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Place dossier plate
SheetTX-PASADENA-TX · Pasadena, TX 149,345 pop · income 42nd pct
Instrument codes from this place’s ACS population and household income, BEA state COL, FBI safety, national income percentile, photo-finish peer city, home-value band, and matched Census-tract book - not a moving recommendation.
Income neighbourhood around Pasadena
Lowest/highest poles plus peers nearest Pasadena on median household income. Full ladder: /browse and /rankings.
median HH income
Jackson · lowest
43,238
Jackson · lowest
43,238 median HH income
28.6% of the leader · rank #1
Sterling · near
64,261
Sterling · near
64,261 median HH income
42.6% of the leader · rank #2
Pasadena · this city
64,270
Pasadena · this city
64,270 median HH income
42.6% of the leader · rank #3
Penryn · near
64,271
Penryn · near
64,271 median HH income
42.6% of the leader · rank #4
Ririe · near
64,273
Ririe · near
64,273 median HH income
42.6% of the leader · rank #5
Lula · near
64,282
Lula · near
64,282 median HH income
42.6% of the leader · rank #6
Naperville · highest
150,937
Naperville · highest
150,937 median HH income
100.0% of the leader · rank #7
What this shows Neighbourhood peers only - not a full nationwide city board. Open a near peer when the gap is small; open the poles when the spread is wide.
Compare beyond this state
Nationwide peers by population, income, and FBI crime rate
Out-of-state nearest neighbors for Pasadena on ACS population and median household income
, plus FBI UCR reporting rate when the extract covers this place. Link sets are deduped so each column is a distinct comparison path, not a forecast that peers share a labor market or climate.
Similar population
Nearest out-of-state cities by ACS population. This city: 149,345.
Agency-reported UCR totals per 100,000 population, not a neighborhood safety grade or a prediction of personal risk.
Pasadena - the verdict
Nationally, Pasadena sits in the 42nd percentile for household income and the 17th percentile for safety among US cities with a population of 1,000 or more. Source: Census ACS + FBI UCR.
42nd
percentile, household income
41st
percentile, home value
40th
percentile, median rent
17th
percentile, safety
📝 How we sourced this
Population, income, and housing-cost figures come from the U.S. Census Bureau American Community Survey 5-year estimates (B-series tables). Crime data uses FBI UCR; climate uses NOAA Climate Normals; school counts come from NCES Common Core of Data; permits use the Census Building Permits Survey (BPS). See our methodology page for the full ETL pipeline and OMB / FIPS join keys.
Data Snapshot: Pasadena, TX
149,345 people live in Pasadena, Texas - a mid-sized U.S. city by U.S. Census Bureau ACS 2023 estimates. The typical household in Pasadena brings in $64,270 a year, below the median for U.S. cities on this measure, with a poverty rate of 14.7%. Pasadena's housing stock carries a median value of $193,600, and the median resident age is 32.8 years. About 16.1% of adults hold a bachelor's degree or higher, while 58.4% of working-age residents are in the labor force.
In 2024, 47 residential building permits were authorized in Pasadena (Construction Slowdown), down 75% from five years earlier, per Census BPS data. Pasadena's reported crime rate runs above the national norm: FBI UCR reporting places total crime at 2918.1 incidents per 100,000 residents, above the national average (voluntary agency reporting, reflects reporting activity, not a definitive danger score).
Texas tracks close to the national cost-of-living baseline: on BEA's 100-equals-national-average cost index, Texas scores 97.1 (Near Average), per the 2024 Regional Price Parities release. Statewide, HUD pegs Fair Market Rent for a two-bedroom unit at $1,149 monthly. Monthly utility costs average around $223 across Texas, per EIA 2023 residential energy estimates. Commute times here average 24.4 minutes, with 76.8% driving alone and 8.6% working from home, per Census ACS commuting data. FEMA's National Risk Index rates natural-hazard exposure at 49.0 out of 100 (Low).
A decision-led reading path
Useful questions to ask of Pasadena's data
How this reading path is ordered
This is not a composite city score. It is a city-specific route through the available public records, ordered for this profile so the page starts with questions the joined data can actually answer. The route here runs from reported crime to comparison shortlist to schools and households to work and mobility to population change to housing and income; another city can have a different sequence or fewer supported layers because the source joins are not uniform.
For Pasadena, city-specific coverage includes commute-mode shares, annual population history, FBI reported-crime rates, matched public-school count, local building permits.
No matched row is reported here for within-city Census tract profiles; the page leaves those layers out instead of substituting a statewide or national value.
1. Reported crime
What can the FBI record say about safety in Pasadena?
Treat this as a reporting-rate comparison, not a prediction of personal risk or a neighborhood-level safety grade. Tourism, daytime population, reporting practices, and variation inside the city are not adjusted away. The state rank and same-state peer table are the narrower comparisons available on this page.
The joined FBI UCR record reports 2918.1 violent and property crimes per 100,000 residents, above the 2280.5 national reference used here. The difference is 28% higher in arithmetic terms, but agency participation is voluntary and reporting completeness varies.
Which cities make useful reference points for Pasadena?
Within Texas, the closest population matches are Mesquite (148,848 residents, $71,843 income); Denton (146,987 residents, $73,719 income); McAllen (143,789 residents, $60,165 income). Outside the state, the closest population matches in this dataset are Naperville, IL (149,424 residents); Surprise, AZ (149,519 residents); Joliet, IL (149,785 residents). A third, income-matched reference set of 6 out-of-state cities sits in the income neighbourhood chart near the Place Dossier plate. These are mechanical peer sets, not claims that the places share a labor market, climate, culture, or metro context.
Use the in-state set to hold state policy and broad price conditions more nearly constant. Use the nationwide size set to ask whether cities with a similar resident count produce different housing, income, or commute outcomes. The income set is a third lens, deliberately separate from population matching. The nationwide peer panel below adds a fourth FBI UCR reporting-rate lens, not personal risk.
The NCES join finds 47 public schools within the city match. 16.1% of adults age 25+ hold a bachelor's degree or higher in the ACS estimate. These measures answer different questions: the school count describes local institutions, while adult attainment describes residents and cannot be used as a school-quality rating.
The city has a broader matched school footprint, but count alone does not describe performance, capacity, program availability, or attendance boundaries. This profile deliberately avoids converting it into an unsupported family-friendliness score.
What does the journey to work look like in Pasadena?
Mode share answers how workers usually travel; it does not measure congestion, reliability, distance to a particular job, or the quality of transit service. No single mode completely explains the work trip here. The mix is more useful than a one-number commute grade, especially when comparing places where transit, walking, and remote work divide the non-driving share differently.
Driving alone is the largest reported mode at 76.8%. The reported mean trip to work is 24.4 minutes.
These joined records add useful context, but they do not need another full-size panel. Each remains a separate measure with its own geography and source boundary.
Population change
Is Pasadena growing, shrinking, or holding steady?
Recent estimates point downward. A falling count can reflect migration, household size, annexation boundaries, or estimation noise, so it is a prompt to inspect the full series rather than a claim about local economic health.
Census PEP estimates show the population declined by -2,862 residents from 2020 to 2025, a -1.9% change. Separately, Census BPS recorded 47 housing units authorized in 2024. PEP and ACS are different Census series, so the trend is kept separate from the headline ACS population.
Period change
-1.9%
2025 estimate
148,539
2020 estimate
151,401
Census Population Estimates Program, 2020–2025; permit context uses Census BPS.
How far does income reach against housing in Pasadena?
The home-value-to-income reference sits in a middle range: the ACS median home value is 3.0 times median household income. The ACS poverty estimate is 14.7%, which keeps the citywide median from describing every household.
This is a citywide price-to-income reference, not a mortgage-affordability test; it does not include interest rates, taxes, insurance, household size, or an individual buyer's down payment. Income and home value move within the same broad scale here. The useful next check is not a generic affordability label, but whether similar-size cities offer a materially different income, housing, or commute trade-off.
Household income
$64,270
Home value
$193,600
Value / income
3.0×
City-level Census ACS 2023 medians. The ratio divides two separate medians and is descriptive only.
Below median income · poverty 14.7% (High poverty)
Cost of Living Index (state)
97.1 (US=100)
Near national cost · BEA RPP 2024, Texas average
F
City profile score · Pasadena, TX
31/100
5 published dimensions · ACS/FBI 2023
Comparative score against U.S. cities with population of 1,000 or more on Census ACS medians
(income, poverty, bachelor's share, cost of living) and FBI UCR violent-crime rates when
published. Higher means a stronger standing on those published figures, not a livability
rating, not a recommendation to move, buy, or pick a "best" city. Missing inputs drop out
and redistribute weight.
How it is calculated.
Cost of living C-
97.1 index
BEA state Regional Price Parities index (100 ≈ national average); lower is stronger on this axis. Same value for every city in the state.
Household income D
$64,270
Median household income vs U.S. cities (pop ≥1,000); ACS.
Poverty rate F
14.7%
Share of residents below the poverty line; lower scores better on this axis.
Bachelor's+ share F
16.1%
Adults with a bachelor's degree or higher; ACS.
Violent crime F
566 /100k
FBI UCR violent offenses per 100,000 residents; lower is stronger on this axis.
Pasadena profile (scored ACS/FBI dimensions)Read the chart values
Cost of living: 53/100 (C-) · 97.1 index
Household income: 41/100 (D) · $64,270
Poverty rate: 23/100 (F) · 14.7%
Bachelor's+ share: 23/100 (F) · 16.1%
Violent crime: 12/100 (F) · 566 /100k
Where Pasadena sits on home value vs crime among peer cities
Pasadena's median home value and FBI crime rate plotted with similar-size and
same-state peers (padded with large cities when the peer set is thin). The second
read: pricey does not always mean safer, check which quadrant this city lands in.
Census ACS median home value vs FBI UCR crime rate - Pasadena highlighted among 12 peers.Read the chart values
Pasadena, TX (this city): home $193,600, crime 2,918/100k
Naperville, IL : home $509,900, crime 967/100k
Surprise, AZ : home $396,000, crime 985/100k
Joliet, IL : home $248,600, crime 1,595/100k
Escondido, CA : home $663,500, crime 1,919/100k
Pomona, CA : home $569,600, crime 3,469/100k
Mesquite, TX : home $226,500, crime 3,478/100k
Denton, TX : home $325,700, crime 1,949/100k
McAllen, TX : home $173,800, crime 1,986/100k
Killeen, TX : home $196,000, crime 1,910/100k
Waco, TX : home $199,600, crime 2,552/100k
Midland, TX : home $298,600, crime 1,977/100k
How does Pasadena compare to other US cities?
Here's how Pasadena stacks up against the full field of US cities (population 1,000+), computed live from Census and FBI data.
Household income42% higher than other cities
Home value41% pricier than other cities
Median rent40% pricier than other cities
Safety17% safer than other cities
"Safer than" reflects total crime rate from FBI UCR; the others use Census ACS estimates.
Zoom in to just Texas and the picture shifts: Pasadena ranks #555 of 624 Texas cities by lowest crime rate, a different read than the national percentile above.
How we calculate these percentiles & ranks
Each percentile compares Pasadena against every qualifying US city; each in-state rank narrows that to Texas only. Full formula and direction notes: methodology.
Texas-relative analysis
Median Gross Rent places Pasadena near the bottom of Texas's cities
Among the 1,663 Texas cities PlainCities tracks with reported median gross rent data, Pasadena ranks #1 - the 0th percentile within the state. This is a different, narrower cut than the nationwide percentiles above: it compares Pasadena only against its own state's cities, not the full US field.
Median Household Income
#729 of 1,520
52nd percentile in Texas
Median Gross Rent
#1 of 1,663
0th percentile in Texas
Median Home Value
#581 of 1,505
61st percentile in Texas
Poverty Rate
#517 of 1,663
69th percentile in Texas
Bachelor's Degree or Higher
#891 of 1,663
46th percentile in Texas
How in-state ranks are ordered
Ranked by raw value (highest first); a higher rank is not automatically "better" for every measure, see each metric's own context above. This is a comparison within Texas only, not a livability score. See the methodology for the source and calculation.
Gauge source note
42nd percentile nationally for median household income · 17th percentile for safety (lower crime rate). Source: Census ACS 2023 / FBI UCR 2023.
Pasadena's profile vs. every US city
Income, affordability, and safety percentile
Pasadena's percentile rank on 3 favorable-direction measures (income, affordability, safety) vs. every tracked US city -- higher on every axis is more favorable. Not a composite quality score, just the arithmetic mean of the axes shown.
How Pasadena's home value compares nationally
Median home value vs. every US city (population 1,000+)
$193,600Among the most affordablemore affordable than 59% of 15,600 US cities
Show national distribution
Each bar is a $25K-wide band; taller bars hold more US cities. The dashed line + filled bar mark this entry. Hover or tap any bar for its full count, share, and where it sits relative to this entry.
Source U.S. Census Bureau ACS 5-Year Estimates · 2023
Pasadena's home-value-to-income ratio: 3.0×
ACS median home value divided by median household income.
Band
moderate
3.0–5.0×
National rank
#6,757 of 15,516
More affordable than 56% of tracked cities (pop. 1,000+)
Size class
#117 of 750
Mid-size cities (50,000–199,999)
At 3.0×, Pasadena sits in the moderate band:
national rank #6,757 of 15,516 and #117 of 750mid-size cities (50,000–199,999).
Income and home value move in the same broad scale; check same-state peers before treating the multiple as an advantage or a warning.
How this ratio is calculated
Ratio = Census ACS 2023 median home value ÷ median household income for cities with both fields and population ≥ 1,000.
Rank 1 = lowest ratio (most compact). Bands match the fleet affordability thresholds used on guides (<3.0 / 3.0–5.0 / >5.0).
This is not a mortgage payment estimate and does not include rates, taxes, insurance, or down payment.
Income distribution context
$64,270Pasadena, TX median household income (Census ACS)
Show U.S. national quintile / Lorenz context Pasadena, TX median household income (Census ACS 5-year) with U.S. national quintile shares for context. Diagonal = equality; the curve is national, not computed for Pasadena, TX.
Key socioeconomic indicators
Bachelor's degree or higher (adults 25+)16.1%
Census ACS S1501, educational attainment
Poverty rate (households below FPL)14.7%
Census ACS S1701, poverty status
Labor force participation (adults 16+)58.4%
Census ACS S2301, share of working-age residents in the labor force
Population
149,345
Median Income
$64,270
Median Home Value
$193,600
Median Age
32.8
Poverty Rate
14.7%
Labor force participation
58.4%
Bachelor's Degree+
16.1%
Safety & Crime
Total Crime Rate
2918.1
per 100,000 residents
Violent Crime
566.1
per 100,000 residents
Property Crime
2351.9
per 100,000 residents
Crime reporting caveat
Reflects incidents reported to the FBI's Uniform Crime Reporting program — agency participation is voluntary and reporting completeness varies by jurisdiction and year, so this reflects reporting activity, not a definitive danger score. Not adjusted for tourism, commuter, or daytime population.
Schools
Total Schools
47
Public schools in this city
Population Change
PEP vintage
Annual U.S. Census Bureau Population Estimates Program (PEP) estimates, 2020–2025
Pasadena's Census PEP population estimates, 2020–2025.Read the chart as text
Period
Population
2020
151,401 residents
2021
148,750 residents
2022
148,599 residents
2023
148,596 residents
2024
149,276 residents
2025
148,539 residents
Housing Supply
BPS source
Census Bureau Building Permits Survey (BPS) - annual residential permits authorized
📉 Construction Slowdown
Total Permits (2024)
47
housing units authorized
Single-Family
47
detached homes
Multifamily
0
apartments & condos
Supply Intensity
0.3
permits per 1,000 residents
5-Year Permit Trend (2019–2024)
Year
Total
Single-Family
Multifamily
Est. Value
2019
189
189
0
$27.4M
2020
144
144
0
$31.0M
2021
119
119
0
$19.8M
2022
138
138
0
$30.8M
2023
109
109
0
$17.2M
2024
47
47
0
$9.0M
Permit volume decreased 75% from 2019 to 2024.
Commute Patterns
Commute source
How workers travel to work, Census ACS 2023
Average Commute Time
24.4 minutes
Drive Alone
76.8%
Carpool
11.6%
Public Transit
0.2%
Walk
1.2%
Work from Home
8.6%
Other
1.6%
Based on 63,742 workers 16 and over.
Monthly Utility Costs
Texas statewide monthly utility average (EIA 2023): $223
EIA 2023 residential energy data puts average monthly utilities across Texas at $223 (electricity about $130 , water and sewer about $48 ).
These are Texas statewide averages, not a meter reading for Pasadena. Actual bills vary by home size, usage, and local rates. Source: U.S. Energy Information Administration (EIA) 2023.
Living Costs & Risk
Texas's BEA cost-of-living index is 97.1 (Near Average; US average = 100, RPP 2024). HUD Fair Market Rent for a typical two-bedroom in the county around Pasadena is $1,149/mo. FEMA's National Risk Index, averaged to Texas statewide on PlainCities, rates natural-hazard exposure at 49.0 / 100 (Low).
Cost/risk geography note
Cost of living is a Texas statewide BEA average; rent is a county-level HUD Fair Market Rent for the county Pasadena sits in; the FEMA hazard score shown here is a statewide average of county NRI inputs, not a parcel-level reading.
How Pasadena compares to similar-size Texas cities
Same-state peer method
Closest same-state population matches, not geographic neighbors. Population + median household income come from Census Bureau ACS 5-year B01001 and B19013.
Source: U.S. Census Bureau ACS 5-Year 2023, FBI UCR, NCES CCD, Census BPS 2024, Census ACS B08301/B08136, U.S. Energy Information Administration (EIA) 2023, BEA Regional Price Parities 2024, HUD Fair Market Rents 2026, FEMA National Risk Index.