Jim Norton has opened for Andrew Dice Clay, and is known for his extremely raunchy brand of humor.

Norton became a regular on the Opie and Anthony Radio Show on WNEW, and was arrested with Lewis Black in connection with a stunt performed on the show involving the Voyeur Bus which drove through the streets of Manhattan with naked women dancing in front of the windows. He also created the term "Monster Rain" with his childhood friend.

For over a year, Norton was a regular guest on the Comedy Central TV show Tough Crowd with Colin Quinn. He also was selected to be in the final twenty contestants for the second season of Last Comic Standing, but had to back out due to contractual obligations. Norton has been on The Tonight Show with Jay Leno three times.

In 2004, Norton was voted the best comedian and breakthrough performer of the year on the Cringe Humor website, dedicated to some of the top New York comedians. Norton frequently performs at the Comedy Cellar. He is friends with many other comedians, including Rich Vos, Patrice O'Neal, Bill Burr, Colin Quinn, and Robert Kelly. Dom Irrera has said that Norton is one of the best comedians performing today. In April 2005, he filmed a HBO stand-up special.

Norton prides himself on being honest. He has an aspect of "comedic integrity", a term described by Colin Quinn in the final episode of Tough Crowd. Quinn stated that comedic integrity was "The ability to critique all the hypocrisies in society, but also to be real enough to admit that you're as guilty as everyone else in the game." Norton's honesty is admired by many. Found in his bio, Judi Brown of the Aspen Comedy Festival said, "He's so brutally honest. He's very refreshing in a business where a lot of people are phony."