Alton is a somewhat small town located in the state of New Hampshire. With a population of 6,051 people and two associated neighborhoods, Alton is the 65th largest community in New Hampshire.Alton is neither predominantly blue-collar nor white-collar, instead having a mixed workforce of both blue-collar and white-collar jobs. Overall, Alton is a town of professionals, managers, and sales and office workers. There are especially a lot of people living in Alton who work in management occupations (13.58%), sales jobs (12.73%), and teaching (8.10%). Also of interest is that Alton has more people living here who work in computers and math than 95% of the places in the US. Telecommuters are a relatively large percentage of the workforce: 13.07% of people work from home. While this number may seem small overall, as a fraction of the total workforce it is high relative to the nation. These workers are often telecommuters who work in knowledge-based, white-collar professions. For example, Silicon Valley has large numbers of people who telecommute. Other at-home workers may be self-employed people who operate small businesses out of their homes. Another notable thing is that Alton is a major vacation destination. Much of the town’s population is seasonal: many people own second homes and only live there part-time, during the vacation season. The effect on the local economy is that many of the businesses are dependent on tourist dollars, and may operate only during the high season. As the vacation season ends, Alton’s population drops significantly, such that year-round residents will notice that the city is a much quieter place to live. Alton is a good choice for families with children because of several factors. Many other families with children live here, making it a place where both parents and children are more likely to develop social ties with other families. The town’s good public school district and large population of college-educated adults provide an environment conducive to academic success. Many people own their own single-family homes, providing areas for children to play and stability in the community. Finally, Alton’s overall crime rate is lower than average for the country. It is a fairly quiet town because there are relatively few of those groups of people who have a tendency to be noisy. (Children, for example, often can't help themselves from being noisy, and being parents ourselves, we know!) Alton has relatively few families with children living at home, and is quieter because of it. Renters and college students, for their own reasons, can also be noisy. Alton has few renters and college students. But the biggest reason it is quieter in Alton than in most places in America, is that there are just simply fewer people living here. If you think trees make good neighbors, Alton may be for you. One downside of living in Alton, however, is that residents on average have to contend with a long commute, spending on average 32.50 minutes every day commuting to work. Being a small town, Alton does not have a public transit system used by locals to get to and from work.The population of Alton is very well educated relative to most cities and towns in the nation, where the average community has 21.84% of its adult population holding a 4-year degree or higher: 35.79% of adults in Alton have a bachelor's degree or even advanced degree. The per capita income in Alton in 2022 was $55,370, which is upper middle income relative to New Hampshire, and wealthy relative to the rest of the US. This equates to an annual income of $221,480 for a family of four. The people who call Alton home describe themselves as belonging to a variety of racial and ethnic groups. The greatest number of Alton residents report their race to be White, followed by Black or African-American. Important ancestries of people in Alton include Irish, English, French, German, and Italian. The most common language spoken in Alton is English. Other important languages spoken here include Polish and French.
