If you are weighing Altoona against Bondurant, the useful answer is that these two Polk County cities sit only about 3.5 miles apart, share parts of the same two school districts, and differ most in size, housing mix and the amenities inside city limits. That means the decision often comes down to the specific street, the specific school district line and the kind of home you want, rather than the city name on the address.
Buyers looking east of Des Moines often have both cities on their list at the same time. Here is a side-by-side comparison built only on public data, with the source behind every figure, so you can see the real differences clearly.
Altoona had 19,565 residents at the 2020 Census, and the Census Bureau estimates 22,796 as of July 1, 2025. Bondurant had 7,365 residents in 2020 and an estimated 9,647 in 2025. Both cities added residents over that period: roughly 3,200 in Altoona and roughly 2,300 in Bondurant.
Both cities sit entirely in Polk County. Altoona covers about 13.3 square miles of land and Bondurant about 11.1 square miles, by the Census Bureau's 2024 Gazetteer. Altoona's main ZIP code is 50009 and Bondurant's is 50035.
This part of the comparison often surprises buyers. The district depends on the address, not the city, and the same two districts reach into both cities.
Most of Altoona is served by the Southeast Polk Community School District. By US Census Bureau school-district maps, much of Altoona's north side is in the Bondurant-Farrar Community School District, and a small northwest edge is in the Saydel Community School District. By area, the Census maps place about 69% of Altoona in Southeast Polk and about 29% in Bondurant-Farrar.
Most of Bondurant is served by the Bondurant-Farrar Community School District, and by the same Census maps a small southeast part is in the Southeast Polk Community School District. By area, about 97% of Bondurant falls in Bondurant-Farrar.
The practical takeaway: a home on Altoona's north side and a home in Bondurant can sit in the same district, while two Altoona homes a few miles apart can sit in different ones. My Altoona schools page and Bondurant schools page name each district with links to the official sources. Confirm the district for any address before you write an offer.
Measured between the two cities' Census internal points, Altoona and Bondurant are about 3.5 miles apart in a straight line. By road, OpenStreetMap routing puts the same trip at about 4.5 miles and roughly 10 minutes with no traffic.
Relative to Des Moines, Altoona sits about 9 miles from the Des Moines Census point and Bondurant about 12 miles, both measured in a straight line. The Census Bureau's American Community Survey puts the mean travel time to work at 22.5 minutes for Altoona residents and 22.3 minutes for Bondurant residents (2020-2024), so on average the two cities are close to even.
Averages hide your own route, though. I recommend driving your real commute at your real rush hour from each address you are considering. A few minutes each way adds up over a year.
The Census Bureau's 2020-2024 American Community Survey shows a clear difference in the housing mix:
Bondurant's housing is overwhelmingly owner-occupied, while Altoona has a larger share of renter-occupied units in its stock. Bondurant's median owner-occupied value is also higher. These are five-year survey figures describing the homes already standing, not current list prices, so I always pair them with live MLS data for the exact neighborhood and price range you have in mind.
For investors, the ownership split is worth noting. A city with a larger rental share generally offers more existing rental properties to evaluate, while a city where most homes are owner-occupied has fewer. Either way, the numbers on the specific property decide whether it works. My Altoona investment neighborhoods guide and Bondurant house hacking guide go deeper.
Altoona has several regional attractions inside city limits. Adventureland opened in 1974. Prairie Meadows, owned by Polk County, ran its first horse race on March 1, 1989, and added its casino in 1995. The open-air Outlets of Des Moines sits on Bass Pro Drive near the I-80 and U.S. 65 interchange. Olde Town centers on 1st Avenue and 2nd Street and is home to the Altoona Area Historical Society museum. The paved Gay Lea Wilson Trail has an Altoona access point at 8th Street SW and 7th Avenue SW and connects to Pleasant Hill, Des Moines and Ankeny.
Bondurant centers its outdoor amenities on a trail and a lake. The paved Chichaqua Valley Trail runs 26 miles from Berwick to Baxter, has been a National Recreation Trail since 2007, and passes the Bondurant Regional Trailhead, which the city added in 2013. Lake Petocka, listed by the Iowa DNR at 19 surface acres, is circled by a walking trail, and the Bondurant Recreational Sports Complex sits on its northeast side. The Bondurant Farmers Market runs Wednesday evenings from May through October, SummerFest arrives in June, and Polk County's Chichaqua Bottoms Greenbelt covers more than 8,300 acres in the county's northeast corner.
See my Living in Altoona guide and Living in Bondurant guide for more.
Because both cities are in Polk County, the county portion of the levy comes from the same county budget. The city and school district portions differ by address. Under Iowa Code section 24.2A, the county auditor mails each property owner a statement of proposed property taxes by March 15, and each city, county and school district holds a separate public hearing on its proposed property tax amount, where residents and property owners can give testimony. The governing body can decrease, but not increase, the proposed amount at that hearing.
Since Southeast Polk and Bondurant-Farrar both reach into both cities, two homes in the same city can carry different school levies. If the home will be your primary residence, ask the assessor's office about Iowa's homestead exemption. The Iowa Department of Revenue notes that SF 2472, signed May 18, 2026, makes the homestead benefit a homestead tax exemption, and current claimants do not need to refile.
What this means for your strategy: Search Altoona and Bondurant together as one east-side search area, then narrow by school district line, commute and home type. Because they are so close, the right home can come from either city. Investors should run any property through the Deal Calculator with the actual rent and tax figures before making an offer.
When you are ready, explore the Altoona area guide and the Bondurant area guide, or see how both fit with their neighbors on the Central Iowa areas map. If you want a no-pressure look at specific homes in either city, reach out and the Flanders Team at RE/MAX Real Estate Center will lay out the numbers clearly.
Jackson Krile | Flanders Team | RE/MAX Real Estate Center
515.490.8614 · Jackson@FlandersTeam.com
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