Each edition grades its towns against each other only.
A town of 4,631, settled in 1851. Public schools that outperform most of South Carolina.
Trash day: look up yoursBelton gives you more for your money than most places: a typical home costs about $259K, 3.6 years of the Greenville metro’s $71K median household income. It grades B overall, 46th among South Carolina's 167 graded towns. The low prices come with trade-offs. The median household income is $49K, and 20% of residents live below the poverty line, and CDC estimates put its residents' health behind 83% of the country. On the plus side, its schools rank ahead of 90% of South Carolina towns. Belton’s property crime rate is 56 per 1,000 residents, against 28.6 in South Carolina’s towns and 14.1 across U.S. towns. Belton has 3 places on the National Register of Historic Places, among them Belton Standpipe and Belton Depot. Belton's civic life (library use, community groups, volunteering) trails 86% of U.S. towns.
Where Belton beats most towns.
| School | Grades | Students |
|---|---|---|
| Marshall Primary | PK–2 | 459 |
| Belton Elementary | 3–5 | 379 |
| Belton Middle | 6–8 | 455 |
Where Belton’s working residents go each day. Line width shows the share.
Census LEHD 2023
Each subject compared with towns across the country (schools within South Carolina), ordered by how far Belton is from typical.
How TownRatings grades towns →
Census counts: 314 in 1880, 4,335 in 2020. The archive holds 12 old photos and papers going back to 1908 and 2 maps from 1983 on.
3 places on the National Register of Historic Places.
Who provides power, water and the rest in Belton, and how to reach them.
EPA SDWIS (Oct 9, 2026) · HIFLD + EIA-861 2025 · Census 2020 ZCTAs · NCES 2024–25 · registration: vote.gov, updated Sep 12, 2025.
Ordered by what stands out in Belton.
Belton pairs an A for schools with modest home prices, is healthier than towns with similar incomes and has hotter summers than most of the country, though not than most of South Carolina.
Its A for schools comes with an A− for cost of living: the typical home is worth about $259K.
Its public schools are run by the Anderson 02 school district. One of its 3 schools is below, with why it’s listed.
| School | Level | Students | Letter |
|---|---|---|---|
| Marshall PrimaryLargest public elementary schoolGrades PK–2 | Grades PK–2 | 459 | – |
NCES · EDFacts · graded within SC on state tests and graduation
Against the 5,446 U.S. towns with household incomes like Belton’s, it is less healthy than 55%, so its C− isn’t only a matter of income.
27% of adults have been diagnosed with depression in Belton. Belton beats the South Carolina average on 0 of 32 CDC measures and trails it on 16. 17% of adults report frequent physical distress in Belton.
| Belton | South Carolina towns | U.S. towns | |
|---|---|---|---|
| Depression (CDC PLACES) | 27% | 23% | 23% |
| Frequent physical distress (CDC PLACES) | 17% | 15% | 14% |
| Feel lonely (CDC PLACES) | 36% | 33% | 33% |
| Frequent mental distress (CDC PLACES) | 19% | 18% | 17% |
| What stands out | Belton | SC |
|---|---|---|
| More older adults who have lost all their teeth | 19.8% | 13.9% |
| More adults with COPD | 9.9% | 7.5% |
| More smokers | 16.8% | 13.3% |
CDC PLACES 2025 · modeled estimates for adults · CMS · HRSA
Jobs based here fell from 1,123 in 2013 to 764.
Most working residents leave Belton for work: only 4% work in town. The average trip to work in Belton is 29 minutes. Jobs based in Belton fell to 764 in 2023, 359 fewer than in 2013.
| Belton | South Carolina towns | U.S. towns | |
|---|---|---|---|
| Average trip to work | 29 minutes | 24 minutes | 25 minutes |
| Median household income | $49,000 | $57,000 | $80,000 |
| Working residents who work in town | 4% | 6.3% | 8% |
Census LEHD 2023 · ACS
Expected storm and flood damage is lower than in 71% of U.S. communities.
FEMA National Risk Index · OpenFEMA
July afternoons average 90.1°: hotter than most of the country, but cooler than 76% of South Carolina places with climate records; January nights average 33.1°.
Belton has mild winters and warm summers, with plenty of rain. Belton’s January low is 33°F. Snow is almost unheard of.
| Belton | South Carolina towns | U.S. towns | |
|---|---|---|---|
| January low | 33°F | 34°F | 22°F |
| July high | 90°F | 91°F | 85°F |
NOAA U.S. Climate Normals, 1991–2020
Home values rose 45% in five years, to about $259K, against 24% across South Carolina.
56% of Belton households own their home. The typical Belton home is worth about $259,000, up 2.9% in a year, 15% below the South Carolina typical home.
| Belton | South Carolina towns | U.S. towns | |
|---|---|---|---|
| Households that own their home | 56% | 65% | 73% |
| Median rent | $972 a month | $1,062 a month | $1,185 a month |
Census ACS, 2020–24 · Zillow Home Value Index · Redfin Data Center
Belton's reported crime rate is well above South Carolina's. Most reported incidents are property crimes. 10 violent crimes were reported in 2022.
FBI crime data, 2022 · crimes reported to police
0.3 miles of trail in 4 parks and preserves.
| Belton | South Carolina towns | U.S. towns | |
|---|---|---|---|
| Miles of trail per square mile | 0.1 miles per square mile | 0.3 | 0.4 |
| Conserved land | 2.1% | 1.7% | 4.3% |
| Biggest places to walk | Trails | Acres |
|---|---|---|
| 1. Leda Poore Park | 0.1 mi | 17 |
| 2. Terry Martin Field | — | 6 |
| 3. Belton City Park | 0.2 mi | 2 |
Trails & parks © OpenStreetMap contributors · Conserved land: USGS PAD-US
2 within 15 miles of the center of Belton
About 1 of every 100 Belton residents are enrolled in college, against 6 across South Carolina.
3 places in Belton on the National Register of Historic Places.
3 notable people were born in Belton.
City in South Carolina, United States
Belton is a city in eastern Anderson County, South Carolina. As of the 2020 census, Belton had a population of 4,335.
From Wikipedia, licensed CC BY-SA 4.0 · facts via Wikidata (CC0)
Short answers, built from the data on this page.
By most measures, yes. Belton grades B overall, better than 58% of U.S. towns and #46 of 167 in South Carolina. It grades C− for health and A for schools. Jobs & income is its weak spot, with a C−.
Not for the area. Cost of living, which also weighs rents, property taxes and how many households pay 30% or more of their income for housing, grades A−.
3 notable people were born here, including William L. Ball and Leola C. Robinson-Simpson.
