Welcome to Altoona ...
The city of Altoona is located in Eau Claire County<1>.
The location of Altoona has been provided by the Geographic Names Information System (ie- the GNIS).<2>
While we don't have a date for the founding of Altoona, you might consider that their post office opened in 1882.
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 7,860 people<4> (see below for details).
Altoona is 890 feet [271 m] above sea level.<5>.
Time Zone: Altoona lies in the Central Time Zone (CST/CDT) and observes daylight saving time
Area codes for Altoona: (715) & (534)<6>
Websites for Altoona ...
Official Website: www.ci.altoona.wi.us/
Population Details ...
Taken from the 2019 Census Estimates, Altoona had an population of 7,860 people. This is an increase of 17.21% since the 2010 Census (or an increase of 17.35% since the 2000 Census).
At the time of the 2010 Census, Altoona had a population of 6,706 people (or 6.79% of the total population of Eau Claire County). This makes Altoona the county's 3rd most populous community.
The population of Altoona represents 0.12% of the population of Wisconsin (which has 5,686,986 people), making it the state's 143rd most populous community.
With a 2010 count of 6,706 people, the population of Altoona has remained roughly the same as the 2000 Census (which had a count of 6,698 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, Pennsylvania, South Dakota and Washington.
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.
- Chippewa Falls
(9 miles [14.5 km] to the north)- Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Chippewa Falls
- Chippewa Falls is located in Chippewa County
- Population from the 2020 Census: 14,407 people
- Lake Hallie
(6 miles [9.7 km] to the north)- Note: The GPS coordinates that we are using for Lake Hallie have been provided by the GNIS.<2> The coordinates still need to be verified.
- Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Lake Hallie
- Lake Hallie is located in Chippewa County
- Population from the 2020 Census: 6,779 people
- Mondovi
(19 miles [30.6 km] to the southwest) - Osseo
(19 miles [30.6 km] to the southeast) - Augusta
(17 miles [27.4 km] to the southeast) - Cadott
(17 miles [27.4 km] to the northeast) - Fall Creek
(8 miles [12.9 km] to the east)- Note: The GPS coordinates that we are using for Fall Creek have been provided by the GNIS.<2> The coordinates still need to be verified.
- Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Fall Creek
- Fall Creek is located in Eau Claire County
- Population from the 2020 Census: 1,291 people
- Colfax
(19 miles [30.6 km] to the northwest) - Strum
(17 miles [27.4 km] to the south)- Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Strum
- Strum is located in Trempealeau County
- Population from the 2020 Census: 1,071 people
- Elk Mound
(12 miles [19.3 km] to the west)
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.
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.<7>
From that list, the Altoona post office opened in 1882.
We also found Altoona in the book titled Business Atlas and Shippers' Guide (1895).
For more details, see References and Mentions for Altoona.
Off-the-Road Links ...
The official website for Altoona: www.ci.altoona.wi.us/
The official website for Eau Claire County: www.co.eau-claire.wi.us/
The official website for State of Wisconsin: https://www.wisconsin.gov/
Footnotes ...
| <1> | If you're interested in how the shape of Wisconsin's counties, including Eau Claire, 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> | Area code (534) is an overlay for area code (715). |
| <7> | A copy of their list with background information can be found at: https://cblevins.github.io/us-post-offices/data-biography/ |