Best PlacesSouth East, Pasadena, CA Best Neighborhoods
2026–2027 edition · Data updated July 2026
Every neighborhood in and around South East, Pasadena, scored on 40 measures of daily life and ranked to fit what matters to you. The coast is close, and the measures below put a number on how close. To work out which city fits you best, start with the best places to live tool.
South East, Pasadena ranks 1,437th of 5,983 U.S. neighborhoods on the BestNeighborhood index. It scores highest on the weather by a wide margin, and air quality ranks lowest.
The best neighborhoods in South East, 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 East, Pasadena's strengths and weaknesses
Where South East, Pasadena ranks high
- Nice weatherabout 274 pleasant days a year, better than 96% of neighborhoods
- Big-city accessBetter than 95% of neighborhoods
- Health outlookBetter than 89% of neighborhoods
- Educational attainmentBetter than 87% of neighborhoods
- Household income$123,244 median, better than 82% of neighborhoods
Where South East, Pasadena ranks low
- Air qualityBetter than only 5% of neighborhoods
- Disaster safetyBetter than only 15% of neighborhoods
- Short commute30.3 minutes each way, better than only 18% of neighborhoods
- Housing crash safetyBetter than only 18% of neighborhoods
- Low income/sales/gas taxBetter than only 20% of neighborhoods
What it costs to buy a home in South East, Pasadena
A household needs to earn about $334,000 a year to comfortably buy the median South East, Pasadena home, at 20% down and today's 30-year rate. That runs well above the area's median income of $123,244, 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 East, 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 East, Pasadena
South East, 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 East, Pasadena.
Who works in South East, Pasadena, and how
Work in South East, Pasadena centers on health care & social and professional & technical. Unemployment is low, and employment has held roughly flat.
Largest industries
How people get to work
- Drive or carpool 55%
- Work from home 38%
- Transit, walk, or bike 7%
Life in South East, Pasadena
The coast is about 24 minutes away. Distance to the water changes a lot across South East, Pasadena, which the map shows.
What the weather is like in South East, Pasadena, month by month
South East, Pasadena sees roughly 274 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 East, Pasadena
Bob Hope sits about 15 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 East, Pasadena
Schools across South East, Pasadena average a B−, better than 71% of neighborhoods.
Top elementary schools
- Valentine ElementaryA+ · 78% proficient
Top middle schools
- Huntington MiddleA+ · 81% proficient
Top high schools
- San Marino HighA · 68% proficient
- Pasadena HighB+ · 54% proficient
Grades come from K-12 test scores, with scores projected for schools missing data. See every South East, Pasadena school and its grade on SchoolGrade.
South East, 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 East, Pasadena against the other 5,982 neighborhoods.
Common questions about living in South East, Pasadena
Is South East, Pasadena a good place to live?
Using BestNeighborhood's default rankings, South East, Pasadena ranks 1,437th of 5,983 neighborhoods. It scores highest on the weather, big-city access, and population health, and lowest on air quality and disaster risk. How good it is for you depends on which of those you weight most, which the map lets you set.
Is South East, Pasadena expensive to live in?
The median home is worth $1,308,969. The overall cost of living runs about 56% above the national average. Set against a $123,244 median income, cost of living beats 56% of neighborhoods.
Is South East, Pasadena safe?
Yes, South East, Pasadena is safer than 62% of neighborhoods. Safety varies a lot by neighborhood. Crime costs an estimated $406 per resident a year.
Compare South East, Pasadena with other neighborhoods
Sources and methodology
Every measure on this page is scored for each neighborhood, then rolled up to South East, Pasadena. Scores are absolute rather than ranked, which means a 60 in South East, 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 East, Pasadena detail on BestNeighborhood maps:
- Walk Grade for South East, Pasadena: walkability, transit, and biking, measured on the real street network rather than by straight line distance.
- Noise in South East, Pasadena: road, rail, and aviation sound modeling calibrated against federal ground truth measurements.
- Conservative vs liberal map of South East, Pasadena: precinct level election results apportioned to neighborhoods.
- Mobile and cell coverage in South East, Pasadena: carrier by carrier coverage behind the cell score.
South East, 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.