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Belmont is a late 19th Century neighborhood consisting primarily of two "1890's era subdivisions, "Belmont" and "Carlton". It forms the southeast corner of the City and is bounded by the CSX Railway on the North, Moore's Creek on the South and East and 6th Street on the West. The neighborhood serves as a significant entrance to the City from Monticello and the Visitor's Center as it is easily accessible to I-64 by way of Monticello Avenue (Route 20). Consequently, Belmont also serves as a "gateway" to the Downtown area with Monticello Ave/Avon Street leading across the Belmont Bridge over the CSX railway to the eastern end of the Downtown Mall. With its rolling topography and setting, Belmont affords excellent views of both the Downtown and the surrounding mountains. The neighborhood development is characterized by a mixture of housing ranging from the late 19th/early 20th Century homes of the original subdivisions to a continuous span of housing types on up to the present time. Most of this is arranged in a tight street grid pattern with houses on narrow lots and closer to the street in a way that promotes a strong sense of community. The commercial areas are mainly concentrated along Carlton Avenue from "Downtown Belmont" east to Broadway, along Monticello Road, and in the southeast corner at Monticello Road, Linden Avenue and Quarry Road. The neighborhood has four main recreation areas: Belmont Park at Druid and Rialto; Quarry Park at Monticello Avenue and Quarry Road; Rives Park at Rives Street; and the Clark School property between Belmont Avenue and Monticello Avenue.

The county estate "Belmont" was originally the prosperous farm estate of John M. Carr, who was the nephew of Dabney Carr, the boyhood friend of Thomas Jefferson. John Carr was the Clerk of the District Court of Charlottesville at the time and became the first Clerk of the Circuit Court of Albemarle County. Carr died in 1823. Dr. Charles D. Everett was the next owner of the country estate, which adjoined Edgehill and was located near Keswick. Dr. Everett was physician to Thomas Jefferson as well as the private secretary to James Monroe. Everett died in 1848, freeing his slaves and providing for their settlement in Pennsylvania. From this farm, the Belmont Mansion got its name. Belmont Mansion in the city, built circa 1837 and originally owned by John Winn, was later the home of Slaughter W. Fichlin who died in 1886. Belmont (with "Carlton") is now one of Charlottesville's southern suburbs. The old house has been transformed into apartments, which still stand at 759 Belmont Avenue. The original front with columns is obscured by the building of the Hinton Avenue Methodist Church. The estate originally faced Hinton Avenue. The neighborhood of Belmont grew with the building of the Old Belmont Bridge in 1905 which connected East Seventh Street to Avon Street over the C & O railroad tracks. This bridge stood until 1961 when it was replaced by the New Belmont Bridge that connected Ninth Street and Avon Avenue.

Belmont neighborhood has been a Community Development Block Grant target neighborhood since the early 1970's. Since then the neighborhood has been the subject of several studies by the city, the latest being the Belmont Neighborhood Study by LDR International, Inc. This led to its designation as a priority neighborhood for improvements from 1996-1999, which resulted in various sources of money for such enhancements as: new paved crosswalks; street trees and planters in "Downtown Belmont"; major reconstruction of Belmont Park; sidewalks and home improvements, to name a few.