Altoona conducting special census in summer 2025
The Altoona City Council approved plans to conduct a special census in June 2025 at its August 21 meeting. The United States conducts a census every 10 years, with the most recent census occurring in 2020. Between the 2010 and 2020 census, Altoona recorded a population growth of 34.5% from 14,541 in 2010 to 19,565 in 2020.
The Federal Government allows cities to opt to complete one special federal census per decade to possibly record an increase in their population growth. This additional growth leads to additional Road Use Tax funding that can be received by the city, at a rate of around $130 per year for each new resident counted.
Altoona expects to record at least 3,500 new residents through a special census in 2025. The census will cost $564,449 and the city expects to recover the cost of the census through additional Road Use Tax funding after about 18 months.
“We’ve seen continued growth in our community, especially since the 2020 census,” shared Altoona City Administrator, Randy Pierce. “By conducting a special census, not only will we have a more accurate representation of the population of our community, but it also opens up the opportunity to collect more funding, allowing our city to keep up with projects to benefit residents and our rapidly growing community.”
Altoona joins at least three other Des Moines area Metro communities in having its council approve a special census, including Grimes, Pleasant Hill and Waukee.