Welcome to Altoona ...
The city of Altoona is located in Blair County<1>.
Altoona was established in 1849.
When the people of Altoona refer to themselves (known as a demonym), they frequently use Altoonan<2>
From the Census Estimates for 2019, Altoona has a population of 43,399 people<3> (see below for details).
The community of Altoona is 1,190 feet [363 m] above sea level.<4>.
Time Zone: Altoona lies in the Eastern Time Zone (EST/EDT) and observes daylight saving time
The area code for Altoona: (814)
The ZIP code for Altoona: 16602<5>
Websites for Altoona ...
Official Website: www.altoonapa.gov/
Chamber of Commerce: www.blairchamber.com/
Population Details ...
Taken from the 2019 Census Estimates, Altoona had an population of 43,399 people. This is a decrease of 6.31% since the 2010 Census (or a decrease of 12.37% since the 2000 Census).
At the time of the 2010 Census, Altoona had a population of 46,320 people (which is 36.45% of the total population of Blair County). This makes Altoona the county's most populous community.
The population of Altoona represents 0.36% of the population of Pennsylvania (which has 12,702,379 people), making it the state's 10th most populous community.
With a 2010 count of 46,320 people, the population of Altoona decreased 6.47% from the 2000 Census (which had a count of 49,523 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, Iowa, Kansas, Louisiana, Minnesota, Ohio, 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.
- Hollidaysburg
(6 miles [9.7 km] to the south)- Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Hollidaysburg
- Hollidaysburg is located in Blair County
- Population from the 2020 Census: 5,632 people
- Jump to TripAdvisor's Tourism page for Hollidaysburg <6>
- Tyrone
(13 miles [20.9 km] to the northeast)- Note: The GPS coordinates that we are using for Tyrone have been provided by the GNIS.<7> The coordinates still need to be verified.
- Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Tyrone
- Tyrone is located in Blair County
- Population from the 2020 Census: 5,095 people
- Jump to TripAdvisor's Tourism page for Tyrone <6>
- Ebensburg
(17 miles [27.4 km] to the west)- Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Ebensburg
- Ebensburg is located in Cambria County
- Population from the 2020 Census: 3,015 people
- Jump to TripAdvisor's Tourism page for Ebensburg <6>
- Roaring Spring
(12 miles [19.3 km] to the south)- Note: The GPS coordinates that we are using for Roaring Spring have been provided by the GNIS.<7> The coordinates still need to be verified.
- Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Roaring Spring
- Roaring Spring is located in Blair County
- Population from the 2020 Census: 2,399 people
- Jump to TripAdvisor's Tourism page for Roaring Spring <6>
- Portage
(17 miles [27.4 km] to the southwest)- Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Portage
- Portage is located in Cambria County
- Population from the 2020 Census: 2,351 people
- Jump to TripAdvisor's Tourism page for Portage <6>
- Martinsburg
(14 miles [22.5 km] to the south)- Note: The GPS coordinates that we are using for Martinsburg have been provided by the GNIS.<7> The coordinates still need to be verified.
- Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Martinsburg
- Martinsburg is located in Blair County
- Population from the 2020 Census: 1,858 people
- Jump to TripAdvisor's Tourism page for Martinsburg <6>
- Bellwood
(6 miles [9.7 km] to the northeast)- Note: The GPS coordinates that we are using for Bellwood have been provided by the GNIS.<7> The coordinates still need to be verified.
- Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Bellwood
- Bellwood is located in Blair County
- Population from the 2020 Census: 1,751 people
- Jump to TripAdvisor's Tourism page for Bellwood <6>
- Patton
(15 miles [24.1 km] to the northwest)- Note: The GPS coordinates that we are using for Patton have been provided by the GNIS.<7> The coordinates still need to be verified.
- Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Patton
- Patton is located in Cambria County
- Population from the 2020 Census: 1,576 people
- Jump to TripAdvisor's Tourism page for Patton <6>
- Cresson
(10 miles [16.1 km] to the west)- Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Cresson
- Cresson is located in Cambria County
- Population from the 2020 Census: 1,531 people
- Jump to TripAdvisor's Tourism page for Cresson <6>
- Gallitzin
(7 miles [11.3 km] to the west)- Note: The GPS coordinates that we are using for Gallitzin have been provided by the GNIS.<7> The coordinates still need to be verified.
- Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Gallitzin
- Gallitzin is located in Cambria County
- Population from the 2020 Census: 1,514 people
- Jump to TripAdvisor's Tourism page for Gallitzin <6>
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. Our list includes 34 papers. 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 1850.
We also found Altoona in the book titled Table of U.S. Post Offices in the United States (Jan. 1851).
For more details, see References and Mentions for Altoona.
Off-the-Road Links ...
The official website for Altoona: www.altoonapa.gov/
The official website for State of Pennsylvania: https://www.pa.gov/
Footnotes ...
| <1> | If you're interested in how the shape of Pennsylvania's counties, including Blair, have changed over time, we recommend the Atlas of Historical County Boundaries. |
| <2> | 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. |
| <3> | Population counts have been provided by the U.S. Census Bureau. For more detail, please visit our Census Page for Altoona. |
| <4> | The elevation is an estimate for the area around Altoona - it will be higher in some places and lower in others. |
| <5> | 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). |
| <6> | While we're fans and frequent users of TripAdvisor, you should know that we're also members of the TripAdvisor affiliate program. |
| <7> | 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. |
| <8> | A copy of their list with background information can be found at: https://cblevins.github.io/us-post-offices/data-biography/ |