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Welcome to Altoona ...

The city of Altoona is located in Polk County<1>.


The location of Altoona has been provided by the Geographic Names Information System (ie- the GNIS).<2>


Altoona was established in 1876.

When the people of Altoona refer to themselves (known as a demonym), they frequently use Altoonan<3>

From the  Census Estimates for 2019, Altoona has a population of 19,272 people<4> (see below for details).

The community of Altoona is 920 feet [280 m] above sea level.<5>.

Time Zone: Altoona lies in the Central Time Zone (CST/CDT) and observes daylight saving time

Altoona is within the (515) area code.

The ZIP code for Altoona: 50009<6>

Websites for Altoona ...

Official Website:   www.altoona-iowa.com/

Chamber of Commerce:   www.altoonachamber.org/

Population Details ...

Taken from the 2019 Census Estimates, Altoona had an population of 19,272 people. This is an increase of 32.54% since the 2010 Census (or an increase of 86.29% since the 2000 Census).

At the time of the 2010 Census, Altoona had a population of 14,541 people. This makes Altoona the county's 7th most populous community.

The population of Altoona represents 0.48% of the total population of Iowa (which has 3,046,355 people), making it the state's 28th most populous community.

With a 2010 count of 14,541 people, the population of Altoona increased 40.56% from the 2000 Census (which had a count of 10,345 people).

More information can be found on the Census Page for Altoona.

Communities Also Named Altoona ...

Using our Gazetteer, we found that there are 10 communities that are also named Altoona - they are located in Alabama, Florida, Kansas, Louisiana, Minnesota, Ohio, Pennsylvania, South Dakota, Washington and Wisconsin.

For more information, see our Tidbits & Trivia Page for Altoona.

Communities near Altoona ...

We have created a list of 10 communities that are near Altoona.

  • Des Moines
    (8 miles [12.9 km] to the southwest)
  • Ankeny
    (8 miles [12.9 km] to the northwest)
    • Note: The GPS coordinates that we are using for Ankeny have been provided by the GNIS.<2> The coordinates still need to be verified.
    • Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Ankeny
    • Ankeny is located in Polk County
    • Population from the 2020 Census: 70,068 people
    • Jump to TripAdvisor's Tourism page for Ankeny <7>
  • West Des Moines
    (16 miles [25.7 km] to the west)
    • Note: The GPS coordinates that we are using for West Des Moines have been provided by the GNIS.<2> The coordinates still need to be verified.
    • Jump to our Gazetteer entry for West Des Moines
    • West Des Moines is located in Polk County
    • Population from the 2020 Census: 69,057 people
    • Jump to TripAdvisor's Tourism page for West Des Moines <7>
  • Urbandale
    (15 miles [24.1 km] to the west)
    • Note: The GPS coordinates that we are using for Urbandale have been provided by the GNIS.<2> The coordinates still need to be verified.
    • Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Urbandale
    • Urbandale is located in Polk County
    • Population from the 2020 Census: 44,650 people
    • Jump to TripAdvisor's Tourism page for Urbandale <7>
  • Johnston
    (12 miles [19.3 km] to the west)
    • Note: The GPS coordinates that we are using for Johnston have been provided by the GNIS.<2> The coordinates still need to be verified.
    • Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Johnston
    • Johnston is located in Polk County
    • Population from the 2020 Census: 23,092 people
    • Jump to TripAdvisor's Tourism page for Johnston <7>
  • Clive
    (16 miles [25.7 km] to the west)
    • Note: The GPS coordinates that we are using for Clive have been provided by the GNIS.<2> The coordinates still need to be verified.
    • Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Clive
    • Clive is located in Polk County
    • Population from the 2020 Census: 17,444 people
    • Jump to TripAdvisor's Tourism page for Clive <7>
  • Grimes
    (16 miles [25.7 km] to the west)
  • Norwalk
    (15 miles [24.1 km] to the southwest)
    • Note: The GPS coordinates that we are using for Norwalk have been provided by the GNIS.<2> The coordinates still need to be verified.
    • Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Norwalk
    • Norwalk is located in Polk County
    • Population from the 2020 Census: 12,449 people
    • Jump to TripAdvisor's Tourism page for Norwalk <7>
  • Polk City
    (14 miles [22.5 km] to the northwest)
  • Windsor Heights
    (12 miles [19.3 km] to the west)
    • Note: The GPS coordinates that we are using for Windsor Heights have been provided by the GNIS.<2> The coordinates still need to be verified.
    • Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Windsor Heights
    • Windsor Heights is located in Polk County
    • Population from the 2020 Census: 4,735 people
    • Jump to TripAdvisor's Tourism page for Windsor Heights <7>

To Help With Your Genealogy Research ...

We have a couple of sections for those tracing their genealogy.

We created a list of cemeteries that are in the area around Altoona. Our list includes the location of those cemeteries and we provide an overhead view. See our Cemetery List for Altoona.

Using the information from an 1895 Atlas, we've created a list of communities that were in the area of Altoona. Our list includes information such as whether the 1895 community had a post office or railroad service. See our List of 1890's Communities around Altoona.

We also have a detailed list of newspapers that have been published in the area around Altoona. See our Newspapers Page for Altoona.

TripAdvisor Tourism Pages for Altoona ...

Looking for more information about Altoona? A wonderful source is the TripAdvisor website. We always start with the TripAdvisor Tourism page, where you can read an overview with links that will help you find lodging, restaurants and attractions.

In addition to the Tourism page for Altoona, there are neighboring communities that also have Tourism pages. More information about those communities can be found on our TripAdvisor Page for Altoona.

Adding Altoona to Our Gazetteer ...

We originally found mention of Altoona in both the FIPS-55 and the GNIS. For more information, see the FIPS and GNIS Codes sections on our Miscellaneous Page.

From our notes, the earliest published mention we've found for Altoona was in the document titled List of Post Offices from Cameron Blevins and Richard Helbock.<8>

From that list, the Altoona post office opened in 1868.

We also found Altoona in the book titled List of Post Offices in the United States (1870).

For more details, see References and Mentions for Altoona.

The official website for Altoona: www.altoona-iowa.com/

The official website for Polk County: www.co.polk.ia.us/

The official website for State of Iowa: https://www.iowa.gov/

Footnotes ...

<1>If you're interested in how the shape of Iowa's counties, including Polk, have changed over time, we recommend the Atlas of Historical County Boundaries.
<2>The location has been supplied by the Geographic Names Information System - which is maintained by the U.S. Geological Survey (USGS). While these values should be definitive, we found that accuracy can vary and you should double-check the location if accuracy is required.
<3>A demonym is the name for a resident of a community which is usually derived from (or is related to) the name of that community. In other words, it's how the residents of Altoona refer to themselves. It's important to note that there aren't any rules for taking a city's name and turning it into a demonym. A demonym is informal and while the majority of Altoona may use one name, keep in mind that others may use something different.
<4>Population counts have been provided by the U.S. Census Bureau. For more detail, please visit our Census Page for Altoona.
<5>The elevation is an estimate for the area around Altoona - it will be higher in some places and lower in others.
<6>ZIP Codes have been created by the United States Postal Service (USPS) as a way of grouping addresses to make delivery more efficient. The boundaries of the ZIP Code can be changed, re-assigned, eliminated or overlapped with other ZIP Codes. So keep in mind that any given ZIP Code is only 'loosely' associated with a city (such as Altoona). When looking for a ZIP Code, whether Altoona or elsewhere, it's always best to check the website of the United States Postal Service (USPS).
<7>While we're fans and frequent users of TripAdvisor, you should know that we're also members of the TripAdvisor affiliate program.
<8>A copy of their list with background information can be found at:

      https://cblevins.github.io/us-post-offices/data-biography/









 

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This page was last modified/updated: 10 Mar 2024