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, however, is that residents on average have to contend with a long commute, spending on average 37.99 minutes every day commuting to work.

Altoona is very much a car-oriented town. This is because the population of Altoona isn't large enough or dense enough to support an extensive public transit system. It has a lot of rural roads, and the distance between houses can be quite large, which together tends to discourage walking and bicycling to work. 97.73% of residents commute to work in their own car (and the drive is typically to a job out of town). People also tend to drive out of town for other services as well, such as shopping, doctors appointments, and more.

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.