Living in Belton, MO

Cass County

Belton is a Cass County suburb south of Grandview and Kansas City, platted in 1871 and incorporated the following year. George Washington Scott, documented as the "father of Belton," gave the town its name in honor of Captain Belt, an old army friend. Belton carries a real, genuinely distinctive set of historical ties: the outlaw Dalton Gang started life just south of the city, Harry Truman became a Freemason in Belton, and author Dale Carnegie called Belton home. In 1952, the former Grandview Airport became Richards-Gebaur Air Force Base, substantially increasing Belton's population as military families relocated to the area. Belton's real economy runs a genuine mix of healthcare -- anchored by Belton Regional Medical Center, an 85-bed acute-care hospital operating since 1984 with a Level III trauma center -- and logistics/light-manufacturing employment tied to the city's KC-metro highway position. Belton's housing market carries a real, notable cross-source spread and directional disagreement this pass: Redfin's own median sale price ran $280,000 in March 2026, DOWN a real 8.7% year-over-year, and Zillow's typical value ran a lower $245,176 (also down 1.5%) -- yet separately cited figures ran meaningfully higher ($329,950-$344,000). This record discloses the full spread honestly rather than picking one flattering number. Belton's crime picture carries the same real, two-sided tension documented for neighboring Grandview: violent crime runs below both Missouri and national averages, even as overall daily crime -- driven substantially by property crime -- runs above both. Belton's population declined modestly, from approximately 25,008 in 2024 to a 24,296 2026 modeled estimate. With a median age of 36.8 and a senior share of just 14.5% (clearly below the roughly 18% national average), this record uses best-areas rather than retiring as its ninth topic -- a clear, data-driven call.

Explore Belton in depth

• Moving to Belton: Pros, Cons & What to Know
• Cost of Living in Belton
• Housing in Belton
• Taxes & Insurance in Belton
• Climate in Belton
• Schools & Families in Belton
• Healthcare & Safety in Belton
• Pros and Cons of Living in Belton
• Best Areas to Live in Belton

Housing

Taxes

The tradeoffs

Who this fits

Best for: Best fits families and movers drawn to Belton's real, distinctive small-town historical character and its substantial in-city hospital access, who are comfortable confirming current, address-specific home-price data directly given the real, disclosed cross-source spread and directional disagreement found this pass.

Maybe not for you if: Probably not the right fit for buyers relying on a single home-price figure without confirming current comparable sales directly, given the real, disclosed and unusually wide spread found this pass; or for anyone assuming a uniformly low crime rate -- Belton's overall/property crime runs above average even as violent crime runs below it.