Living in Altoona, PA
Small city in Pennsylvania
Altoona is a small city in Pennsylvania, home to about 44,000 people, with 195,000 living within 31 mi. Day to day, much of daily life is walkable. Life moves at a moderate pace, and homes are mostly houses.
Is Altoona a good place to live? Pros and cons
👍 Pros
- Affordable housing: a typical 3-bedroom home is about $151k and rents for $1,460 a month
- Mild summers: highs around 80°F
- Low natural disaster risk: 5 federally declared disasters since 2000
- Strong healthcare: 2 top-rated (4–5★) hospitals within 31 mi
👎 Cons
- Smaller job market: about 195,000 people live within 31 mi
- Fewer family amenities than most places
- Fewer graduates: 20% of adults have a bachelor's degree or higher
- Cloudier than most places
Whether it's a good place for you depends on what you value. Take the quiz to see how Altoona ranks against your own priorities.
Key facts
Living in Altoona: common questions
What is the cost of living in Altoona?
A typical 3-bedroom home is worth about $151k, and a 3-bedroom rents for about $1,460 a month including utilities. Overall living costs are below the US average (index 90, where the US is 100).
What are taxes like in Altoona?
Pennsylvania collects about $1,376 in state income tax per resident, and homeowners here pay about 1.18% of their home's value in property tax each year.
Is Altoona safe?
Violent crime is well above the national rate (1.6× in FBI 2019 data).
What is the weather like in Altoona?
Altoona has cold winters: winter days average around 36°F and summer days around 80°F, with roughly 38″ of snow a year.
Does Altoona get natural disasters?
Natural disaster risk is low, mainly from flooding: 5 federally declared disasters have hit the county since 2000, and FEMA expects about 0.24 deaths or injuries per 100,000 residents a year.
What is the nearest major airport to Altoona?
The nearest major airport is PIT, about 96 mi away.
How Altoona scores
Each bar compares Altoona with the other 1143 places in Best Life Fit Me. A dot shows where it sits between two ends, such as major metro and small town; neither end is better. Coloured bars run from poor (red) to excellent (green).
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Is Altoona right for you?
Answer 27 quick questions and see how it ranks against your priorities.