Welcome to Alton ...
The city of Alton is located in Sioux County<1>.
The location of Alton has been provided by the Geographic Names Information System (ie- the GNIS).<2>
While we don't have a date for the founding of Alton, you might consider that their post office opened in 1882.
When the people of Alton refer to themselves (known as a demonym), they frequently use Altonian<3>
From the Census Estimates for 2019, Alton has a population of 1,251 people<4> (see below for details).
Alton is 1,310 feet [399 m] above sea level.<5>.
Time Zone: Alton lies in the Central Time Zone (CST/CDT) and observes daylight saving time
Alton is within the (712) area code.
The ZIP code for Alton: 51003<6>
Population Details ...
Taken from the 2019 Census Estimates, Alton had an population of 1,251 people. This is an increase of 2.88% since the 2010 Census (or an increase of 14.25% since the 2000 Census).
At the time of the 2010 Census, Alton had a population of 1,216 people. This makes Alton the county's 6th most populous community.
The population of Alton represents 0.04% of the total population of Iowa (which has 3,046,355 people), making it the state's 240th most populous community.
With a 2010 count of 1,216 people, the population of Alton increased 11.05% from the 2000 Census (which had a count of 1,095 people).
More information can be found on the Census Page for Alton.
Communities Also Named Alton ...
Using our Gazetteer, we found that there are 37 communities that are also named Alton - they are located in Alabama, Arkansas, California, Florida, Georgia (2), Idaho, Illinois, Indiana, Kansas (3), Kentucky, Louisiana (2), Maine, Michigan (2), Minnesota, Missouri, Montana, New Hampshire, New York, North Carolina, North Dakota, Nova Scotia, Ohio, Ontario (3), Pennsylvania, Rhode Island, Texas (2), Utah, Virginia and West Virginia.
For more information, see our Tidbits & Trivia Page for Alton.
Communities near Alton ...
We have created a list of 10 communities that are near Alton.
- Le Mars
(16 miles [25.7 km] to the southwest)- Note: The GPS coordinates that we are using for Le Mars have been provided by the GNIS.<2> The coordinates still need to be verified.
- Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Le Mars
- Le Mars is located in Plymouth County
- Population from the 2020 Census: 10,195 people
- Jump to TripAdvisor's Tourism page for Le Mars <7>
- Sioux Center
(10 miles [16.1 km] to the northwest)- Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Sioux Center
- Sioux Center is located in Sioux County
- Population from the 2020 Census: 7,665 people
- Jump to TripAdvisor's Tourism page for Sioux Center <7>
- Sheldon
(15 miles [24.1 km] to the northeast)- Note: The GPS coordinates that we are using for Sheldon have been provided by the GNIS.<2> The coordinates still need to be verified.
- Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Sheldon
- Sheldon is located in O'Brien County
- Population from the 2020 Census: 5,071 people
- Jump to TripAdvisor's Tourism page for Sheldon <7>
- Hull
(15 miles [24.1 km] to the northwest)- Note: The GPS coordinates that we are using for Hull have been provided by the GNIS.<2> The coordinates still need to be verified.
- Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Hull
- Hull is located in Sioux County
- Population from the 2020 Census: 2,296 people
- Jump to TripAdvisor's Tourism page for Hull <7>
- Remsen
(12 miles [19.3 km] to the south)- Note: The GPS coordinates that we are using for Remsen have been provided by the GNIS.<2> The coordinates still need to be verified.
- Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Remsen
- Remsen is located in Plymouth County
- Population from the 2020 Census: 1,607 people
- Jump to TripAdvisor's Tourism page for Remsen <7>
- Marcus
(15 miles [24.1 km] to the southeast)- Note: The GPS coordinates that we are using for Marcus have been provided by the GNIS.<2> The coordinates still need to be verified.
- Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Marcus
- Marcus is located in Cherokee County
- Population from the 2020 Census: 1,055 people
- Jump to TripAdvisor's Tourism page for Marcus <7>
- Paullina
(16 miles [25.7 km] to the east) - Hospers
(8 miles [12.9 km] to the northeast)- Note: The GPS coordinates that we are using for Hospers have been provided by the GNIS.<2> The coordinates still need to be verified.
- Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Hospers
- Hospers is located in Sioux County
- Population from the 2020 Census: 699 people
- Jump to TripAdvisor's Tourism page for Hospers <7>
- Boyden
(13 miles [20.9 km] to the north) - Ireton
(15 miles [24.1 km] to the west)- Note: The GPS coordinates that we are using for Ireton have been provided by the GNIS.<2> The coordinates still need to be verified.
- Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Ireton
- Ireton is located in Sioux County
- Population from the 2020 Census: 595 people
- Jump to TripAdvisor's Tourism page for Ireton <7>
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 Alton. Our list includes the location of those cemeteries and we provide an overhead view. See our Cemetery List for Alton.
Using the information from an 1895 Atlas, we've created a list of communities that were in the area of Alton. 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 Alton.
We also have a detailed list of newspapers that have been published in the area around Alton. See our Newspapers Page for Alton.
TripAdvisor Tourism Pages for Alton ...
Looking for more information about Alton? 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 Alton, there are neighboring communities that also have Tourism pages. More information about those communities can be found on our TripAdvisor Page for Alton.
Adding Alton to Our Gazetteer ...
We originally found mention of Alton 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 Alton was in the document titled List of Post Offices from Cameron Blevins and Richard Helbock.<8>
From that list, the Alton post office opened in 1882.
We also found Alton in the book titled Business Atlas and Shippers' Guide (1895).
For more details, see References and Mentions for Alton.
Off-the-Road Links ...
Unfortunately, we don't know of a website for Alton. If you can help, please contact us through our Feedback Page.
The official website for Sioux County: www.siouxcounty.org/
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 Sioux, 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> | A demonym is the name for a resident of a community which is usually derived from (or is related to) the name of that community. In other words, it's how the residents of Alton refer to themselves. It's important to note that there aren't any rules for taking a city's name and turning it into a demonym. A demonym is informal and while the majority of Alton may use one name, keep in mind that others may use something different. |
| <4> | Population counts have been provided by the U.S. Census Bureau. For more detail, please visit our Census Page for Alton. |
| <5> | The elevation is an estimate for the area around Alton - it will be higher in some places and lower in others. |
| <6> | 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 Alton). When looking for a ZIP Code, whether Alton or elsewhere, it's always best to check the website of the United States Postal Service (USPS). |
| <7> | While we're fans and frequent users of TripAdvisor, you should know that we're also members of the TripAdvisor affiliate program. |
| <8> | A copy of their list with background information can be found at: https://cblevins.github.io/us-post-offices/data-biography/ |