What is the cost of living in Altoona?

Altoona has a Regional Price Parity (RPP) of 89.5, where 100 represents the national average. Housing costs index at 55.0, which is below the national average. The average 2-bedroom rent is $1,138/month.

What is the median salary in Altoona?

The median salary in Altoona is $57,335 annually (mean: $60,625). Top occupations include Retail Salespersons, Home Health and Personal Care Aides, Fast Food and Counter Workers.

The violent crime rate in the Altoona area is 250 per 100,000 population (state-level data). Property crime rate is 1457 per 100K.

What are the schools like in Altoona?

The state of PA has 2,930 schools (state-level data, no metro-level federal count exists) with an average student-teacher ratio of 13.6:1. Charter schools make up 6% of all schools.

How much does childcare cost in Altoona?

Childcare cost data is not currently available for Altoona.

Is Altoona a good place to relocate?

Altoona has a Life Score of 52.9/100 (D), based on 6 of 7 available dimensions among cost of living, wages, rent, crime, schools, childcare, and environment (missing dims omitted, weights renormalized). This is a middle-of-the-pack score, where the composite lands for most US metros; look at individual dimensions to see the real trade-offs.

Where does Altoona sit among US metros on LiveAbility?

According to PlainRelocate's LiveAbility composite, Altoona ranks #41 of 387 scored US metros by LiveAbility Score (highest score = #1). That ordinal matches the /rankings/livability listing. See /methodology#corpus-placement for the exact sort basis.

Relocation profile · Federal data

Altoona, PA

LiveAbility 61.2/100 places Altoona #41 of 387 (top third of scored metros).

Compiled by PlainRelocate · June 15, 2026

89.5
Cost index (US=100): $1,138
2BR rent / mo: $57,335
Median salary: 61.2
LiveAbility Score

The verdict

As of June 2026, Altoona ranks #41 of 387 US metros on the LiveAbility Score (61.2/100), with its strongest marks in air quality and schools.

#41
of 387 US metros · Excellent: 13,078,751
metro-area population: 250
violent crimes per 100K (state-level): 2,930
schools in the state (NCES)

Weakest dimension: job market (18/100). Weigh every dimension against your own priorities, use the City Finder to re-rank by what matters to you.

According to PlainRelocate's LiveAbility composite (BEA, BLS, HUD, FBI, NCES, EPA, NOAA, and FEMA inputs), Altoona ranks #41 of 387 scored US metros by LiveAbility Score (highest score = #1). Cost-of-living index 89.5 (100 = national average), median 2-bedroom rent $1,138/mo, median salary $57,335; LiveAbility Score 61.2/100, strongest in air quality and schools.

Signature: LiveAbility 61.2/100 places Altoona #41 of 387 (top third of scored metros).

Purchasing power opens up: BEA RPP 89.5 lands in the cheaper third of scored metros (cuts at 91.5 / 97.0). Median 2BR rent $1,138/mo.

LiveAbility 61.2/100 puts Altoona in the top third (#41 of 387).

BLS OEWS total employment in the Altoona area is 52,800.

Altoona vs all US metros by LiveAbility Score

Where this metro's LiveAbility Score falls among every scored US metro (composite placement, not a desirability verdict)

61 Top 11% higher than 89% of 387 US metros

Metros banded by LiveAbility Score (0–100)

Each bar is a band; taller bars hold more US metros. The dashed line + filled bar mark this entry. Hover or tap any bar for its full count and share, and where it sits relative to this entry.

Source PlainRelocate LiveAbility Score · June 2026

Altoona housing and rent

HUD Fair Market Rents for the Altoona MSA; housing RPP 55.0 (100 = national average); 2BR $1,138/mo.

Studio

$802

/month

1 Bedroom

$948

/month

2 Bedroom

$1,138

/month

3 Bedroom

$1,458

/month

4 Bedroom

$1,705

/month

Altoona wages and employment

Altoona posts 52,800 total employment with median salary $57,335 against a cheaper-than-average RPP.

Median Salary

$57,335

Mean Salary

$60,625

Total Employment

52,800

Top Occupations by Employment

Occupation	Median Salary
Retail Salespersons	$28,370
Home Health and Personal Care Aides	$27,390
Fast Food and Counter Workers	$26,090
Cashiers	$27,830
General and Operations Managers	$83,580

Schools & Education

State-level education data for the Altoona area from NCES.

Schools

2,930

Enrollment

1,664,154

Student:Teacher

13.6:1

Title I %

Life Score Breakdown

Altoona's composite Life Score is 52.9/100 (D), computed across 6 of 7 dimensions (missing dims omitted; remaining weights renormalized).

Cost

77/100

Strong

Wages

18/100

Bottom decile

Rent

75/100

Strong

Crime

71/100

Strong

Schools

15/100

Bottom decile

Environment

51/100

Average

LiveAbility Score

View full rankings →

Altoona ranks #41 out of 387 metros with a LiveAbility Score of 61.2/100 - a composite of 8 of 8 quality-of-life dimensions from federal data. Customize the weights to match your priorities →

Strongest dimension: Air quality (88/100)

Air quality

88
Schools

85
Cost of living

77
Housing

75
Safety

71
Low hazard

35
Climate

28
Job market

18

What this shows Altoona's strongest dimensions are air quality and schools; its weakest among scored dims is job market at 18/100. Default weights: cost 18%, jobs & housing 15% each, safety & schools 12%, air & hazard 10%, climate 8%.

Compare Altoona to

Charlotte-Concord-Gastonia Charlottesville Chattanooga Cheyenne Chicago-Naperville-Elgin Chico

Metros near Altoona on cost, LiveAbility, or wages

Nearest out-of-state neighbors to Altoona on BEA RPP, LiveAbility, or BLS median salary, a different lens than the size-ranked list.

Similar cost of living (BEA RPP)

Similar LiveAbility score

Source: BEA Regional Price Parities, HUD Fair Market Rents, BLS OES, FBI UCR, NCES, DOL, EPA June 2026

Altoona cost figures follow BEA Regional Price Parities and HUD Fair Market Rents; Altoona wages and LiveAbility inputs follow BLS OEWS plus the federal sources listed in methodology. This information is provided for informational purposes only and does not constitute professional advice. Scores are federal-data percentiles, not a move recommendation. How this data is sourced.

Verify with BEA → · Verify with BLS → · Verify with HUD → · Verify with NOAA → · Verify with FEMA → · Verify with Census →

Thinking about Altoona?

Altoona runs a $57,335 median salary at a 89.5 cost index, ranking #41 of 387 nationally on LiveAbility.

See exactly what Altoona's pay and cost figures mean for your own budget. Salary calculator
Put Altoona head-to-head against another city on the same dimensions. Compare Altoona
Abilene is the closest related metro in this corpus -- see how it stacks up. Abilene profile
A cheaper cost index and a higher LiveAbility score don't always point the same direction -- here's how to weigh the trade-off. Cost vs quality guide

Cost, salary and score figures are federal-data percentiles, not a move recommendation.