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Pasadena vs Los Angeles

Next-door neighbors. The biggest differences: trails (17.6× in Los Angeles) and size (28.2× in Los Angeles).

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Pasadena, CAA history townCalifornia · 136,969 people
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Los Angeles, CAA colonial town, settled 1781California · 3,857,263 people
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Where each one shines

Two towns, two different strengths

What each town does better than most of its state (not better than each other). Tap one to see the page behind it.

PasadenaA history town
HistorySettled in 1886124 places on the National Register College town9 collegesPasadena City College Work100,504 jobsbased in Pasadena, a regional job hub All about Pasadena →
Los AngelesA colonial town, settled 1781
HistorySettled in 1781285 places on the National Register College town41 collegesUniversity of California-Los Angeles Outdoors#173 most conserved land in CA702 miles of trails across 373 parks and preserves All about Los Angeles →
The biggest differences

Where they part ways

The rows below where the towns are furthest apart, beyond the Census margin of error. The full table is further down.

Trails17.6×
Los Angeles has more miles of trail
Los Angeles 701.7 miPasadena 39.8 mi
Size28.2×
Los Angeles is the bigger place
Los Angeles 3,857,263Pasadena 136,969
Work in town+30.7 pts
More of Los Angeles’s workers stay in town
Los Angeles 51%Pasadena 20.3%
Household income+28%
Households in Pasadena earn more
Pasadena $105,192Los Angeles $81,939
Bachelor’s degree++17.6 pts
More adults in Pasadena have a degree
Pasadena 56.1%Los Angeles 38.5%
Work from home+8.1 pts
More people work from home in Pasadena
Pasadena 27.6%Los Angeles 19.5%
★ What stands out · Monthly cost

A typical home costs $1,460 more a month in Pasadena

A typical home in each town, bought with 20% down at 6.3% for 30 years, plus property tax at the town’s own rate and insurance. Change the numbers to fit you.

Pasadena$6,850/mo
Typical home $1.19M (Zillow) · tax rate 0.63% · or rent about $2,265/mo · Housing →
Los Angeles$5,380/mo
Typical home $930K (Zillow) · tax rate 0.66% · or rent about $1,933/mo · Housing →

The difference: $1,460 a month, about $17,500 a year, between Pasadena and Los Angeles.

Estimates, not a quote: your price, rate, tax bill and insurance will differ. Tax rate = the Census median tax bill over the median home value.

Report cards

Pasadena places higher on 18 of 26 CA lists

Our letter grades for safety, schools and health, then every California ranking list both towns are on. A grade is one measure; read the page behind it.

Safety
DPasadenaSafer than 13% of U.S. towns DLos AngelesSafer than 10% of U.S. towns
Schools
B+PasadenaBetter than 67% of districts in the state B−Los AngelesBetter than 49% of districts in the state
Health
A−PasadenaHealthier than 83% of U.S. towns B−Los AngelesHealthier than 54% of U.S. towns
18Pasadena
8Los Angeles

Lists won, of 26 where both are ranked. Ties go to nobody.

Rent easiest to affordCost of living · 422 towns #135#291 Most activeHealth · 844 towns #255#531 Best libraries for kidsLibraries · 117 towns #50#87 Fewest smokersHealth · 844 towns #158#424 HealthiestHealth · 844 towns #229#488 Most new homesHousing · 438 towns #252#123 Fewest uninsuredHealth · 844 towns #328#568 Shortest commuteGetting around · 843 towns #352#570

Left end = #1 in California. Showing the lists where the towns are furthest apart. All of Pasadena’s rankings →

Where they are

Pasadena and Los Angeles share a border

And the people who already live in one and work in the other.

PasadenaLos AngelesPasadenaLos Angeles
Pasadena ↔ Los Angeles18 miles apart · They share a border
Who commutes between them
19,172 Los Angeles residents work in Pasadena (1.3% of its workers)
16,586 Pasadena residents work in Los Angeles (29.1% of its workers)
Work & commute in Los Angeles →
Life in each

What daily life feels like in each

The weather, the land, the history and the people, row by row. None of it is a grade: more snow is a plus to a skier.

Seasons
PasadenaLos Angeles
Snow a year0″0″
January low—48°F
July high—78°F
Growing season (days)—365d
Hazard risk (U.S. pctl)91st94th
Outdoors & history
PasadenaLos Angeles
Trails40 mi702 mi
Conserved land13.5%14.1%
Settled18861781
National Register places124285
Archive photos3618
Famous people born here—15
Community
PasadenaLos Angeles
Library hours a week54 hrs57 hrs
Colleges in town941
Posts this month00
Neighbors joined10

A dot marks the most on each row. Climate: NOAA 1991–2020 normals at the nearest station. Hazard risk: FEMA National Risk Index, expected yearly damage vs U.S. towns.

Everything, side by side

What matters to you?

Pick a few. Those rows jump to the top and the best fit on each is marked. There’s no overall score: what matters is up to you.

PasadenaLos Angeles
People
Population 136,969Lowest 3,857,263Highest
Growth since 20102010 → 2020 census +1.2%Lowest CA: +6.1% +2.8%Highest CA: +6.1%
Median age 40.1±0.6Highest 6% above CA 37.2±0.2Lowest about the CA average
Kids under 18 16.7%±0.9Lowest CA: 22% 19.2%±0.2Highest CA: 22%
Age 65+ 17.4%±0.8Highest CA: 15.7% 14.2%±0.1Lowest CA: 15.7%
Bachelor’s degree+adults 25+ 56.1%Highest CA: 37.1% 38.5%Lowest CA: 37.1%
Enrolled in collegeshare of residents 7.7%±0.6Lowest CA: 7.6% 8.1%±0.1Highest CA: 7.6%
Los Angeles and Pasadena are within the Census margin of error here, so we can’t say which is really higher.
Cost of living
Household incomemedian $105,192±$3kHighest 6% above CA $81,939±$742Lowest 17% below CA
Home valuemedian, owner-occupied $1,093,300±$25kHighest 49% above CA $921,200±$5kLowest 25% above CA
Rentmedian gross, monthly $2,265±$38Highest 11% above CA $1,933±$9Lowest 5% below CA
Property taxmedian, yearly $6,843Highest 34% above CA $6,050Lowest 18% above CA
Renters paying 30%+of income on rent 52.9%±2.9Lowest CA: 55.3% 59.3%±0.6Highest CA: 55.3%
Below poverty line 13.3%Lowest CA: 12% 16.5%Highest CA: 12%
Housing
Homeownersof occupied homes 42.5%Highest CA: 55.9% 36%Lowest CA: 55.9%
Typical home builtmedian year 1961Lowest 15 yrs older than CA 1965Highest 11 yrs older than CA
Getting to work
Average commuteone way 27 minLowest 6% below CA 31 minHighest 7% above CA
Work from home 27.6%±1.5Highest CA: 17.2% 19.5%±0.2Lowest CA: 17.2%
Work in townworking residents 20.3%Lowest 51%Highest
Typical commute distancemedian, straight-line 10.8 miHighest 8.8 miLowest
Jobs per working residentover 1.5 = a job hub 1.76Highest 1.14Lowest
Top workplaceoutside town Los Angeles (29%)Burbank (6%)
Between these townsresidents who work in the others 29% work in Los Angeles1% work in Pasadena
Outdoors
Conserved landshare of the town 13.5%Lowest 14.1%Highest
Trailsmapped miles 39.8 miLowest 701.7 miHighest
Trail densitymiles per sq mi 1.7 miHighest 1.4 miLowest
Parks & preservesnamed on the map 31Lowest 373Highest
Street connectivityintersections per sq mi, a walkability measure 98.2Highest 85.4Lowest
Schools
Public school scoresrank in state, math + reading #150 of 574 in CA#215 of 574 in CA
School district Learning Works District · Pasadena Rosebud Academy DistrictLos Angeles Unified ROCP · Girls Athletic Leadership School Los Angeles District
High school in town Options For Youth - Duarte IncGrover Cleveland Charter High
Students per teacherat that high school 28.0Highest 22.6Lowest
California average“±” Census margin of errorACS 2020–2024
Deciding?

Ask the people who live there

The numbers stop at the town line. Neighbors can tell you about the commute at 7am, the schools, the winters and the feel of the place.

Pasadena neighborsTown Square →
T Weaver · 5d

Living in Pasadena

1 neighbor in Pasadena can answer.

Los Angeles neighborsTown Square →

Your question goes to Los Angeles’s Town Square.

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Bordering Pasadena

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La Cañada Flintridge19,935 people · $2M homes
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Altadena41,705 people · $1.12M homes
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San Marino12,216 people · $2M homes
S
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San Pasqual1,918 people · $1.3M homes

Towns like Pasadena

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Santa Barbara87,779 people · $1.57M homes
B
+ Compare
Burbank104,546 people · $1.09M homes
+ Compare
San Mateo103,105 people · $1.62M homes
+ Compare
Glendale190,748 people · $1.1M homes

Sources: U.S. Census Bureau American Community Survey 5-year estimates, 2010 & 2020 censuses, LEHD commute flows; Zillow Home Value Index; NCES Common Core of Data; FBI crime reporting; CDC PLACES; FEMA National Risk Index; NOAA U.S. Climate Normals 1991–2020; USGS PAD-US and OpenStreetMap. “±” is the Census margin of error; differences inside it are never called. Property tax is top-coded by the Census at $10,000+. There is no overall score: which town is better depends on what matters to you.

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