Pasadena, California
Cost of living, housing, income, commute, climate, and safety — compiled for relocators researching Pasadena.
Key figures
Each metric shows how Pasadena compares with the U.S. baseline (ACS/BLS nationals where available; catalog-city averages for crime, climate, and commute). Income, housing, population, and crime are for the incorporated city (city limits), not the broader metro/MSA — unemployment is county-level (BLS LAUS).
- Population
- 136,462City limits · not metro/MSA
- Median household income
- $103,778Incorporated place (ACS)32% above U.S. avgU.S. $78,538
- Housing cost index
- 254ACS home+rent vs U.S. (100 = avg)154% above U.S. avgU.S. 100
- Median home value
- $1,045,000City limits (ACS)244% above U.S. avgU.S. $303,400
- Median rent
- $2,218City limits (ACS)65% above U.S. avgU.S. $1,348
- Unemployment
- 5.3%County LAUS · not city-onlyNear U.S. avg (4.2 pts)U.S. 4.2 pts
- Avg commute
- 30 min20% above U.S. avgU.S. 25 min
- Walk Score
- 6749% above U.S. avgU.S. 45
- Violent crime rate
- 432annualized per 100k · citywide28% below U.S. avgU.S. 602.7
- Property crime rate
- 2019.5annualized per 100k · citywide35% below U.S. avgU.S. 3084.9
- Summer high
- 81°F6.0°F below U.S. avgU.S. 87°F
- Winter low
- 49°F15.0°F above U.S. avgU.S. 34°F
- Annual rainfall
- 14.3 in57% below U.S. avgU.S. 32.9 in
- Sunny days
- 33124% above U.S. avgU.S. 266
Compare Pasadena with another city
About 136,462 people live in Pasadena, CA. Median household income is roughly $103,778, while the ACS housing-cost index sits near 254 — well above the national housing-cost baseline (100 ≈ U.S. average). Ownership is a high bar — typical values near $1,045,000 push many newcomers toward renting first.
Pasadena is compact enough that a single wrong neighborhood choice is easy to feel day to day — visit at commute hour before signing. Figures on this page are merged from Census ACS, BLS LAUS, FBI Crime Data Explorer, and NOAA Climate Normals — use them to compare Pasadena with nearby alternatives before you relocate.
Pacific weather, wildfire seasons, and housing scarcity dominate relocation tradeoffs. Roughly 331 sunny days a year give outdoor routines unusual calendar reliability. Plan on roughly 30 minutes each way for a typical commute; Walk Score is about 67. Unemployment recently ran near 5.3%, broadly in line with many large U.S. counties. Violent-offense rates near 432 per 100k sit in a mid-to-elevated band versus many peer cities in this catalog.
Nearby & similar cities
Continue researching with these internal links — each page is a full data profile.
Sources
- Census / ACS: U.S. Census Bureau ACS 2023 5-year (Pasadena city, 1600000US0656000)
- BLS: BLS LAUS LAUCN060370000000003 (Los Angeles County, June 2026)
- Crime: FBI CIUS Table 8 (2019) city offenses known to law enforcement — rates per 100k; CDE API unavailable at enrich time
- Climate: NOAA 1991–2020 Monthly Normals (USW00093134 LOS ANGELES DWTN USC CAMPUS)
Last updated 2026-07-28