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 $100,261 in the average US city.
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 100, sorted by closest match.
Pasadena has at least one strong card to play — no state income tax. Here's the longer version.
Texas is one of the handful of US states with no state income tax on wages, so the only income-tax bite on a paycheck in Pasadena is federal. For a household earning $100k, that's a tangible four-figure difference every year compared to a comparable salary in California or New York.
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 46°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 46°F — short, mild, mostly an excuse to break out a light jacket. Some plants don't even drop their leaves.
Genuinely hot. Summer in Pasadena averages about 94°F, and peak afternoons run well over a hundred. Outdoor plans move to mornings and evenings; AC is the most-used appliance in the house.
Approximately USDA Hardiness Zone 10. That's the band gardeners use to pick plants — anything rated for Zone 10 or colder should survive a typical winter in Pasadena. (The estimate is derived from our winter-temperature data; the official USDA map uses station-level annual minimums and may differ by half a zone.)
Pasadena sits at about 30 feet (9 m) above sea level — low-lying, but with enough cushion that day-to-day life isn't affected by ocean levels.
Officially, Atlantic hurricane season runs June 1 through November 30, but most of the action lands between mid-August and mid-October. For Pasadena, that's when to keep half an eye on the National Hurricane Center forecast cone — and when an actual evacuation plan is worth having in the drawer if you're in a low-lying or coastal neighborhood.
Average for an American city. Pasadena's reported crime rate of about 3,459 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.
Roughly average. Pasadena's cost-of-living index is 100, putting it in the band where rent, groceries, and utilities track the national norm. Not a bargain, not a premium.
Mostly car-dependent. Pasadena's Walk Score of 38/100 means a handful of errands work on foot — depending on the neighborhood — but most residents still need a car for the rest.
Roughly $69,818 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 $1,159/mo — keeping housing under 30% of gross income points to a similar floor on what you'd want to earn.