Best PlacesWest Central, Pasadena, CA Best Neighborhoods
2026–2027 edition · Data updated July 2026
Every neighborhood in and around West Central, 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.
West Central, Pasadena ranks 3,696th of 5,983 U.S. neighborhoods on the BestNeighborhood index. It scores highest on the weather by a wide margin, and noise is the weak spot.
The best neighborhoods in West Central, 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.
West Central, Pasadena's strengths and weaknesses
Where West Central, Pasadena ranks high
- Nice weatherabout 274 pleasant days a year, better than 96% of neighborhoods
- Big-city accessBetter than 95% of neighborhoods
- WalkabilityBetter than 84% of neighborhoods
- BikingBetter than 80% of neighborhoods
- TransitBetter than 78% of neighborhoods
Where West Central, Pasadena ranks low
- QuietBetter than only 3% of neighborhoods
- Air qualityBetter than only 5% of neighborhoods
- Disaster safetyBetter than only 13% of neighborhoods
- Internet speedBetter than only 15% of neighborhoods
- Cost of living vs incomeBetter than only 15% of neighborhoods
What it costs to buy a home in West Central, Pasadena
A household needs to earn about $193,000 a year to comfortably buy the median West Central, Pasadena home, at 20% down and today's 30-year rate. That runs well above the area's median income of $78,074, 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 West Central, Pasadena's effective rate of 0.81%, 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 West Central, Pasadena
West Central, Pasadena runs younger 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 West Central, Pasadena.
Who works in West Central, Pasadena, and how
Work in West Central, Pasadena centers on health care & social and education. Unemployment is low, and the job base is shrinking.
Largest industries
How people get to work
- Drive or carpool 62%
- Work from home 23%
- Transit, walk, or bike 14%
Life in West Central, Pasadena
West Central, Pasadena has more restaurants and bars per resident than 83% of neighborhoods. The coast is about 23 minutes away. That concentrates in some parts of West Central, Pasadena and thins out in others, which the map shows.
What the weather is like in West Central, Pasadena, month by month
West Central, 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 West Central, Pasadena
Bob Hope sits about 13 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 West Central, Pasadena
Schools across West Central, Pasadena average a C, better than 46% of neighborhoods.
Top high schools
- Pasadena HighB+ · 54% proficient
- Marshall FundamentalB+ · 52% proficient
- John Muir HighB · 50% proficient
Grades come from K-12 test scores, with scores projected for schools missing data. See every West Central, Pasadena school and its grade on SchoolGrade.
West Central, 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 West Central, Pasadena against the other 5,982 neighborhoods.
Who West Central, Pasadena suits
Common questions about living in West Central, Pasadena
Is West Central, Pasadena a good place to live?
Using BestNeighborhood's default rankings, West Central, Pasadena ranks 3,696th of 5,983 neighborhoods. It scores highest on the weather, big-city access, and walkability, and lowest on noise and air quality. How good it is for you depends on which of those you weight most, which the map lets you set.
Is West Central, Pasadena expensive to live in?
The median home is worth $736,952. The overall cost of living runs about 50% above the national average. Set against a $78,074 median income, cost of living beats 15% of neighborhoods.
Is West Central, Pasadena safe?
West Central, Pasadena is safer than 39% of neighborhoods. Safety varies a lot by neighborhood. Crime costs an estimated $589 per resident a year.
What is the weather like in West Central, Pasadena?
July highs average about 89 degrees, and January highs near 68 with lows near 48. That works out to about 274 pleasant days a year, more than 96% of neighborhoods.
Is West Central, Pasadena good for families?
Schools beat 46% of neighborhoods, crime safety beats 39%, and childcare runs $1,130 a month.
Compare West Central, Pasadena with other neighborhoods
Sources and methodology
Every measure on this page is scored for each neighborhood, then rolled up to West Central, Pasadena. Scores are absolute rather than ranked, which means a 60 in West Central, 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.
West Central, Pasadena detail on BestNeighborhood maps:
- Walk Grade for West Central, Pasadena: walkability, transit, and biking, measured on the real street network rather than by straight line distance.
- Noise in West Central, Pasadena: road, rail, and aviation sound modeling calibrated against federal ground truth measurements.
- Conservative vs liberal map of West Central, Pasadena: precinct level election results apportioned to neighborhoods.
- Mobile and cell coverage in West Central, Pasadena: carrier by carrier coverage behind the cell score.
West Central, 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.