Cost of Living
per year
per month
How Pasadena's prices compare to the US city average across major spending categories.
How far does your salary go in Pasadena?
Your $100,000 in Pasadena has the same purchasing power as $72,955 in the average US city. You'd need $27,045 more here to maintain that standard of living.
Demographics and workforce data from the US Census ACS 5-Year.
bachelor's or higher
Climate, safety, and walkability indicators.
See a side-by-side breakdown of cost of living, housing, and salaries.
Popular comparisons
Sorted by affordability — most affordable first.
Within 10 points of Pasadena's cost index of 137, sorted by closest match.
People moving to Pasadena usually have at least one specific reason. Most of them line up with what the data shows: a higher-income labor market than the national norm, on the calmer side of the national distribution, plus 3 more things worth knowing. Here's what's actually on the table.
Median household income in Pasadena is $97,818, a step above the national median of about $75k. The local job market leans toward industries that pay better than average, and that shows up in the take-home for most working households here.
Pasadena reports about 2,702 crime incidents per 100,000 residents — a step below the US average of around 3,500. The citywide number averages over neighborhoods that can vary a lot, but the headline number is friendlier than most American cities of comparable size.
Pasadena earns a Walk Score of 78/100 — above the US median, with denser neighborhoods scoring higher than the citywide aggregate suggests. A car is still useful for longer trips, but everyday life works on foot for a lot of residents. Transit Score comes in at 51/100 too, so even the trips that are too far to walk are usually doable on a bus or train.
Pasadena's Bike Score is 79/100 — the kind of number you only get when a city has built real bike infrastructure (protected lanes, connected routes, drivers who expect cyclists). For commuting or just for getting around, the bike is a serious option here, not a hobby.
54% of adults 25 and over in Pasadena hold a bachelor's degree or higher — meaningfully above the US average of around 36%. That correlates with the things you'd expect: stronger schools, more white-collar employers, more bookstores than the population alone would predict.
Reasons are pulled from Pasadena's actual data — Census ACS, BLS, BEA, NOAA, EPA AQS, FBI, and Walk Score. We don't list positives that aren't supported by the numbers, which is why different cities show different sections.
Almost never. Pasadena's winter average of about 50°F is too warm for snow most years. A measurable snowfall is the kind of event that closes schools and gets photographed for the local paper.
Barely. Winter in Pasadena averages around 50°F — short, mild, mostly an excuse to break out a light jacket. Some plants don't even drop their leaves.
Pleasantly warm. Pasadena's summer averages around 75°F — comfortable for outdoor evenings, hot enough on peak days to warrant AC but mild compared to the Sun Belt.
Zone 10, give or take a half-zone. Pasadena's typical winter low puts it in that band on the USDA Hardiness map, which is what nurseries label plants against. Use Zone 10 as your starting filter; the USDA's interactive map is more precise for borderline cases.
Pasadena is at about 925 feet (282 m) above sea level. High enough to be solidly above any coastal concern, low enough that altitude isn't a factor.
Average for an American city. Pasadena's reported crime rate of about 2,702 per 100,000 residents sits roughly in line with the US baseline of ~3,500. Like anywhere else, the citywide number masks real differences between neighborhoods — worth looking at specific areas before deciding.
Yes — Pasadena is one of the more expensive places to live in the US. The cost-of-living index is 137, about 37% above the national average. Housing is the dominant factor, and salaries here have to be high to compensate.
Yes — Pasadena is one of the more walkable US cities. A Walk Score of 78/100 means most daily errands can be done on foot in most neighborhoods. Transit Score is 51 out of 100. Many residents go car-free comfortably.
Roughly $95,949 a year would match the lifestyle of someone earning $70,000 in an average US city. That's a starting point, not a target — negotiate higher when you can. Median rent in Pasadena runs about $2,100/mo — keeping housing under 30% of gross income points to a similar floor on what you'd want to earn.