Photo: Tyler Silvest · CC BY 2.0Jobs, pay and the trip to work in Belton
Jobs and income earn Belton B; getting around on foot earns it B. About one in ten work in Belton; the top destination outside it is Kansas City (26%, 21 miles). Commuters spend 25 minutes getting to work on average, next to 24 for Missouri and 26 for the U.S.
Census ACS 2020–24, Census LEHD 2023, EPA Smart Location Database. How the two grades are made
Work in Belton: the figures worth knowing
A lot of Belton workers cross into Kansas
23% of Belton workers work outside Missouri, the Census survey finds. In the commute data, Overland Park (9%), Olathe (4%) and Lenexa (3%) are among the top workplaces. The commute map ↓
A lot of Belton works one town over
33% of working residents work in a town that borders Belton: Kansas City (26%), Grandview (4%) and Raymore (3%). Next door ↓
Stores, warehouses and trucking
43% of the jobs in Belton are in trade, transport and utilities, against 25% of the jobs its residents hold. The jobs ↓
Young people hold many of the jobs here
33% of the jobs based in Belton are held by workers 29 or younger, against 26% of Belton’s own working residents. The jobs ↓
Written from the Census figures on this page. Commute flows, distances and jobs are Census LEHD 2023, primary jobs only (the self-employed aren’t counted); commute time and working from home are from the Census American Community Survey.
Income, poverty and work: Belton’s grade explained
On income, poverty, unemployment and job access, Belton is better than 57% of U.S. towns, #88 of 247 in Missouri. Job access by car holds Belton’s grade up (ahead of 84% of U.S. towns); household income pulls it down ($69,226, U.S. $80,734). It also does well on the poverty rate.
A fairly firm grade. Within the Census margins of error for income, poverty and unemployment, Belton could be anywhere from C+ to B+.
Where people from Belton work
Where Belton clocks in
26% of workersLines run between town centers. The top 10 towns each way; “Everywhere else” is the rest, including other states.
A thicker line means more commuters. Switch between where residents work and where the people who work here live.
The kinds of work in Belton
8,328 jobs are based in Belton.
What kind of work
What it pays
Who does it
Jobs based in Belton, 2013 → 2023: 6,693 → 8,328. Big swings can come from how a large employer reports its locations, not only from real openings or closings.
Primary jobs covered by unemployment insurance (not the self-employed). Pay is monthly earnings. LEHD 2023.
Here is what they are, next to the jobs Belton’s own residents hold wherever they work.
How many people are in Belton by day
On a workday 10,202 residents head out to work, 1,169 work right here, and 7,159 people come in from elsewhere.
About 23,000 people are in Belton on a workday afternoon, 12% fewer than live here.
0.73 jobs for every working resident, so most people commute out.
Workday population = residents − those who work elsewhere + those who come in (the Census “commuter-adjusted” method). Residents: Census survey; commuters: LEHD 2023, primary jobs.
The trip to work from Belton: about 25 minutes
Round trip, about 230 workdays a year: roughly 7.9 full days in the car, bus or train.
Average commute minutes, one way
of Belton workers work from home, vs 13% across Missouri. Their commute is the hallway.
Share of the 11,359 commuters (the 12% who work from home are left out). Across Missouri: 86% drive alone, 1% take transit; U.S.: 81% and 4%. Census ACS 2020–24.
From the Census survey of workers who don’t work from home.
Near or far: the trip to work from Belton
Straight-line distance from each worker’s home block to their main job’s block. LEHD 2023.
Every working resident’s trip, home to work, as the crow flies. Roads add to it, so real drives run longer.
In Belton, the car does most of the work
On EPA’s walkability index and the share of commuters who walk, bike or take transit, Belton is more walkable than 63% of U.S. towns, #115 of 247 in Missouri. The street layout scores higher than the way people actually get to work: 2.4% of commuters walk, bike or take transit, below the 3.2% across Missouri.
A firm grade. EPA’s index has no published margin of error; the commuting share comes from a Census survey of 12,882 workers.
How TownRatings grades walkability →
Transit service: no data. EPA’s transit file has no stops for most of this county (its agencies had not published schedules in the format EPA used in 2020). That is missing data, not a finding that there is no bus or train.
Households without a car (shown, not graded). 4.8% of Belton households have no vehicle (Missouri 6.6%, U.S. 8.4%). <1% of Belton’s commuters take a bus or train.
966th of 1,576: where Belton ranks among U.S. towns of 18,000 to 35,000
| # | Town | People | Household income | Poverty | Unemployment | Work in town | Grade |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| 1 | West Springfield VA | 22,532 | $163K | 1.9% | 1.7% | 3% | A+ |
| 2 | Mountain Brook AL | 21,661 | $201K | 3.2% | 1.2% | 8% | A+ |
| 3 | Lake Forest IL | 19,731 | $235K | 3.5% | 1.8% | 12% | A+ |
| … | |||||||
| 26 | Wildwood MO | 34,955 | $161K | 2.2% | 2.3% | 4% | A+ |
| … | |||||||
| 121 | Creve Coeur MO | 18,480 | $127K | 6.1% | 2.6% | 11% | A+ |
| … | |||||||
| 140 | Ballwin MO | 30,901 | $125K | 4.8% | 2.9% | 4% | A |
| … | |||||||
| 964 | West Hollywood CA | 34,231 | $97K | 12.9% | 8.9% | 8% | B |
| 965 | Ridgeland MS | 24,750 | $66K | 9.9% | 4.1% | 17% | B |
| 966 | Belton MO | 26,193 | $69K | 9.7% | 4.8% | 10% | B |
| 967 | Richmond Hill GA | 20,022 | $93K | 8.8% | 5.8% | 11% | B |
| 968 | Salem VA | 25,816 | $67K | 10.2% | 3.6% | 26% | B |
| … | |||||||
| 1,576 | Nogales AZ | 19,495 | $43K | 28.0% | 15.7% | 37% | D− |
Census ACS 2020–24 (income, poverty, unemployment), Census LEHD (work in town), TownRatings Jobs & income grades. Each town links to its Work & commute page.
Ranked on the Jobs & income grade: the towns either side of Belton, the top three, the last and three more from Missouri.
The towns next door employ 33% of Belton
Average commute minutes, one way
Jobs & commute next door
| Town | Belton workers there | Jobs & income | Walkability | Commute | Household income |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| Belton | – | B | B | 25 min | $69,226 |
| Kansas City | 26% | B− | A | 22 min | $69,166 |
| Loch Lloyd | under 3% | A+ | B− | 34 min | $183,958 |
| Raymore | 3% | A | B− | 26 min | $104,447 |
| Grandview | 4% | C | B− | 22 min | $53,447 |
Same-state neighbors only. Commute: average minutes each way, Census ACS 2020–24.
The biggest share goes to Kansas City. Darker towns draw more of Belton’s workers. Tap a town to see its commute.
What this data can and can’t tell you
- Two sources, two years. Trips, distances and jobs based here: Census LEHD 2023, primary jobs, where the employer reports them. Income, poverty, unemployment, commute time and how people travel: Census ACS 2020–24 averages.
- Straight lines, older transit. Miles are as the crow flies. EPA’s walkability and transit files use 2017–20 inputs.
Jobs and commuting in Belton: questions
What is the median household income in Belton?
$69,226 (±$4,993) (Census ACS 2020–24), against $70,702 across Missouri and $80,734 nationally.
What is the poverty rate in Belton?
9.7%, against 12.6% across Missouri and 12.5% nationally (Census ACS 2020–24).
How long is the commute from Belton?
25 minutes each way on average, against 24 across Missouri and 26 nationally. 12% of workers work from home.
Where do people who live in Belton work?
10% work in town. The top destinations elsewhere are Kansas City (26%, 21 mi), Overland Park (9%, 10 mi), Lee's Summit (6%, 10 mi) (Census LEHD 2023).
Is Belton walkable?
Belton is more walkable than 63% of U.S. towns (Walkability B): an EPA walkability index of 8.0 out of 20, and 2% of commuters walk, bike or take transit.
Can you get around Belton without a car?
<1% of commuters take transit and 5% of households have no car. EPA has no transit data for this county.
Commuter talk
Getting to work from Belton, from the people who make the trip.
More of Belton
Flows, distances and jobs: U.S. Census Bureau, LEHD Origin-Destination Employment Statistics (LODES 8), 2023, primary jobs. Commute time, working from home and working out of state: U.S. Census Bureau, American Community Survey 5-year estimates. Distances are straight lines between home and work; real drives run longer. Walkability index, job access and transit service: U.S. EPA Smart Location Database. The two grades are our own summaries of these figures, not official ratings.