Reference · Every figure, cited
The whole town, in numbers and lists.
One reference page: the facts, figures, and inventories this guide uses everywhere else — with the primary source for each.
The short version
One set of numbers, used consistently.
Local guides usually contradict themselves — one page says fourteen thousand people, another says eighteen. This site draws every figure from a single data module, so the population, tax rate, drive times, and market numbers you read on the homepage are the same ones on every other page.
Each figure below carries an as-of note, because the useful ones move: market data quarterly, tax rates annually, and population every year with new Census estimates. Where a number is a range rather than a point, we publish the range.
Nothing here is an appraisal, a legal determination, or a substitute for the issuing authority. For anything consequential — assessed value, school assignment, shoreline permitting — go to the source listed at the bottom of this page.
01
The town, in figures
Name & county
Gaston County, NC
Belmont, North Carolina — renamed from Garibaldi Station in 1886 and incorporated in 1895.
ZIP code
28012
A single ZIP code covers the city and its unincorporated fringe.
Population
July 2025 (U.S. Census Bureau estimate)
Approximately 16,415 residents.
Land area
Square miles
About 12.19 square miles, bounded by the Catawba River, Lake Wylie, and the South Fork Catawba.
Coordinates
Town center
35.2429° N, -81.0373° W, in the rolling Piedmont west of Charlotte.
Distance to Charlotte
15–25 minutes
About 12 miles east to Uptown Charlotte via I-85.
Distance to the airport
15–20 minutes
Charlotte Douglas International Airport sits on the same side of the city.
County tax rate
FY2024–25 (Gaston County Tax Office)
$0.599 per $100 of assessed value (Gaston County).
City tax rate
FY2024–25 (Gaston County Tax Office)
$0.455 per $100 of assessed value (City of Belmont), applied inside city limits.
Combined rate
FY2024–25 (Gaston County Tax Office)
About $1.054 per $100 assessed inside the city. Verify with the Gaston County Tax Office.
02
Market figures, ZIP 28012
Snapshot figures for the whole ZIP code, spanning everything from mill cottages to waterfront estates. Useful as a benchmark, never as a valuation of a specific house.
Median list price
mid-2026 listing data, ZIP 28012 (Realtor.com)
$525,000
Median sold price
mid-2026 listing data, ZIP 28012 (Realtor.com)
$500,750
Price per square foot
mid-2026 listing data, ZIP 28012 (Realtor.com)
$241
Days on market
mid-2026 listing data, ZIP 28012 (Realtor.com)
35–44 days, typical range.
Active listings
mid-2026 listing data, ZIP 28012 (Realtor.com)
400–450 at a given moment.
Median rent
mid-2026 listing data, ZIP 28012 (Realtor.com)
$2,100 / month
03
Drive times
Uptown Charlotte
15–25 min
About 12 miles east on I-85.
Charlotte Douglas International Airport
15–20 min
I-85 to Billy Graham Parkway.
Gastonia
18 min
County seat, courthouse, and CaroMont's main campus.
McAdenville
8 min
Christmas Town USA.
U.S. National Whitewater Center
12 min
Across the Catawba in Charlotte.
Daniel Stowe Conservancy
12 min
South on New Hope Road toward the lake.
Mount Holly
12 min
River town just north.
Lake Norman (Cornelius)
35 min
North on I-485 and I-77.
04
Neighborhoods
McLean
Waterfront
Master-planned Lake Wylie community with roughly five miles of shoreline and more than ten miles of trails.
Reflection Pointe
Waterfront
Gated Lake Wylie community of roughly 360 home sites with a lagoon pool, clubhouse, tennis, and boat access.
Misty Waters
Waterfront
Smaller water-oriented enclave on the Belmont side of Lake Wylie.
The Chronicle District
Historic
Loft residences inside and around the 1901 Chronicle Mill, at the edge of downtown.
Downtown & Main Street
In-town
Bungalows, cottages, and early-1900s houses on oak-shaded streets within walking distance of Stowe Park.
Catawba Heights
In-town
Established mill-era neighborhood north of downtown with its own elementary school.
North Belmont
Suburban
Larger-lot neighborhoods between downtown and Mount Holly, anchored by North Belmont Elementary.
South New Hope Corridor
New construction
The growth corridor running south from town toward the Conservancy and Lake Wylie.
05
Schools
Belmont Central Elementary
Elementary · Gaston County Schools
In-town elementary on Eagle Road serving the downtown and central Belmont blocks.
North Belmont Elementary
Elementary · Gaston County Schools
Serves the neighborhoods north of town toward Mount Holly.
Catawba Heights Elementary
Elementary · Gaston County Schools
Neighborhood school inside Catawba Heights, on Ivey Street.
Belmont Middle School
Middle · Gaston County Schools
The middle school for the Belmont Central, North Belmont, and Catawba Heights feeders.
South Point High School
High · Gaston County Schools
The Red Raiders — graduation rate in the mid-90s, a B state performance grade, and back-to-back state champion girls golf.
Stuart W. Cramer High School
High · Gaston County Schools
The Storm, on Lakewood Road with a Belmont address — roughly a 92% graduation rate and state titles in boys golf, wrestling, and track.
Belmont Abbey College
College · Private — Benedictine, Diocese of Charlotte region
Founded as a monastery in 1876 and chartered as a college in 1886; NCAA Division II Crusaders on a wooded campus off Belmont–Mt. Holly Road.
06
Parks & trails
Stowe Park
Park
The downtown green at 24 S Main Street — fountain, lawn, farmers market, Friday Night Live concerts, and nearly every festival on the calendar.
Kevin Loftin Riverfront Park
10 acres
Catawba River frontage on East Catawba Street with a kayak launch and dock, fishing pier, amphitheater, playground, and picnic shelters.
Rocky Branch Park
Park
Urban mountain-bike and hiking trail system on Sacco Street, a mile from Main Street and connected toward Cramerton via the Carolina Thread Trail.
Seven Oaks Preserve Trail
78 conserved acres
2.8 miles one way along the Lake Wylie shoreline, linking into the Conservancy's trails for a roughly five-mile loop.
Daniel Stowe Conservancy
380 acres
Formal gardens, an orchid conservatory, the Lost Hollow children's garden, and the Piedmont Prairie — opened in 1999 and rebranded from Daniel Stowe Botanical Garden in 2025.
07
Restaurants, cafés & breweries
Station
Restaurant
Bar and restaurant inside the 1915 Piedmont & Northern railway depot, with a patio looking onto Stowe Park.
Jekyll and Hyde Taphouse Grill
Pub
British-pub-style gastropub on Catawba Street — fish and chips, shepherd's pie, and a long draft list.
Bearded Buffalo
Pub
Casual burgers, screens, and a patio a block off Main.
Honeycomb Café
Café
Main Street brunch — the reliable Saturday-morning answer.
The Everyday Market
Café
European-style neighborhood coffee shop and café at 7 S Main Street.
Waterbean Coffee
Café
Downtown coffee, with Belmont Specialty Foods catering upstairs.
Cherub's Café
Café
Café operated by the nonprofit Holy Angels, employing adults with differing abilities.
Belmont Bookshop
Café
Independent bookshop and gathering space on Main Street.
Bumblebee Creamery
Sweets
Gelato at North Main Station — sixteen flavors and a line on summer evenings.
BoCha Bubble Tea
Sweets
Bubble tea shop downtown, and the reason teenagers walk to Main Street.
Primal Brewery — Belmont
Brewery
Ten-barrel brewhouse on Ervin Street since 2020, with a taproom, beer garden, and in-house pizza.
08
The annual calendar
Garibaldi Festival
April
Belmont's signature street festival, named for the railroad stop the town grew up around.
Farmers Market
Weekly, seasonal
Produce, flowers, and bakers in and around Stowe Park.
Friday Night Live
Spring through fall
Free concert series on the Stowe Park lawn.
Juneteenth Celebration
June
Community celebration downtown with music, food, and programming.
Red, White & Belmont
July 4
The town's Independence Day celebration.
Movies in the Park
Summer evenings
Family film nights on the Stowe Park lawn.
Belmont Literary Festival
Fall
Author talks and readings across downtown venues.
Festival of Trees
December
Stowe Park fills with decorated trees as the holiday season opens.
McAdenville Christmas Town USA
December
Not Belmont's own, but eight minutes west — the lights display that draws the whole region.
Questions & Answers
Belmont data — quick answers
Direct answers to what readers most often ask about this section of the guide. Each answer cites the primary source it rests on.
All Belmont questions →What is the Belmont Database?
+
A single searchable index of what this guide covers — named neighborhoods, schools, parks and trails, restaurants and breweries, events, and drive times — so a reader can check one fact without reading an essay.
Source: Carolina Thread Trail
Where does the data come from?
+
Primary and named sources: the City of Belmont, Gaston County GIS and Tax Office, Gaston County Schools, the state report cards, Duke Energy's lake management, the Carolina Thread Trail, the Conservancy, and the downtown association. Time-sensitive figures carry an as-of label.
How often is it updated?
+
Continuously as sources change, with market figures treated as the fastest-moving entries. Always verify pricing, assessment, and school assignment directly before making a decision on them.
Source: Gaston County Schools — assignment and school information
Topic Cluster
Belmont Background & Answers
How the town was made, where it sits, and the questions newcomers ask most.
The Belmont Guide — Belmont Background & Answers →Our Sources
How this page was researched
Every figure on this page carries an as-of date and comes from the primary authority named in the list below. Market data are period snapshots that move quarterly; tax rates are adopted annually; population is an annual Census estimate. Verify anything consequential with the issuing authority.
Read our full citation methodology and editorial standards- 01QuickFacts and American Community Survey — Belmont, NC
U.S. Census Bureau
Population, household, and housing characteristics.
- 02Assessed values and property tax rates
Gaston County Tax Office
Assessments, revaluation cycles, and combined tax rates.
- 03Parcel, plat, and property record lookup
Gaston County GIS
Lot sizes, parcel boundaries, ownership, and sale history.
- 04School assignment and school directory
Gaston County Schools
Assignment zones and school information for Belmont addresses.
- 05North Carolina School Report Cards
NC Department of Public Instruction
Independent performance data for assigned schools.
- 06Charlotte-region housing market reports
Canopy Realtor® Association / Canopy MLS
Regional price, inventory, and days-on-market trends.
- 07City of Belmont — services, planning, and public records
City of Belmont, North Carolina
Municipal boundaries, utilities, planning, and downtown programs.
- 08Gaston County government services
Gaston County, North Carolina
County services, inspections, and administrative records.
- 09Catawba-Wateree lake levels and shoreline management
Duke Energy
Lake Wylie levels, dock permitting, and shoreline rules.
- 10Parks, greenways, and recreation directory
Gaston County Parks & Recreation
Park amenities, boat access, and recreation programs.
- 11Visitor guides for Belmont and Gaston County
Gaston County Tourism
Dining, events, attractions, and things to do.
Figures such as pricing, assessments, and school assignment change over time. Always confirm current details directly with the source before making a decision.
Belmont Neighborhoods
Every named community in Belmont, compared street by street.
Continue →The Belmont Guide
The full table of contents for everything published here.
Continue →Things to Do in Belmont NC
A weekend's worth of river, garden, Main Street, and nearby Charlotte.
Continue →Belmont Schools
Gaston County assignments, private options, and South Point High.
Continue →