of gross monthly income minus estimated utilities, internet, renters insurance, and any fees you enter. If you enter other bills, max rent also keeps housing plus those bills within 36% of gross income, a debt-to-income ratio lenders generally consider good. Federal tax uses 2026 brackets and the standard deduction. State tax uses 2025 single-filer brackets on gross income; married thresholds are doubled. FICA includes Social Security up to the 2026 wage base and Additional Medicare Tax. None of this is tax, legal, or housing advice. Read the financial disclosure.
- Apartment List Rent Estimates, August 2026 release
- IRS tax year 2026 brackets and standard deduction, including One Big Beautiful Bill adjustments
- Tax Foundation, 2025 State Individual Income Tax Rates and Brackets
- Insurance Information Institute and NAIC, 2025 homeowners and renters insurance data
- doxoINSIGHTS 2025 U.S. Utilities Market Size and Household Spending Report
- brightplace apartment utility reference (national baselines by unit size)
- HUD cost-burden thresholds and common landlord income screens
- U.S. Census Bureau, 2024 American Community Survey 1-year estimates (ACSBR-025)
- Compiled from public utility cost surveys and bill-pay data, 2025
- Compiled from publicly available income, tax, and rental market data, January 2025
- Harvard Joint Center for Housing Studies, State of the Nation's Housing 2026
- U.S. Census Bureau, American Community Survey 5-year estimates, 2020–2024 (tables B19013, B25003, B25031, B25064, B25070, and B25119)