Alton is a medium-sized city located in the state of Texas. With a population of 19,673 people and three associated neighborhoods, Alton is the 156th largest community in Texas. Alton has seen a significant amount of newer housing growth in recent years. Quite often, new home construction is the result of new residents moving in who are middle class or wealthier, attracted by jobs, a healthy local economy, or other amenities as they leave nearby or far away areas for greener pastures. This seems to be the case in Alton, where the median household income is $44,317.00.

Telecommuters are a relatively large percentage of the workforce: 8.37% 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.

The percentage of people in Alton with college degrees is quite a bit lower than the national average for cities and towns of 21.84%: just 10.50% of people over 25 have a bachelor's degree or advanced degree.

The per capita income in Alton in 2022 was $15,656, which is low income relative to Texas and the nation. This equates to an annual income of $62,624 for a family of four. However, Alton contains both very wealthy and poor people as well.

Alton is an extremely ethnically-diverse city. The people who call Alton home describe themselves as belonging to a variety of racial and ethnic groups. People of Hispanic or Latino origin are the most prevalent group in Alton, accounting for 99.15% of the city’s residents (people of Hispanic or Latino origin can be of any race). The greatest number of Alton residents report their race to be White, followed by Native American. Important ancestries of people in Alton include Irish, African, Italian, German, and English.

Foreign born people are also an important part of Alton's cultural character, accounting for 30.22% of the city’s population.

The most common language spoken in Alton is Spanish. Other important languages spoken here include English and French.