Each edition grades its towns against each other only.
Belmont grades C+ overall, 140th among North Carolina's 286 graded towns, with clear strengths and some subjects that lag. The median household earns $95K. On the other side, its police reported 48 violent crimes reported to the FBI in 2025, a higher rate per resident than 83% of U.S. towns. 51% of adults 25 and older hold a bachelor’s degree or more in Belmont, above both the North Carolina town median (29%) and the median of U.S. towns (29%). Belmont is home to Belmont Abbey College. Belmont is more walkable than 74% of U.S. towns.
Where Belmont beats most towns.
Belmont Abbey Cathedral| Widest gap | Belmont | NC |
|---|---|---|
| Fewer older adults who have lost all their teeth | 10% | 13.9% |
10,076 counted in 2010 and 15,010 in 2020; an estimated 16,415 in 2025.
Growth hasn’t slowed: 9.4% since 2020, after 49% in the decade before.
U.S. Census 2010 & 2020 counts · Census Bureau estimate, July 1, 2025
Each subject compared with towns across the country (schools within North Carolina), ordered by how far Belmont is from typical.
How TownRatings grades towns →
Census counts: 145 in 1900, 15,010 in 2020. The archive holds 6 old photos and papers going back to 2007 and 2 maps from 1973 on.
5 places on the National Register of Historic Places.
Museums, parks, gardens and other places to visit around Belmont. Close and well known come first.
Big draw11 mi Stadium & arenaBank of America Stadium
10 mi Theme parkCarowinds6 mi MuseumSullenberger Aviation Museum70K visitors a year
19 mi LakeLake Norman
14 mi Stadium & arenaBojangles Coliseum
8 mi MuseumBilly Graham LibraryBank of America Stadium: HangingCurve, CC BY-SA 4.0 · Carowinds: Pi.1415926535, CC BY-SA 3.0 · Lake Norman: Prince Grobhelm, CC BY-SA 3.0 · Bojangles Coliseum: James Willamor, CC BY-SA 3.0 · Billy Graham Library: Billy Hathorn, CC BY 3.0
Who provides power, water and the rest in Belmont, and how to reach them.
EPA SDWIS (Oct 9, 2026) · HIFLD + EIA-861 2025 · Census 2020 ZCTAs · NCES 2024–25 · registration: vote.gov, updated Nov 18, 2024.
Ordered by what stands out in Belmont.
Belmont has seen reported crime fall by a fifth or more and has an unusually large share working from home, but it has property taxes about twice the North Carolina norm.
Rocky Branch Park, at 29 acres with 2.6 miles of trail, is the biggest park or preserve. Trails total 8.8 miles in 10 parks and preserves. Belmont’s density of trails is 0.7 miles per square mile.
| Belmont | North Carolina towns | U.S. towns | |
|---|---|---|---|
| Miles of trail per square mile | 0.7 miles per square mile | 0.2 | 0.4 |
| Conserved land | 7.4% | 3.4% | 4.3% |
| Biggest places to walk | Trails | Acres |
|---|---|---|
| 1. Rocky Branch Park | 2.6 mi | 29 |
| 2. Stowe Park | 0.4 mi | 7 |
| 3. Kevin Loftin Riverfront Park | 0.1 mi | 13 |
Trails & parks © OpenStreetMap contributors · Conserved land: USGS PAD-US
The public schools here belong to the Gaston County Schools. The largest public high school is South Point High, with 989 students. Three of its 4 schools are below, each with the reason it’s listed.
| School | Level | Students | Letter |
|---|---|---|---|
| Belmont MiddleLargest public middle schoolGrades 6–8 | Grades 6–8 | 770 | A− |
| South Point HighLargest public high schoolGrades 9–12 | Grades 9–12 | 989 | A |
| Belmont Central ElementaryTop results in townGrades 2–5 | Grades 2–5 | 693 | A− |
NCES · EDFacts · graded within NC on state tests and graduation
Reported crimes fell from 510 to 379 over the last three FBI years, a drop beyond ordinary year-to-year swings.
The property offense rate for Belmont comes to 20.3 per 1,000 residents. Within North Carolina, it does better than 47% of towns.
| Belmont | North Carolina towns | U.S. towns | |
|---|---|---|---|
| Property crimes per 1,000 (2025) | 20.3 per 1,000 residents | 21.8 | 9.9 |
| Violent crimes per 1,000 (2025) | 2.9 per 1,000 residents | 3.2 | 1.6 |
FBI crime data, 2025 · crimes reported to police
Flood insurance has paid out on 2 claims in Belmont since 2010. Expected storm and flood damage is lower than in 83% of U.S. communities. Of the losses FEMA expects here, 52% come from inland flooding and 18% from tornadoes. Households locally have drawn federal disaster aid once, in 2024.
FEMA flood insurance claims · FEMA National Risk Index · OpenFEMA
25.6% of workers work from home, against 16.3% across North Carolina.
The top destinations are Charlotte (43%), Gastonia (11%) and Huntersville (2%). Commuting out is the norm in Belmont: 6% of working residents work locally. The town had 5,227 jobs in 2023, up 875 from 2013. 26% of workers work from home locally.
| Belmont | North Carolina towns | U.S. towns | |
|---|---|---|---|
| Work from home | 26% | 12% | 11% |
| Median household income | $95,000 | $69,000 | $80,000 |
| Below the poverty line | 7.9% | 13% | 9.6% |
| Average trip to work | 27 minutes | 24 minutes | 25 minutes |
Census LEHD 2023 · ACS
Among adults in Belmont, 33% have high blood pressure. Two figures for adults locally: 12% report frequent physical distress, 11% have diabetes.
| Belmont | North Carolina towns | U.S. towns | |
|---|---|---|---|
| High blood pressure (CDC PLACES) | 33% | 38% | 35% |
| Frequent physical distress (CDC PLACES) | 12% | 13% | 14% |
| Diabetes (CDC PLACES) | 11% | 13% | 12% |
| Depression (CDC PLACES) | 26% | 25% | 23% |
| What stands out | Belmont | NC |
|---|---|---|
| Fewer older adults who have lost all their teeth | 10% | 13.9% |
| Fewer uninsured adults | 8.5% | 10.4% |
CDC PLACES 2025 · modeled estimates for adults · CMS · HRSA
The median property tax bill is $3,702, against $1,896 across North Carolina, another input to its cost-of-living grade.
Homes sold in Belmont spent a median 82 days on the market. For Belmont, the typical rent is $1,365 a month. Also worth knowing: in Belmont, 25% of sales closed above the list price.
| Belmont | North Carolina towns | U.S. towns | |
|---|---|---|---|
| Median rent | $1,365 a month | $1,084 a month | $1,185 a month |
| Households that own their home | 71% | 67% | 73% |
Census ACS, 2020–24 · Zillow Home Value Index · Redfin Data Center
A winter brings about 4 inches of snow, with January nights at 31° and July afternoons at 90°.
NOAA U.S. Climate Normals, 1991–2020
8 within 15 miles of the center of Belmont
About 8 of every 100 Belmont residents are enrolled in college, against 6 across North Carolina.
5 places in Belmont on the National Register of Historic Places.
9 notable people were born in Belmont.
City in North Carolina, United States
Belmont is a small suburban city in Gaston County, North Carolina, United States, located about 9 miles (14 km) east of Gastonia. The population was 15,010 at the 2020 census. The area was once known as Garibaldi Station, namely after the railroad stop created in the early 1870s. This was named after John Garibaldi, the engineer who oversaw the construction of the railroad and construction of the first water tower in town. Belmont is home to Belmont Abbey College.
From Wikipedia, licensed CC BY-SA 4.0 · facts via Wikidata (CC0)
2 towns share a border with Belmont.
| Town | NC rank | Overall | Cost | Safety | Schools | Health |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| Belmont | #140 | C+ | C− | C− | B− | B+ |
| Mount Holly | #148 | C | C | C+ | B− | B+ |
| Cramerton | #96 | B− | C− | B− | B− | A− |
Short answers, built from the data on this page.
Belmont grades C+ overall, better than 36% of U.S. towns and #140 of 286 in North Carolina. It grades B+ for health, C− for safety and B− for schools. Safety is its weak spot, with a C−.
Within North Carolina, it does better than 47% of towns.
Yes. That is 5.2 years of the area's median household income ($83,304 across the Charlotte-Concord-Gastonia, NC-SC metro area). Cost of living, which also weighs rents, property taxes and how many households pay 30% or more of their income for housing, grades C−.
9 notable people were born here, including Jeffrey Springs and Koren Robinson.
