Best PlacesSouth Arroyo, Pasadena, CA Best Neighborhoods
2026–2027 edition · Data updated July 2026
Every neighborhood in and around South Arroyo, Pasadena, scored on 40 measures of daily life and ranked to fit what matters to you. Local pay runs high here, and housing takes the biggest bite out of it. To work out which city fits you best, start with the best places to live tool.
South Arroyo, Pasadena ranks 1,080th of 5,983 U.S. neighborhoods on the BestNeighborhood index. It scores highest on an educated workforce by a wide margin, and air quality ranks lowest.
The best neighborhoods in South Arroyo, Pasadena
BestNeighborhood is the only ranking that scores 40 measures of daily life neighborhood by neighborhood and lets you re-weight every one of them yourself.
South Arroyo, Pasadena's strengths and weaknesses
Where South Arroyo, Pasadena ranks high
- Educational attainmentBetter than 98% of neighborhoods
- Nice weatherabout 275 pleasant days a year, better than 96% of neighborhoods
- Big-city accessBetter than 95% of neighborhoods
- Household income$164,509 median, better than 94% of neighborhoods
- Healthcare accessBetter than 91% of neighborhoods
Where South Arroyo, Pasadena ranks low
- Air qualityBetter than only 5% of neighborhoods
- Internet speedBetter than only 8% of neighborhoods
- Cell coverageBetter than only 9% of neighborhoods
- Low vacancyBetter than only 16% of neighborhoods
- Heat safetyBetter than only 17% of neighborhoods
What it costs to buy a home in South Arroyo, Pasadena
A household needs to earn about $377,000 a year to comfortably buy the median South Arroyo, Pasadena home, at 20% down and today's 30-year rate. That runs well above the area's median income of $164,509, so buying stretches a typical household.
Where the monthly payment goes
Assumes a 20% down payment, a 6.6% 30-year fixed rate, and a 28% share of income going to the payment. The rate is the 2026-07-23 30-year fixed average, series MORTGAGE30US from the St. Louis Fed, which publishes Freddie Mac's weekly survey. Against the median home value, property tax uses South Arroyo, Pasadena's effective rate of 0.62%, and insurance is estimated at 0.4% of home value a year.
Renting versus buying
At today's prices and rents, renting stays cheaper than buying across the first 10 years here, so the case for buying rests on staying much longer or on prices rising faster than assumed. The chart tracks the running cost of each.
Who lives in South Arroyo, Pasadena
South Arroyo, Pasadena runs older than the country, and households here run smaller than average.
Residents by age
Racial and ethnic makeup has its own map. See the race and diversity map for South Arroyo, Pasadena.
Who works in South Arroyo, Pasadena, and how
Work in South Arroyo, Pasadena centers on professional & technical and education. Unemployment is low, and employment has held roughly flat.
Largest industries
How people get to work
- Drive or carpool 56%
- Work from home 36%
- Transit, walk, or bike 8%
Life in South Arroyo, Pasadena
South Arroyo, Pasadena has more restaurants and bars per resident than 80% of neighborhoods and more late-night spots per resident than 70% of neighborhoods. The coast is about 20 minutes away. Dining, parks, and nightlife concentrates in some parts of South Arroyo, Pasadena and thins out in others, which the map shows.
What the weather is like in South Arroyo, Pasadena, month by month
South Arroyo, Pasadena sees roughly 275 pleasant days a year. July highs average about 89 degrees. January highs sit near 68, with lows near 48. The comfortable stretch runs October through May.
Show the monthly temperatures
| Month | Avg high | Avg | Avg low |
|---|---|---|---|
| January | 68° | 60° | 48° |
| April | 76° | 68° | 57° |
| July | 89° | 81° | 69° |
| October | 83° | 74° | 60° |
Flying in and out of South Arroyo, Pasadena
Bob Hope sits about 12 miles away. It is a medium hub and boarded 3.1 million passengers in 2025, with 54 nonstop destinations.
The best schools in and around South Arroyo, Pasadena
Schools across South Arroyo, Pasadena average a C, better than 42% of neighborhoods.
Top high schools
- Eagle Rock HighB+ · 53% proficient
- Benjamin Franklin Senior HighB+ · 52% proficient
- John Muir HighB · 50% proficient
Grades come from K-12 test scores, with scores projected for schools missing data. See every South Arroyo, Pasadena school and its grade on SchoolGrade.
South Arroyo, Pasadena measure by measure
Cards are ordered by how much each measure matters to you, so the ones you weighted highest come first. Expand to see every measure. Percentages compare South Arroyo, Pasadena against the other 5,982 neighborhoods.
Common questions about living in South Arroyo, Pasadena
Is South Arroyo, Pasadena a good place to live?
Using BestNeighborhood's default rankings, South Arroyo, Pasadena ranks 1,080th of 5,983 neighborhoods. It scores highest on an educated workforce, the weather, and big-city access, and lowest on air quality and internet speeds. How good it is for you depends on which of those you weight most, which the map lets you set.
Is South Arroyo, Pasadena expensive to live in?
The median home is worth $1,478,301. The overall cost of living runs about 62% above the national average. Set against a $164,509 median income, cost of living beats 78% of neighborhoods.
Is South Arroyo, Pasadena safe?
South Arroyo, Pasadena is safer than 43% of neighborhoods. Safety varies a lot by neighborhood. Crime costs an estimated $524 per resident a year.
Compare South Arroyo, Pasadena with other neighborhoods
Sources and methodology
Every measure on this page is scored for each neighborhood, then rolled up to South Arroyo, Pasadena. Scores are absolute rather than ranked, which means a 60 in South Arroyo, Pasadena represents the same real quantity as a 60 anywhere else, and the ranking is a weighted average of those absolutes. The map colors come from a national scale calibrated against a population weighted random sample of 5,000 neighborhoods. That absolute scoring is what no other places-to-live ranking does: it puts a single neighborhood, a town, a metro, and a state on one scale, so the same 40 measures answer both which metro to move to and which street inside it to buy on. Read the full methodology.
South Arroyo, Pasadena detail on BestNeighborhood maps:
- Walk Grade for South Arroyo, Pasadena: walkability, transit, and biking, measured on the real street network rather than by straight line distance.
- Noise in South Arroyo, Pasadena: road, rail, and aviation sound modeling calibrated against federal ground truth measurements.
- Conservative vs liberal map of South Arroyo, Pasadena: precinct level election results apportioned to neighborhoods.
- Mobile and cell coverage in South Arroyo, Pasadena: carrier by carrier coverage behind the cell score.
South Arroyo, Pasadena detail on related sites:
- CrimeGrade: neighborhood crime rates behind the crime safety score.
- ISPreports.org: provider by provider internet availability and advertised speeds.
- CoverageWatch: the car insurance premiums behind the cheap car insurance score.
Federal and public data:
- U.S. Census Bureau American Community Survey: income, home value, rent, vacancy, commute time and mode, educational attainment, home age, age structure, household type, industry, and race.
- NOAA Global Surface Summary of the Day: the daily station record behind the monthly temperatures and the pleasant-day count.
- FAA Passenger Boarding Data: airport size and annual passenger counts.
- Freddie Mac Primary Mortgage Market Survey: the 30-year fixed rate used in the cost-to-buy estimate.
- FBI Crime Data Explorer: reported offenses behind the tangible crime cost estimate.
- U.S. EPA Air Quality System: five year average air quality index.
- FEMA National Risk Index: expected annual loss from natural hazards.
- CDC PLACES: disease burden, preventable risk, and barriers to care.
- National Center for Education Statistics: school enrollment and assessment inputs behind the school grade.
- FCC National Broadband Map: internet and wireless availability.
- U.S. Bureau of Labor Statistics: employment and job growth behind the local economy score.
- Religious activity uses a proprietary religious signal measurement.
Your priorities
Move a slider to say how much a measure matters. Zero turns it off.