Altoona is a somewhat small town located in the state of Alabama. With a population of 7,780 people and two constituent neighborhoods, Altoona is the 85th largest community in Alabama.

Because occupations involving physical labor dominate the local economy, Altoona is generally considered to be a blue-collar town. 48.5% of the Altoona workforce is employed in blue-collar occupations, compared to the national average of 24.7%. Overall, Altoona is a town of construction workers and builders, sales and office workers, and production and manufacturing workers. There are especially a lot of people living in Altoona who work in office and administrative support jobs (11.41%), sales jobs (8.32%), and food service (4.50%).

One downside of living in Altoona is that it can take a long time to commute to work. In Altoona, the average commute to work is 37.99 minutes, which is quite a bit higher than the national average.

Altoona is a small town, and as is often the case with smaller towns, the population isn't large or dense enough to support much in the way of a public transportation system. In fact, there are many rural roads around Altoona, which makes walking or biking to and from work a bit difficult. This makes for a very car-oriented town: 97.73% of residents commute to work by private automobile, and people often drive out of town for work, shopping, and other activities.

As is often the case in a small town, Altoona doesn't have a public transportation system that people use for their commute.

Altoona Information and Demographics

In terms of college education, Altoona ranks among the least educated cities in the nation, as only 7.51% of people over 25 have a bachelor's degree or advanced degree.

The per capita income in Altoona in 2000 was $13,590, which is lower middle income relative to Alabama and the nation. This equates to an annual income of $54,360 for a family of four.

The people who call Altoona home come from a variety of different races and ancestries. The most prevalent race in Altoona is White, followed by Native American. Important ancestries of people in Altoona include Irish, English, and German.

The most common language spoken in Altoona is English. Some people also speak Spanish.