Postal Codes

50009 ZIP Code

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ZIP code 50009 covers Altoona, Iowa, with a population of about 21,992 and a median household income of $90,393.

Population
21,992788 per square mile
Median age
36.72 points below the US average
Median household income
$90,3931.2× the Iowa median
Poverty rate
7.1%5.3 points below the US average
Typical home value
$320,611up 17.4% in five years
Median rent
$1,2011.3× the Iowa median
Degree or higher
33.2%1.8 points below the US average
Homeownership
70.3%5.3 points above the US average
Time zone
Central UTC-06:00observes daylight saving time
Businesses
490

Where 50009 is

Altoona, Iowa — the area the Census Bureau draws for this ZIP code. ZIP codes are sets of delivery routes rather than areas, so this is the Census approximation of one, not a Postal Service boundary.

People and households

American Community Survey 2019–2023 five-year estimates

Population21,992
Median age36.7
Family households67.4%
Born outside the US5.1%
Speaks a language other than English at home5.1%
White (non-Hispanic)84.5%
Black (non-Hispanic)3.2%
Asian (non-Hispanic)1.5%
Hispanic or Latino6.8%
Veterans8.5%
Population by age
MaleFemale0-45-910-1415-1920-2425-3435-4445-5455-6465-7475-8485+
Income and poverty

American Community Survey 2019–2023 five-year estimates

Median household income$90,393
Income per person$43,260
Poverty rate7.1%
Households on SNAP or cash assistance5.9%

Household income distribution

Under $10k2.2%
$10–15k1.6%
$15–20k0.9%
$20–25k0.9%
$25–30k2.3%
$30–35k4.8%
$35–40k2.7%
$40–45k2.4%
$45–50k5.3%
$50–60k7.4%
$60–75k12.0%
$75–100k13.9%
$100–125k15.9%
$125–150k5.5%
$150–200k11.5%
$200k or more10.6%

Income as declared to the IRS

Filed returns rather than survey responses, so this counts tax units and not households.

Tax returns filed11,020
Mean adjusted gross income$83,331
Returns declaring $200,000 or more5.7%
Returns, under $25k20.5%
Returns, $25k–$50k22.5%
Returns, $50k–$75k16.2%
Returns, $75k–$100k11.7%
Returns, $100k–$200k23.3%
Returns, $200k or more5.7%
Housing

American Community Survey 2019–2023 five-year estimates

Median home value$261,800
Median gross rent$1,201
Rent as a share of household income25.3%
Owner-occupied70.3%
Vacant homes4.2%
Median year built1997

What the homes are

Detached house62.7%
Attached house10.1%
2 to 4 units3.1%
5 to 19 units7.5%
20 or more units12.9%
Mobile home3.8%
Home values and rents today

Zillow Home Value Index and Zillow Observed Rent Index, courtesy of Zillow. Monthly and current, where the Census figures above are a five-year average and are capped at $2,000,000.

Typical home value$320,611as of 2026-07
Typical home value, 1 yeardown 0.5%
Typical home value, 5 yearsup 17.4%
Typical home value, 10 yearsup 52%
Typical asking rent$1,475as of 2026-07
Typical home value since 2000
200020132026$322,269$145,801

$145,801 in 2000 to $320,611 in 2026.

Work, commuting and education

American Community Survey 2019–2023 five-year estimates

Unemployment rate6.3%
Bachelor's degree or higher33.2%
High school diploma or higher95.9%
Works from home13.1%
Drives to work alone78.8%
Takes public transport0.4%
Commutes 45 minutes or more10.6%
Health

CDC PLACES 2025 release, model-based estimates. These are modelled small-area estimates for adults, not counts of diagnosed cases.

Obesity37.4% 4 pts above the national average of 33.4%
Diagnosed diabetes10.1% 1.9 pts below the national average of 12%
Currently smokes14.2% 1 pts above the national average of 13.2%
High blood pressure31.8% 2.3 pts below the national average of 34.1%
Fair or poor general health17.1% 3.2 pts below the national average of 20.3%
No health insurance (18–64)6.6% 4.7 pts below the national average of 11.3%
Depression22.8% 0.9 pts above the national average of 21.9%
No leisure-time physical activity23.5% 1.9 pts below the national average of 25.4%
Arthritis27% 1.9 pts above the national average of 25.1%
Binge drinking21.3% 5.3 pts above the national average of 16%
Taking blood pressure medication76.4% 1.7 pts above the national average of 74.7%
Cancer (non-skin)8% same as the national average of 7.7%
Current asthma10.1% same as the national average of 10.4%
Coronary heart disease5.8% same as the national average of 6.2%
Routine check-up in past year75.6% 1.1 pts below the national average of 76.7%
Cholesterol screening84.1% 1.8 pts below the national average of 85.9%
Cognitive disability13.6% 1.2 pts below the national average of 14.8%
Colorectal screening66.7% 2.4 pts above the national average of 64.3%
COPD6.3% same as the national average of 6.6%
Visited a dentist69.1% 7.8 pts above the national average of 61.3%
Any disability26.8% 3.9 pts below the national average of 30.7%
Lacks emotional support23.2% 1.6 pts below the national average of 24.8%
Food insecurity11.5% 5.6 pts below the national average of 17.1%
Received food stamps9.7% 4.6 pts below the national average of 14.3%
Hearing disability6.4% same as the national average of 6.7%
High cholesterol35.1% 1.1 pts below the national average of 36.2%
Housing insecurity9.7% 4.1 pts below the national average of 13.8%
Independent living disability6.9% 1.5 pts below the national average of 8.4%
Lacks transport6.6% 2.6 pts below the national average of 9.2%
Loneliness33.4% 1 pts below the national average of 34.4%
Mammography use79.9% 4 pts above the national average of 75.9%
Poor mental health (14+ days)17.8% 1 pts above the national average of 16.8%
Mobility disability11.3% 2.7 pts below the national average of 14%
Poor physical health (14+ days)13% 0.5 pts below the national average of 13.5%
Self-care disability3% 1 pts below the national average of 4%
Utility shut-off threat6.5% 2.3 pts below the national average of 8.8%
Sleeps under 7 hours33.3% 3.1 pts below the national average of 36.4%
Stroke2.9% 0.5 pts below the national average of 3.4%
All natural teeth lost8.3% 4.7 pts below the national average of 13%
Vision disability3.8% 1.8 pts below the national average of 5.6%
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Business and employment

Census ZIP Code Business Patterns 2022

Business establishments490
People employed8,040
Annual payroll$371,106,000
Natural hazard risk

FEMA National Risk Index, estimated for this ZIP code from census tract data — the NRI is not published per ZIP.

Overall riskHigher than 53.9% of US census tracts
FEMA ratingRelatively Low to Relatively Moderate across the 8 census tracts this ZIP code covers
Expected annual loss59.2 out of 100
Community resilience85.9 out of 100

By hazard

Score is out of 100 and is the area-weighted average across the census tracts this ZIP code covers. The rating beside it is the highest any one of those tracts carries.

Drought92.9Relatively High at its worst in this ZIP code
Strong wind92.9Relatively High at its worst in this ZIP code
Hail88Relatively High at its worst in this ZIP code
Tornado85.3Relatively High at its worst in this ZIP code
Heat wave80.4Relatively High at its worst in this ZIP code
Ice storm78Relatively Moderate at its worst in this ZIP code
Landslide72.4Relatively Low at its worst in this ZIP code
Cold wave70.4Relatively High at its worst in this ZIP code
Wildfire70.1Relatively Low at its worst in this ZIP code
Winter weather66.7Relatively Moderate at its worst in this ZIP code
River flooding52.8Relatively Moderate at its worst in this ZIP code
Lightning40.7Relatively Low at its worst in this ZIP code
Hurricane23.5Very Low at its worst in this ZIP code
Earthquake22.5Very Low at its worst in this ZIP code
Compared with Iowa and the United States

State and national columns are figures for those areas, not for this ZIP code. American Community Survey 2019–2023 five-year estimates

This ZIPIowaUnited States
Median household income$90,393$73,147$78,538
Income per person$43,260$39,728$43,289
Poverty rate7.1%11%12.4%
Median home value$261,800$195,900$303,400
Median gross rent$1,201$949$1,348
Homeownership70.3%71.5%65%
Bachelor's degree or higher33.2%30.9%35%
Unemployment rate6.3%3.6%5.2%
Works from home13.1%10.4%13.5%
Born outside the US5.1%5.7%13.9%
Median age36.738.638.7
Climate

NOAA US Climate Normals 1991-2020, from the nearest weather station with a full year of records. The station and its distance are named above, because a station forty kilometres away describes somewhere else.

Weather stationANKENY, IA US17.5 km away
Rain in a year37 in
Snow in a year25 in

Average high and low by month

January29.5°F / 11.7°F0.97 in rain, 6.2 in snow
February34.2°F / 16°F0.99 in rain, 8 in snow
March47.4°F / 27.4°F2.01 in rain, 3.7 in snow
April61°F / 38.1°F4 in rain, 0.7 in snow
May71.9°F / 50.3°F5.26 in rain
June81.8°F / 60.8°F5.37 in rain
July85.7°F / 64.7°F4.19 in rain
August83.7°F / 61.7°F4.72 in rain
September77.1°F / 52.9°F3.62 in rain
October63.6°F / 40.5°F2.67 in rain, 0.6 in snow
November47.8°F / 28.9°F1.86 in rain, 1 in snow
December34.7°F / 18°F1.39 in rain, 4.5 in snow
Access to food

USDA Food Access Research Atlas, estimated for this ZIP code from census tract data. Each figure is the share of the ZIP code's land area that falls in a tract carrying that flag.

Low income and far from a supermarketNone of this ZIP code
Far from a supermarket54% of this ZIP code's area
No vehicle and far from a supermarket11% of this ZIP code's area
School districts

NCES Geographic Relationship File 2025, which states the association between each district and each ZIP code tabulation area directly. Elementary and secondary districts can cover the same ground, so shares need not total 100%.

This ZIP code is served by 2 school districts, so the address decides which one, not the ZIP code.

Southeast Polk Community School District82.9% of this ZIP code's land area
Bondurant-Farrar Community School District17.1% of this ZIP code's land area
Community and walkability

CDC/ATSDR Social Vulnerability Index 2022 and the EPA National Walkability Index, both estimated for this ZIP code from census tract data. Vulnerability figures are national percentile ranks, not measurements.

Overall social vulnerability29more vulnerable than 29% of US census tracts
Socioeconomic status21more vulnerable than 21% of US census tracts
Household characteristics36more vulnerable than 36% of US census tracts
Racial and ethnic minority status17more vulnerable than 17% of US census tracts
Housing type and transport57more vulnerable than 57% of US census tracts
Walkability8.5 out of 20Below average
Nearby ZIP codes

The closest ZIP codes by centre point, which is not the same as sharing a border.

50317 Des Moines, IA6.2 km away
50032 Berwick, IA6.2 km away
50035 Bondurant, IA6.2 km away
50327 Pleasant Hill, IA8.1 km away
50169 Mitchellville, IA8.6 km away
50301 Des Moines, IA8.8 km away
50302 Des Moines, IA8.8 km away
50303 Des Moines, IA8.8 km away
Location, counties and time zone

County shares from Census 2020 ZCTA relationship files. Time zone from the USDOT National Transportation Atlas, which renders the boundaries written into 49 CFR Part 71.

Polk County100% of this ZIP code's land area
Time zoneCentral (UTC-06:00 standard)
Daylight saving timeObserved
Land area27.91 sq mi
Water area0.03 sq mi
Population density788 people per sq mi
Latitude, longitude41.6475, -93.4724

Figures are published for this ZIP code or its Census tabulation area unless a section says otherwise. Estimates whose margin of error made them unreliable are omitted rather than shown. Sources: US Census Bureau, CDC, IRS.

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