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Welcome to Alta ...

The city of Alta is located in Buena Vista County<1>.


The location of Alta has been provided by the Geographic Names Information System (ie- the GNIS).<2>


While we don't have a date for the founding of Alta, you might consider that their post office opened  in 1871.

From the  Census Estimates for 2019, Alta has a population of 1,904 people<3> (see below for details).

Alta is 1,510 feet [460 m] above sea level.<4>.

Time Zone: Alta lies in the Central Time Zone (CST/CDT) and observes daylight saving time

The area code for Alta: (712)

The ZIP code for Alta: 51002<5>

Population Details ...

Taken from the 2019 Census Estimates, Alta had an population of 1,904 people. This is an increase of 1.12% since the 2010 Census (or an increase of 2.09% since the 2000 Census).

At the time of the 2010 Census, Alta had a population of 1,883 people (or 9.29% of the total population of Buena Vista County). This makes Alta the county's 2nd most populous community.

The population of Alta represents 0.06% of the total population of Iowa (which has 3,046,355 people), making it the state's 168th most populous community.

With a 2010 count of 1,883 people, the population of Alta has remained roughly the same as the 2000 Census (with a count of 1,865 people).

More information can be found on the Census Page for Alta.

Communities Also Named Alta ...

Using our Gazetteer, we found that there are 21 communities that are also named Alta - they are located in Alabama, California (2), Colorado, Illinois, Indiana, Kansas (3), Kentucky, Montana (2), North Dakota, Ohio (2), Tennessee, Utah (2), West Virginia (2) and Wyoming.

For more information, see our Tidbits & Trivia Page for Alta.

Communities near Alta ...

We have created a list of 10 communities that are near Alta.

  • Storm Lake
    (5 miles [8 km] to the east)
  • Cherokee
    (13 miles [20.9 km] to the northwest)
    • Note: The GPS coordinates that we are using for Cherokee have been provided by the GNIS.<2> The coordinates still need to be verified.
    • Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Cherokee
    • Cherokee is located in Cherokee County
    • Population from the 2020 Census: 4,841 people
    • Jump to TripAdvisor's Tourism page for Cherokee <6>
  • Holstein
    (17 miles [27.4 km] to the southwest)
    • Note: The GPS coordinates that we are using for Holstein have been provided by the GNIS.<2> The coordinates still need to be verified.
    • Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Holstein
    • Holstein is located in Ida County
    • Population from the 2020 Census: 1,367 people
    • Jump to TripAdvisor's Tourism page for Holstein <6>
  • Aurelia
    (7 miles [11.3 km] to the northwest)
    • Note: The GPS coordinates that we are using for Aurelia have been provided by the GNIS.<2> The coordinates still need to be verified.
    • Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Aurelia
    • Aurelia is located in Cherokee County
    • Population from the 2020 Census: 952 people
    • Jump to TripAdvisor's Tourism page for Aurelia <6>
  • Newell
    (15 miles [24.1 km] to the east)
    • Note: The GPS coordinates that we are using for Newell have been provided by the GNIS.<2> The coordinates still need to be verified.
    • Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Newell
    • Newell is located in Buena Vista County
    • Population from the 2020 Census: 859 people
    • Jump to TripAdvisor's Tourism page for Newell <6>
  • Sioux Rapids
    (17 miles [27.4 km] to the northeast)
    • Note: The GPS coordinates that we are using for Sioux Rapids have been provided by the GNIS.<2> The coordinates still need to be verified.
    • Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Sioux Rapids
    • Sioux Rapids is located in Buena Vista County
    • Population from the 2020 Census: 733 people
    • Jump to TripAdvisor's Tourism page for Sioux Rapids <6>
  • Schaller
    (12 miles [19.3 km] to the south)
  • Lakeside
    (7 miles [11.3 km] to the southeast)
    • Note: The GPS coordinates that we are using for Lakeside have been provided by the GNIS.<2> The coordinates still need to be verified.
    • Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Lakeside
    • Lakeside is located in Buena Vista County
    • Population from the 2020 Census: 690 people
  • Albert City
    (19 miles [30.6 km] to the northeast)
  • Early
    (16 miles [25.7 km] to the southeast)

To Help With Your Genealogy Research ...

We have a couple of sections for those tracing their genealogy.

We created a list of cemeteries that are in the area around Alta. Our list includes the location of those cemeteries and we provide an overhead view. See our Cemetery List for Alta.

Using the information from an 1895 Atlas, we've created a list of communities that were in the area of Alta. Our list includes information such as whether the 1895 community had a post office or railroad service. See our List of 1890's Communities around Alta.

We also have a detailed list of newspapers that have been published in the area around Alta. See our Newspapers Page for Alta.

TripAdvisor Tourism Pages for Alta ...

Looking for more information about Alta? A wonderful source is the TripAdvisor website. We always start with the TripAdvisor Tourism page, where you can read an overview with links that will help you find lodging, restaurants and attractions.

In addition to the Tourism page for Alta, there are neighboring communities that also have Tourism pages. More information about those communities can be found on our TripAdvisor Page for Alta.

Adding Alta to Our Gazetteer ...

We originally found mention of Alta in both the FIPS-55 and the GNIS. For more information, see the FIPS and GNIS Codes sections on our Miscellaneous Page.

From our notes, the earliest published mention we've found for Alta was in the document titled List of Post Offices from Cameron Blevins and Richard Helbock.<7>

From that list, the Alta post office opened in 1871.

We also found Alta in the book titled Business Atlas and Shippers' Guide (1895).

For more details, see References and Mentions for Alta.

Unfortunately, we don't know of a website for Alta. If you can help, please contact us through our Feedback Page.

The official website for Buena Vista County: www.co.buena-vista.ia.us/

The official website for State of Iowa: https://www.iowa.gov/

Footnotes ...

<1>If you're interested in how the shape of Iowa's counties, including Buena Vista, have changed over time, we recommend the Atlas of Historical County Boundaries.
<2>The location has been supplied by the Geographic Names Information System - which is maintained by the U.S. Geological Survey (USGS). While these values should be definitive, we found that accuracy can vary and you should double-check the location if accuracy is required.
<3>Population counts have been provided by the U.S. Census Bureau. For more detail, please visit our Census Page for Alta.
<4>The elevation is an estimate for the area around Alta - it will be higher in some places and lower in others.
<5>ZIP Codes have been created by the United States Postal Service (USPS) as a way of grouping addresses to make delivery more efficient. The boundaries of the ZIP Code can be changed, re-assigned, eliminated or overlapped with other ZIP Codes. So keep in mind that any given ZIP Code is only 'loosely' associated with a city (such as Alta). When looking for a ZIP Code, whether Alta or elsewhere, it's always best to check the website of the United States Postal Service (USPS).
<6>While we're fans and frequent users of TripAdvisor, you should know that we're also members of the TripAdvisor affiliate program.
<7>A copy of their list with background information can be found at:

      https://cblevins.github.io/us-post-offices/data-biography/









 

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This page was last modified/updated: 10 Mar 2024