Altoona is a medium-sized city located in the state of Iowa. With a population of 21,503 people and four associated neighborhoods, Altoona is the 27th largest community in Iowa. Much of the housing stock in Altoona was built relatively recently. The construction of new real estate can often be taken as an indication that the local Altoona economy is robust, and that jobs or other amenities are attracting an influx of new residents. This seems to be the case in Altoona, where the median household income is $89,100.00.

Altoona real estate is some of the most expensive in Iowa, although Altoona house values don't compare to the most expensive real estate in the U.S.

Also of interest is that Altoona has more people living here who work in computers and math than 95% of the places in the US.

A relatively large number of people in Altoona telecommute to their jobs. Overall, about 10.46% of the workforce works from home. While this may seem like a small number, as a fraction of the total workforce it ranks among the highest in the country. These workers are often telecommuters who work in knowledge-based, white-collar professions. For example, Silicon Valley has large numbers of people who telecommute. Other at-home workers may be self-employed people who operate small businesses out of their homes.

In terms of college education, Altoona is substantially better educated than the typical community in the nation, which has 21.84% of the adults holding a bachelor's degree or graduate degree: 32.57% of adults in Altoona have a college degree.

The per capita income in Altoona in 2018 was $41,206, which is wealthy relative to Iowa, and upper middle income relative to the rest of the US. This equates to an annual income of $164,824 for a family of four. However, Altoona contains both very wealthy and poor people as well.

Altoona is a somewhat ethnically-diverse city. The people who call Altoona home describe themselves as belonging to a variety of racial and ethnic groups. The greatest number of Altoona residents report their race to be White, followed by Black or African-American. Important ancestries of people in Altoona include German, English, Irish, Dutch, and European.

The most common language spoken in Altoona is English. Other important languages spoken here include Italian and Spanish.