Altoona, Iowa

Population

Growing. Up 15.5% since 2020.

22,796

people, the 26th-largest of Iowa's cities and towns.

Census Population Estimates, 2025. Rank among Iowa's cities and towns computed by the Almanac. Sources: Census Population Estimates

The workday

9 in 10 jobs here go to people who live somewhere else.

89.5%

of 10,440 jobs located in Altoona are filled by in-commuters.

Census LEHD LODES, 2023. Sources: Census LEHD LODES

Rent

Median rent is up 78% since the 2005–2009 survey, before inflation.

$1,235

a month. Iowa's median is $972.

Census ACS 5-year, 2020-2024 (latest), with earlier 5-year windows. Sources: Census ACS 5-year

The seam

Cross one tract line and median rent doubles.

A $925 gap between neighbors, the sharpest rent edge between adjacent tracts in Polk County.

• $736 Tract 102.07
• $1,661 Tract 102.15

Census ACS 5-year, 2020-2024, adjacent tracts compared by the Almanac. Tract estimates carry wide margins of error. Sources: Census ACS 5-year

Room to build

The median rent sits inside what local wages can carry.

$930–$1,395

is the monthly rent range local workforce wages support.

• $1,235 median

Supportable rent computed by the Almanac from 2023 source wage data. Median rent: Census ACS 5-year, 2020-2024. Sources: Computed by the Almanac, Census ACS 5-year

Building

53% of the housing here was built before 2000.

• 2,625 homes permitted in ten years, 2016–2025
• 32% of those were in multifamily buildings
• 53% of all homes were built before 2000

Census Building Permits Survey, 2016–2025; Census ACS 5-year, 2020-2024. Sources: Census Building Permits Survey, Census ACS 5-year

Units needed

Closing the gap would add 0.3–1.2% to the 8,773 homes here.

30–104

is the estimated number of missing housing units, from the lowest to the highest of three estimates.

Range computed by the Almanac from 2023 jobs and household data, using three demand models: 1% of jobs located here, 1% of renter households, and a rate by town size applied to renters. The low end is the lowest of the three and the high end the highest. It is an estimate, not a count. Sources: Computed by the Almanac

Home value

A median home costs 32% more than Iowa's.

$274,600

median home value in Altoona.

• $274,600 Altoona
• $208,000 Iowa
• $332,700 U.S.

Census ACS 5-year, 2020-2024. Sources: Census ACS 5-year