Wise-Norton Magistrate serves both the county of Wise and the city of Norton in the Thirtieth judicial district of Virginia.

The Southwest Virginia museum, at Big Stone Gap in this county, is housed in a home constructed, 1888-1895, of sandstone and limestone on the exterior of the building and Native red oak throughout the interior. One of the owners of the home collected artifacts related to the life of the area. The exhibits include mail-order catalogs, photographs, and radios, artifacts from the early settlers in the late 1700's and items the owner and his sister collected during their their travels in different parts of the world. The University of Virginia's College has a campus in the city of Wise. The Norton city parks system includes six parks and a community center.