Scores by category

Each category averages its indicators' percentile scores among US metro and micro areas.

Safety76#222/924
Economy42#537/925
Housing75#235/925
Health31#637/925
Healthcare82#163/923
Environment55#411/917
Education56#407/925
Infrastructure45#513/925
Community86#127/925
Leisure & amenities61#363/925

Strengths · Weaknesses

Indicators where Altoona, PA metro area ranks highest and lowest among US metro and micro areas (score = percentile, 100 = best).

Strengths

Cost of buying a home today · low19.9%
98/100Pennsylvania 29.6%United States 34.1%Aug 2026Zillow Research
Social associations · high18.8 /10k
98/100Pennsylvania 11.9 /10kUnited States 9.1 /10k2023University of Wisconsin Population Health InstituteAggregated from counties
Distance to an Amtrak station · low5 mi
98/100Pennsylvania 21 miUnited States 43 mi2026Federal Aviation Administration · Bureau of Transportation Statistics · U.S. Census BureauAggregated from counties
Traffic deaths · low8.3 /100k
90/100Pennsylvania 9.0 /100kUnited States 12.3 /100k2020-2024National Highway Traffic Safety AdministrationAggregated from counties
Distance to an emergency room · low4.3 mi
86/100Pennsylvania 5.0 miUnited States 5.5 miJul 2026Centers for Medicare & Medicaid ServicesAggregated from counties
High school diploma or higher · high93.8%
86/100Pennsylvania 92.1%United States 89.6%2020-2024U.S. Census Bureau Census table B15003

Weaknesses

Adult smoking · high20.1%
7/100Pennsylvania 15.6%United States 16.1%2022University of Wisconsin Population Health InstituteAggregated from counties
Child care cost burden · high39.0%
9/100Pennsylvania 34.6%United States 27.9%2023 & 2024University of Wisconsin Population Health InstituteAggregated from counties
New business applications · low8.2 /1k
11/100Pennsylvania 12.4 /1kUnited States 16.6 /1k2025U.S. Census BureauAggregated from counties
New homes permitted · low0.7 /1k
13/100Pennsylvania 2.0 /1kUnited States 4.2 /1kSep 2025–Aug 2026U.S. Census BureauProvisional data
Depression · high27.1%
20/100Pennsylvania 23.9%United States 20.7%2022Centers for Disease Control and PreventionAggregated from counties
Drug overdose deaths · high24.1 /100k
20/100Pennsylvania 19.6 /100kUnited States 18.4 /100kMar 2025–Feb 2026Centers for Disease Control and PreventionAggregated from counties

Trends

The largest changes over about five years, next to the country's over the same periods.

Drought exposureWorsening
0% (2021) → 21% (Oct 2025–Sep 2026)
+21 pts5 yearsUS 40% → 43%
Child care cost burdenWorsening
21.3% (2020 & 2021) → 39.1% (2023 & 2024)
+18 pts3 yearsUS 24.5% → 27.9%
New business applicationsImproving
5.0 /1k (2020) → 8.2 /1k (2025)
+64%5 yearsUS 13.1 /1k → 16.6 /1k
Broadband subscriptionsImproving
78.4% (2015-2019) → 86.2% (2020-2024)
+7.8 pts5 yearsCensus table B28002US 82.7% → 91.0%
Mammography screeningImproving
41.0% (2019) → 48.0% (2023)
+7 pts4 yearsUS 43.0% → 46.0%
Child poverty rateImproving
20.5% (2015-2019) → 13.6% (2020-2024)
−6.8 pts5 yearsCensus table B17001US 16.8% → 15.5%

What changed in five years

How each measure moved between two periods about five years apart, read against whether more or less is better, the published margin of error and the same change in other places.

Over about five years, Altoona, PA metro area improved on 17 of 32 measures with a comparison and declined on 5. 6 moved within the margin of error and 4 barely changed.

Earlier period
Latest period
Lower standingHigher standing

Position is the place's standing among metro and micro areas: further right is better, whichever way the measure counts. Periods differ by measure (most compare 2015-2019 with 2020-2024); each row names its own in its tooltip and in the table.

Improved17

Traffic deaths−30%11.8 /100k → 8.3 /100k
Child poverty−6.8 points20.5% → 13.6%
Unemployment−4.6 points8.7% → 4.1%
Poverty−2.6 points14.7% → 12.0%
New businesses+64%5.0 /1k → 8.2 /1k

Declined5

Uninsured+1.4 points5.8% → 7.2%
Suicides+24%14.7 /100k → 18.3 /100k
Grocery stores−11%1.9 /10k → 1.7 /10k
Transit use−0.6 points1.1% → 0.6%
Pharmacies−5.9%2.0 /10k → 1.8 /10k

All 32 measures

Change of every measure of Altoona, PA metro area between two periods about five years apart
Measure	Before	After	Change	Reading	Favourable vs peers
Arts, entertainment and recreation	3.5 /10k2020	4.0 /10k2025	+15%	Improved	64%
Average commute time	20.4 min2015-2019	20.5 min2020-2024	+0.0 min	Within the margin of error	63%
Average weekly wage	$8792020	$1,0562025	+20%	Improved	22%
Bachelor's degree or higher	21.3%2015-2019	24.4%2020-2024	+3.1 points	Improved	58%
Broadband subscriptions	78.4%2015-2019	86.2%2020-2024	+7.8 points	Improved	35%
Child poverty rate	20.5%2015-2019	13.6%2020-2024	−6.8 points	Improved	88%
Distance to an airport	88 mi2020	88 mi2025	0 mi	Little change	50%
Drug overdose deaths	36.7 /100k2020	24.1 /100kMar 2025–Feb 2026	−34%	Improved	62%
Effective property tax rate	1.15%2015-2019	1.05%2020-2024	−0.1 points	Little change	40%
Firearm deaths	14.7 /100k2020	13.3 /100kMay 2025–Apr 2026	−9.5%	Improved	65%
Grocery stores	1.9 /10k2020	1.7 /10k2025	−11%	Declined	23%
Gyms and fitness centers	0.9 /10k2020	1.0 /10k2025	+12%	Improved	61%
High school diploma or higher	91.4%2015-2019	93.8%2020-2024	+2.4 points	Within the margin of error	69%
Home price to income ratio	2.5×2015-2019	2.6×2020-2024	+0.1×	Within the margin of error	92%
Homicide rate	3.0 /100k2020	1.8 /100kMay 2025–Apr 2026	−40%	Improved	67%
Income adjusted for local prices	$51,1452019	$67,2552024	+31%	Improved	49%
Income inequality (Gini index)	0.4482015-2019	0.4462020-2024	−0.002	Within the margin of error	61%
Median household income	$49,1812015-2019	$62,3822020-2024	+27%	Improved	49%
New business applications	5.0 /1k2020	8.2 /1k2025	+64%	Improved	74%
Pharmacies	2.0 /10k2020	1.8 /10k2025	−5.9%	Declined	56%
Poverty rate	14.7%2015-2019	12.0%2020-2024	−2.6 points	Improved	82%
Property crime rate	1,424 /100k2020	1,254 /100k2025	−12%	Improved	13%
Public libraries	0.7 /10k2019	0.7 /10k2024	+1.6%	Little change	75%
Public transit commuters	1.1%2015-2019	0.6%2020-2024	−0.6 points	Declined	31%
Rent as share of income	29.8%2015-2019	28.8%2020-2024	−1 points	Within the margin of error	76%
Rent-burdened households	49.6%2015-2019	46.4%2020-2024	−3.2 points	Within the margin of error	81%
Restaurants and bars	8.9 /10k2020	8.7 /10k2025	−2.1%	Little change	35%
Suicide rate	14.7 /100k2020	18.3 /100kMay 2025–Apr 2026	+24%	Declined	20%
Traffic deaths	11.8 /100k2015-2019	8.3 /100k2020-2024	−30%	Improved	94%
Unemployment rate	8.7%2020	4.1%2025	−4.6 points	Improved	89%
Uninsured residents (under 65)	5.8%2015-2019	7.2%2020-2024	+1.4 points	Declined	14%
Violent crime rate	247 /100k2020	172 /100k2025	−30%	Improved	76%

“Against peers” compares the change with the same change in the 708 metro and micro areas that have the same two periods. It describes how common a change is, not why it happened.

Sources: Regional Economic Accounts; Local Area Unemployment Statistics; Quarterly Census of Employment and Wages; Mapping Injury, Overdose, and Violence; American Community Survey 5-Year Estimates; Business Formation Statistics; Uniform Crime Reporting Program, Return A master files; Public Libraries Survey; Fatality Analysis Reporting System; Distance to airports and intercity rail. Values are the latest and the one five years earlier of the same publisher dataset; datasets that changed publisher in between are never compared.

Survey estimates (American Community Survey) compare the two most recent 5-year windows that do not share years, so the margin of error of the difference holds. The 2015-2019 window predates the pandemic and 2020-2024 includes it.
A change counts only when it is larger than 1.645 times the square root of the two standard errors squared, summed (a 90% margin). Measures published without a margin must change by at least 5% to count.
“Against peers” compares the change with the same change in the 925 metro and micro areas that have the same two periods. It describes how common a change is, not why it happened.
Standing is a percentile among the same places: 0 is the lowest value on the measure (or the worst when lower is better), 100 the best.

Metro and micro areas like Altoona, PA metro area five years ago that improved

The places whose measures looked most like those of Altoona, PA metro area in the earlier period, ranked by how many measures improved beyond the margin of error, minus how many declined. A comparison of published data, not a forecast and not advice.

For comparison, Altoona, PA metro area itself moved +4.4 points in standing on average over the same 30 measures (standings of all places average about zero).

How the ranking works

Similarity is the root-mean-square difference of standings in the earlier period over the measures most places have. Places are ranked by measures that improved beyond the margin of error minus those that declined (a count that estimation noise in small places cannot inflate), then by the mean change of standing over the measures a place has in both periods. Only places with more improvements than declines and a rise in standing are listed. Standings are relative, so a place can improve in absolute terms and still lose standing.

Who lives here

Age, race and education of residents, from the American Community Survey. Shares are of all residents (age), residents of every origin (race) or adults 25 and over (education).

Age and sex

121,277 residents

Men
Women

80 and over
70–79
60–69

Income

How household income is spread, not just the middle: each bar is the share of households in that income range.

Household income

50,558 households (±548)

Altoona, PA metro area
United States share

Under $25k18%9,202
$25k–50k22%11,110
$50k–75k17%8,671

Homes

Who owns and who rents, what homes cost, and what the housing stock looks like.

Owners and renters

50,558 households (±548)

Altoona, PA metro area
United States share

Own72%36,579
Rent28%13,979

Biggest shift since 2015–2019: Own (+2.6 points).

Table view

Getting to work

How workers travel to their job and how long it takes them.

How people get to work

54,945 workers (±919)

Altoona, PA metro area
United States share

Drive alone79%43,673
Carpool8.6%4,710
Public transit0.6%†314

Jobs and pay

What the largest occupations here pay, from the Bureau of Labor Statistics' Occupational Employment and Wage Statistics survey.

The 10 largest occupations in Altoona, PA employ 15,120 people. 10 pay a median below the US median.

Above the US median
Below the US median

The largest occupations in Altoona, PA by employment, with median annual pay and how it compares with the United States
Occupation	Jobs	Median pay	vs USCompared with the US	Concentration
Retail Salespersons2,090 jobs	2,090	$28,370US $35,410	−20%	1.42×
Home Health and Personal Care Aides1,800 jobs	1,800	$27,390US $35,800	−23%	1.11×
Fast Food and Counter Workers1,800 jobs	1,800	$26,090US $31,200	−16%	1.24×
Cashiers1,600 jobs	1,600	$27,830US $32,880	−15%	1.38×
General and Operations Managers1,460 jobs	1,460	$83,580US $105,770	−21%	1.11×
Stockers and Order Fillers1,400 jobs	1,400	$34,190US $37,330	−8%	1.31×
Registered Nurses1,390 jobs	1,390	$82,410US $97,550	−16%	1.09×
Heavy and Tractor-Trailer Truck Drivers1,290 jobs	1,290	$52,010US $58,640	−11%	1.66×
Office Clerks, General1,240 jobs	1,240	$42,460US $45,010	−6%	1.33×
Laborers and Freight, Stock, and Material Movers, Hand1,050 jobs	1,050	$36,970US $40,240	−8%	0.94×

Look up any occupation

Search more than 800 occupations and see what they pay in Altoona, PA.

Bureau of Labor Statistics, Occupational Employment and Wage Statistics, 2025-05 (all industries and ownerships) bls.gov/oes

Reference period: 2025-05. BLS publishes metro areas, states and the nation (not counties or cities), so a county or city page shows its metro area.
Pay is not adjusted for the cost of living, so a higher median does not mean more purchasing power.
BLS caps the highest wages it publishes: where a figure is shown as “or more”, the real value is at least that much.
Some occupations (teachers, performers) are published by the hour or school year and shown here as an annual figure.

Local businesses

Employer businesses and sole proprietors by industry, per resident and against the state and the nation. Counts of businesses next to counts of people, not a measure of demand.

Altoona, PA has 3,178 employer establishments, 264 for every 10,000 residents (1.06× the US rate of 248), with 53,149 paid employees at an average annual pay of $52,093. The Census Bureau also counts 6,996 nonemployer businesses, mostly sole proprietors.

Establishments: 3,178; 6,996 nonemployers
Per 10,000 residents: 264; US 248
Paid employees: 53,149
Average annual pay: $52,093; US $68,342

Employer establishments, employees, average pay and nonemployers of Altoona, PA by industry, with the density per resident against the nation

Ambulatory health care services	307	25.5	1.22×About typical	4,576	$70,067	265
Restaurants and other eating places	229	19	1.04×About typical	4,401	$18,122	32
Specialty trade contractors	185	15.4	0.99×About typical	1,462	$55,865	557
Religious organizations	157	13	2.35×More than typical	772	$21,632	—
Offices of physicians	119	9.9	1.53×More than typical	2,008	$102,919	53
Limited-service restaurants	112	9.3	1.16×About typical	1,729	$16,501	14
Construction of buildings	99	8.2	1.09×About typical	1,183	$48,260	219
Automotive repair and maintenance	90	7.5	1.48×More than typical	466	$46,712	146
Personal care services	88	7.3	1.53×More than typical	432	$26,463	193
Full-service restaurants	84	7	0.91×About typical	2,337	$19,451	11
Lessors of real estate	82	6.8	0.55×Fewer than typical	299	$41,338	885
Offices of other health practitioners	80	6.6	1.09×About typical	508	$44,370	143

Rank places for an industry

County Business Patterns (2023); Nonemployer Statistics (2024)

Per-resident figures divide by the population estimate of 2023: 120,360 residents here, 336,755,052 in the United States. County Business Patterns counts establishments in 2023; the Nonemployer Statistics count businesses in 2024.
“More than typical” is a density at least 1.25 times the nation's per resident, “fewer” at most 0.8 times, with at least 10 establishments. It compares counts of businesses with counts of people: it says nothing about demand, incomes, size, quality or profit, and visitors and commuters are not residents.
The Census Bureau adds noise to employment and payroll to protect confidentiality, and withholds some figures: an industry with few establishments can show employees or pay as unavailable.
Industries overlap: a narrower industry (full-service restaurants) is part of a broader one (restaurants), so the rows do not add up.
A metro area's figures are the exact sums of its counties.
Industries follow the North American Industry Classification System; the two surveys use different editions (NAICS 2017 and 2022), which this page matches industry by industry.

Federal contract spending

In FY2026, federal agencies obligated $40.3M on contracts performed in Altoona, PA metro area: $337 per resident (US $1,995).

Obligations: $40.3M; −27% vs FY2025
Per resident: $337; US $1,995
Sole-source: 16%; US 30%
Single offer: 5.2%; US 8.8%

A signal is a reason to look closer, not evidence of wrongdoing: most sole-source awards are lawful and justified.

Top buying agencies

Department of Veterans Affairs$38.4M95%
Defense Logistics Agency$492.8K1.2%
National Park Service$355.5K0.9%
National Institute of Standards and Technology$353.2K0.9%
Department of the Army$313K0.8%
U.S. Patent and Trademark Office$192.2K0.5%
United States Mint$141.8K0.4%
Department of the Air Force$115.5K0.3%

Top recipients

Spending by fiscal year

28.6MFY2017
28.5MFY2018
30.7MFY2019
51MFY2020
23.8MFY2021
34.9MFY2022
41MFY2023
28.4M

Top industries (NAICS)

Nonresidential building construction · 2362$20.7M51%
Other ambulatory health care services · 6219$3.7M9.3%
Nursing care facilities (skilled nursing facilities) · 6231$2.1M5.2%
Medical equipment and supplies manufacturing · 3391$2.1M5.1%
Employment services · 5613$1.4M3.4%
Computer systems design and related services · 5415

Largest awards

EHRM INFRASTRUCTURE UPGRADES AT THE JAMES E. VAN ZANDT VETERANS ADMINISTRATION MEDICAL CENTER$17.5M
SERVIAM CONSTRUCTION LLC· Blair County, PA· Construction & real property· Jul 30, 2025 – Jul 6, 2026· 36C77625C0060
U.S. DEPARTMENT OF AGRICULTURE (USDA) - ARS RENOVATION - PASTURE SYSTEMS WATERSHED MANAGEMENT RESEARCH UNIT (PSWMRU), UNIVERSITY PARK, PA$17.4M
LEONARD S FIORE INC· Blair County, PA· Construction & real property· Mar 27, 2023 – Feb 27, 2026· W912DR23C0009
REPLACE STEAM SYSTEM ALTOONA VAMC$15.7M
SERVIAM CONSTRUCTION LLC· Blair County, PA· Construction & real property· Apr 11, 2025 – Oct 2, 2026· 36C24425C0014
REPLACE STEAM TRAPS AND UNDERGROUND STEAM LINES

Source: Federal contract transactions (Federal Procurement Data System) (U.S. Department of the Treasury, USAspending.gov), data current to Oct 7, 2026, loaded Oct 7, 2026.

Federal grants & assistance

Grants, loans (counted at their subsidy cost), direct payments and insurance, by fiscal year of the action (USAspending.gov, FABS). Reported apart from contracts and never added to them.

In FY2026, federal agencies obligated $915.7M in grants, loans, direct payments and insurance for Altoona, PA metro area: $7,660 per resident (US $12,975).

Assistance · FY2026: $915.7M; −4.7% vs FY2025
Per resident: $7,660; US $12,975
Loan face value: $18.3M; lent or guaranteed
To individuals: 0.1%; counted, never named

Top programs

96.002 · Social Security Retirement Insurance$511.2M56%
64.109 · Veterans Compensation for Service-Connected Disability$82.6M9.0%
96.001 · Social Security Disability Insurance$79.6M8.7%
57.001 · Social Insurance for Railroad Workers$56M6.1%
96.004 · Social Security Survivors Insurance$52.1M5.7%
96.006 · Supplemental Security Income$33.7M3.7%
20.279 · National Highway Performance Program (NHPP)$16M1.7%
64.015 · Veterans State Nursing Home Care$14.2M1.6%

Top recipients (organizations)

PENNSYLVANIA DEPARTMENT OF TRANSPORTATION$32.3M3.5%
HARRISBURG, PA
PENNSYLVANIA DEPARTMENT OF MILITARY & VETERANS AFFAIRS$15.5M1.7%
ANNVILLE, PA
ALTOONA HOUSING AUTHORITY$8.9M1.0%
ALTOONA, PA
BLAIR COUNTY AIRPORT AUTHORITY$6.8M0.7%
MARTINSBURG, PA
CHILD ADVOCATES OF BLAIR COUNTY INC

Organizations only: awards to individuals and county aggregate records count in the totals but are never listed. Grants to state governments recorded at the agency's own address are counted statewide, not in the capital's county.

Top agencies

Social Security Administration$676.6M74%
Under Secretary for Benefits/Veterans Benefits Administration$95.7M10%
Department of Veterans Affairs
Railroad Retirement Board$56M6.1%
Federal Highway Administration$32.3M3.5%
Department of Transportation
Under Secretary for Health/Veterans Health Administration$16.2M1.8%

Assistance by fiscal year

845.7MFY2021
820.9MFY2022
851.3MFY2023
913.8MFY2024
960.6MFY2025
915.7MFY2026

County aggregates

91%

Share of obligations reported only as county totals of many small awards (for example Social Security or Medicare payments), with no recipient named.

Source: Federal financial assistance transactions (Financial Assistance Broker Submission) (U.S. Department of the Treasury, USAspending.gov), data current to Oct 7, 2026, loaded Oct 7, 2026 · FY2021–FY2026.

Counties in Altoona, PA

Whole counties, as the U.S. Office of Management and Budget delineates the area. Federal spending below is the exact sum of these counties.

Blair CountyCentral county75119,541

Principal cities

The cities the area is named for.

AltoonaPrincipal city43,196

Largest cities and towns

By population, for places with most of their residents in the area.

Other metro and micro areas in Pennsylvania

Areas based in Pennsylvania, best score first.

Neighboring metro and micro areas

Places that share a border, best score first.

Similar metro and micro areas

Closest indicator profiles across the country (no model: score distances).

Data and sources

Latest published value of each indicator; periods differ by source. Values flagged by their publisher are marked.

Mapping Injury, Overdose, and ViolenceCenters for Disease Control and Prevention · release 2026-10-01
PLACES: Local Data for Better HealthCenters for Disease Control and Prevention · release 2025
Daily county PM2.5 and ozone (EPA downscaler model)Centers for Disease Control and Prevention · U.S. Environmental Protection Agency · release 2022
Care Compare: Hospital General Information and Timely and Effective CareCenters for Medicare & Medicaid Services · release 2026-07-22
Distance to airports and intercity railFederal Aviation Administration · Bureau of Transportation Statistics · U.S. Census Bureau · release 2025+amtrak-2026-04-23
Uniform Crime Reporting Program, Return A master filesFederal Bureau of Investigation · release 2025
Public Libraries SurveyInstitute of Museum and Library Services · release FY2024
U.S. Drought Monitor county statisticsNational Drought Mitigation Center (University of Nebraska–Lincoln), USDA and NOAA · release 2026-09-29
Fatality Analysis Reporting SystemNational Highway Traffic Safety Administration · release 2024
nClimGrid-Daily county averagesNOAA National Centers for Environmental Information · release 2025
Regional Economic AccountsU.S. Bureau of Economic Analysis · release 2024
Local Area Unemployment StatisticsU.S. Bureau of Labor Statistics · release 2025
Quarterly Census of Employment and WagesU.S. Bureau of Labor Statistics · release 2026 Q1
American Community Survey 5-Year EstimatesU.S. Census Bureau · release 2017-2024
Building Permits SurveyU.S. Census Bureau · release 2026-08
Business Formation StatisticsU.S. Census Bureau · release 2026-10-01
Population Estimates ProgramU.S. Census Bureau · release 2025
Small Area Health Insurance EstimatesU.S. Census Bureau · release 2024
Small Area Income and Poverty EstimatesU.S. Census Bureau · release 2024
Alternative Fuels Data Center station locatorU.S. Department of Energy · release 2026-10
Election Administration and Voting SurveyU.S. Election Assistance Commission · release 2024
Air Quality Index Annual Summary by CountyU.S. Environmental Protection Agency · release 2025
County Health Rankings & RoadmapsUniversity of Wisconsin Population Health Institute · release 2022-2025+2026-03-supplement
Zillow Home Value Index, Observed Rent Index and affordabilityZillow Research · release 2026-08

JSON · /api/v1/places/M11020

Scores by category

Strengths · Weaknesses

Strengths

Weaknesses

Trends

What changed in five years

Improved17

Declined5

Metro and micro areas like Altoona, PA metro area five years ago that improved

Who lives here

Age and sex

Income

Household income

Homes

Owners and renters

Getting to work

How people get to work

Jobs and pay

Look up any occupation

Local businesses

Federal contract spending

Top buying agencies

Top recipients

Spending by fiscal year

Top industries (NAICS)

Largest awards

Federal grants & assistance

Top programs

Top recipients (organizations)

Top agencies

Assistance by fiscal year

County aggregates

Counties in Altoona, PA

Principal cities

Largest cities and towns

Other metro and micro areas in Pennsylvania

Neighboring metro and micro areas

Similar metro and micro areas

Data and sources

Improved17

Declined5

Age and sex

Household income

Owners and renters

How people get to work

Race and Hispanic origin

Education

Rent paid

Home values

Age of homes

Size of homes

Time to get to work

Look up any occupation

Top programs

Top recipients (organizations)

Top agencies

Assistance by fiscal year

County aggregates

By type

Top buying agencies

Top recipients

Spending by fiscal year

Top industries (NAICS)

Largest awards

What was bought