Photo: No machine-readable author provided. Autoshade~commonswiki assumed (based on copyright claims). · CC BY-SA 3.0For about two in five of its working residents, Altoona is a commute to Eau Claire
The average commute takes 18 minutes each way, next to 22 for Wisconsin and 26 for the U.S. For jobs and income Altoona is better than 62% of U.S. towns (B); for walkability it is more walkable than 66% of U.S. towns (B+). About one in ten work in Altoona; the top destination outside it is Eau Claire (44%, 3 miles).
Census ACS 2020–24, Census LEHD 2024, EPA Smart Location Database. How the two grades are made
The work figures that set Altoona apart
Altoona has added jobs fast
Jobs based in Altoona went from 2,988 in 2014 to 5,041 in 2024, +69%. The jobs ↓
Most Altoona residents work close to home
67% of working residents have their main job less than 10 miles from home, about two in three. How far ↓
Written from the Census figures on this page. Commute flows, distances and jobs are Census LEHD 2024, primary jobs only (the self-employed aren’t counted); commute time and working from home are from the Census American Community Survey; a jump in jobs can partly be a big employer changing how it reports its locations.
How the Jobs & income grade adds up in Altoona
Unemployment holds Altoona’s grade up (2.8%, U.S. 5.2%); the poverty rate pulls it down (13.1%, U.S. 12.5%). It also does well on household income and job access by car.
A rough placement. Within the Census margins of error for income, poverty and unemployment, Altoona could be anywhere from C+ to A−.
65% of the jobs in Altoona pay over $3,333 a month
5,041 jobs are based in Altoona.
What kind of work
What it pays
Who does it
Jobs based in Altoona, 2014 → 2024: 2,988 → 5,041. Big swings can come from how a large employer reports its locations, not only from real openings or closings.
Primary jobs covered by unemployment insurance (not the self-employed). Pay is monthly earnings. LEHD 2024.
Here is what they are, next to the jobs Altoona’s own residents hold wherever they work.
Where in the region Altoona works
About 19% show a job over 50 miles away. Some of that is real, and some is employers that report every worker at a head office, so a few long commutes are on paper only.
Straight-line distance from each worker’s home block to their main job’s block. LEHD 2024.
Every working resident’s trip, home to work, as the crow flies. Roads add to it, so real drives run longer.
Who leaves Altoona for work, and who comes in
On a workday 3,292 residents head out to work, 363 work right here, and 4,678 people come in from elsewhere.
About 11,000 people are in Altoona on a workday afternoon, 15% more than live here.
About as many jobs as working residents (1.38 per resident).
Workday population = residents − those who work elsewhere + those who come in (the Census “commuter-adjusted” method). Residents: Census survey; commuters: LEHD 2024, primary jobs.
Out of Altoona to work: where people go
Where Altoona clocks in
5% of workersLines run between town centers. The top 10 towns each way; “Everywhere else” is the rest, including other states.
A thicker line means more commuters. Switch between where residents work and where the people who work here live.
Getting to work from Altoona takes about 18 minutes
Round trip, about 230 workdays a year: roughly 5.8 full days in the car, bus or train.
Average commute minutes, one way
of Altoona workers work from home, vs 13% across Wisconsin. Their commute is the hallway.
Share of the 4,106 commuters (the 12% who work from home are left out). Across Wisconsin: 86% drive alone, 1% take transit; U.S.: 81% and 4%. Census ACS 2020–24.
From the Census survey of workers who don’t work from home.
In Altoona, most people drive to work
The street layout scores higher than the way people actually get to work: 2.0% of commuters walk, bike or take transit, below the 4.8% across Wisconsin.
A firm grade. EPA’s index has no published margin of error; the commuting share comes from a Census survey of 4,669 workers.
How TownRatings grades walkability →
Transit service: no data. EPA’s transit file has no stops for most of this county (its agencies had not published schedules in the format EPA used in 2020). That is missing data, not a finding that there is no bus or train.
Households without a car (shown, not graded). 8.4% of Altoona households have no vehicle (Wisconsin 6.4%, U.S. 8.4%). 1% of Altoona’s commuters take a bus or train.
How Altoona ranks: 1,343rd of 2,806 U.S. towns of 6,600 to 12,700
| # | Town | People | Household income | Poverty | Unemployment | Work in town | Grade |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| 1 | Des Peres MO | 9,102 | $224K | 2.0% | 0.5% | 5% | A+ |
| 2 | Beverly Hills MI | 10,449 | $177K | 1.7% | 1.6% | 3% | A+ |
| 3 | Ladue MO | 8,934 | $250K | 1.1% | 1.7% | 5% | A+ |
| … | |||||||
| 36 | Waukesha WI | 8,507 | $131K | 3.0% | 1.2% | 1% | A+ |
| … | |||||||
| 53 | Genesee WI | 7,235 | $119K | 3.3% | 0.5% | 2% | A+ |
| … | |||||||
| 65 | Vernon WI | 7,464 | $120K | 3.0% | 1.4% | 3% | A+ |
| … | |||||||
| 1,341 | Southampton Township NJ | 10,563 | $98K | 6.8% | 9.1% | 6% | B |
| 1,342 | Cumberland Township PA | 7,219 | $83K | 7.3% | 3.5% | 7% | B |
| 1,343 | Altoona WI | 9,376 | $85K | 13.1% | 2.8% | 10% | B |
| 1,344 | Helena Valley West Central MT | 8,056 | $90K | 7.1% | 3.8% | 3% | B |
| 1,345 | North Syracuse NY | 6,773 | $71K | 9.2% | 3.8% | 6% | B |
| … | |||||||
| 2,806 | Shiprock NM | 7,610 | $36K | 34.6% | 14.9% | 6% | D− |
Census ACS 2020–24 (income, poverty, unemployment), Census LEHD (work in town), TownRatings Jobs & income grades. Each town links to its Work & commute page.
Ranked on the Jobs & income grade: the towns either side of Altoona, the top three, the last and three more from Wisconsin.
47% of Altoona works in a town next door
Average commute minutes, one way
Jobs & commute next door
| Town | Altoona workers there | Jobs & income | Walkability | Commute | Household income |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| Altoona | – | B | B+ | 18 min | $84,552 |
| Washington | 3% | A | C+ | 18 min | $109,984 |
| Eau Claire | 44% | B− | A− | 17 min | $67,395 |
| Seymour | under 2% | A | C | 19 min | $107,436 |
Same-state neighbors only. Commute: average minutes each way, Census ACS 2020–24.
The biggest share goes to Eau Claire. Darker towns draw more of Altoona’s workers. Tap a town to see its commute.
What this data can and can’t tell you
- Two sources, two years. Trips, distances and jobs based here: Census LEHD 2024, primary jobs, where the employer reports them. Income, poverty, unemployment, commute time and how people travel: Census ACS 2020–24 averages.
- Straight lines, older transit. Miles are as the crow flies. EPA’s walkability and transit files use 2017–20 inputs.
Jobs and commuting in Altoona: questions
What is the median household income in Altoona?
$84,552 (±$6,340) (Census ACS 2020–24), against $77,485 across Wisconsin and $80,734 nationally.
What is the poverty rate in Altoona?
13.1%, against 10.6% across Wisconsin and 12.5% nationally (Census ACS 2020–24).
How long is the commute from Altoona?
18 minutes each way on average, against 22 across Wisconsin and 26 nationally. 12% of workers work from home.
Where do people who live in Altoona work?
10% work in town.
Is Altoona walkable?
Altoona is more walkable than 66% of U.S. towns (Walkability B+): an EPA walkability index of 8.7 out of 20, and 2% of commuters walk, bike or take transit.
Can you get around Altoona without a car?
1% of commuters take transit and 8% of households have no car. EPA has no transit data for this county.
Commuter talk
Getting to work from Altoona, from the people who make the trip.
More of Altoona
Flows, distances and jobs: U.S. Census Bureau, LEHD Origin-Destination Employment Statistics (LODES 8), 2024, primary jobs. Commute time, working from home and working out of state: U.S. Census Bureau, American Community Survey 5-year estimates. Distances are straight lines between home and work; real drives run longer. Walkability index, job access and transit service: U.S. EPA Smart Location Database. The two grades are our own summaries of these figures, not official ratings.