The 10 Best Pasadena Suburbs To Live In For 2024


The best Pasadena suburbs are Bellaire and West University Place for 2024 based on Saturday Night Science.

While big cities like Pasadena offer culture, cuisine, and charisma, they also deliver terrible traffic, towering expenses, and a taxing quality of life.

With that in mind, we wanted to uncover the best suburbs around Pasadena. These burbs have all of the benefits of being near Pasadena without actually having to be in the city.

Of course, not all suburbs of Pasadena are created equally, which is precisely why we set out to find the best ones. Using Saturday Night Science, we delve into the factors that matter most, from commutes and housing costs to community vibes, to help you uncover the perfect suburban spots in the Greater Pasadena area.


Table Of Contents: Top Ten | Methodology | Summary | Table


What’s the best suburb of Pasadena? Bellaire ranks as the best suburb of Pasadena for 2024 based on the most recent Census and FBI data. If you happen to be a resident of Bellaire, you’re probably not too surprised to find it on the top our list.

We’ll tell you what makes each of these 10 Pasadena ‘burbs better than the rest–but first, a bit about our methodology.

Feel free to check out some more reading about Texas:

The 10 Best Pasadena Suburbs To Live For 2024

Bellaire, TX

Source: Public domain
Overall SnackAbility

8
/10

Population: 17,163
Median Income: $215,636
Unemployment Rate: 2.5%
Poverty Rate: 2.2%
More on Bellaire: Data | Crime | Cost Of Living | Real Estate

Bellaire is always mentioned as one of the best suburbs in the Pasadena area. We’ll tell you the good about “Awesome Bellaire.”

Everyone here is rich; families average $215,636 a year, which is the 2nd highest in the Pasadena region. And only 2.48% are out of work. Homes average more than $986,454 each.

West University Place, TX

Source: Public domain
Overall SnackAbility

10
/10

Population: 14,963
Median Income: $250,001
Unemployment Rate: 5.7%
Poverty Rate: 1.7%
More on West University Place: Data | Crime | Cost Of Living | Real Estate

West University Place is the second best ‘burb we looked at near Pasadena for 2024.

It ranks 1st for incomes in the area and only 2.27% of residents lack insurance, good for 2nd best.

3. Bayou Vista, TX

Overall SnackAbility

6
/10

Population: 2,006
Median Income: $115,694
Unemployment Rate: 3.6%
Poverty Rate: 4.8%
More on Bayou Vista: Real Estate

Here in Bayou Vista, it’s really safe, and residents are just about as rich as you’ll see in the Pasadena metro area.

The bad side? Schools are more crowded, and the cost of living puts a large part of the city out of reach for most families.

But price is based on demand and a lot of people want to live in Bayou Vista.

El Lago, TX

Source: Wikipedia User jimthompson | CC BY-SA 2.0
Overall SnackAbility

7
/10

Population: 3,039
Median Income: $99,375
Unemployment Rate: 2.8%
Poverty Rate: 3.5%
More on El Lago: Data | Real Estate

El Lago ranks as the 4th best suburb of Pasadena for 2024.

You won’t find many better places to raise your kids in the region than in El Lago and the schools are some of the best around.

Sugar Land, TX

Source: Wikipedia User Ed Schipul (https://www.flickr.com/people/eschipul/) | CC BY-SA 2.5
Overall SnackAbility

9
/10

Population: 110,077
Median Income: $132,247
Unemployment Rate: 5.0%
Poverty Rate: 4.5%
More on Sugar Land: Data | Crime | Cost Of Living | Real Estate

Coming in as the fifth best is Sugar Land.

Sugar Land gets kudos for having the 4th most expensive homes in the Pasadena area, where houses sell for an average of $431,661. However, the cost of living here is among the highest in the area.

Friendswood, TX

Source: Wikipedia User Nsaum75 | CC BY-SA 3.0
Overall SnackAbility

9
/10

Population: 40,888
Median Income: $121,301
Unemployment Rate: 4.6%
Poverty Rate: 2.9%
More on Friendswood: Data | Crime | Cost Of Living | Real Estate

Friendswood is proud of its 6th place finish on this list. And here’s why.

Most residents have great jobs and the unemployment rate sits at 4.57%.

According to online reports, Friendswood is quickly becoming one of the more affluent suburbs in the Pasadena area, meaning you need to get in soon.

Pearland, TX

Source: Wikipedia User Grguy2011 | CC BY-SA 3.0
Overall SnackAbility

9
/10

Population: 124,478
Median Income: $111,123
Unemployment Rate: 3.2%
Poverty Rate: 4.5%
More on Pearland: Data | Crime | Cost Of Living | Real Estate

The 7th best suburb on our list goes to Pearland.

Pearland schools are some of the best in the region, and crime is really low. The cost of living makes it a lot more desirable for many families, especially first-time home buyers.

And, it’s only 12.6 miles to downtown, which is a good thing.

Overall SnackAbility

8
/10

Population: 7,868
Median Income: $132,010
Unemployment Rate: 2.0%
Poverty Rate: 10.9%
More on Mont Belvieu: Data | Crime | Cost Of Living | Real Estate

Mont Belvieu is growing quickly, and for a good reason. Crime is far below average, and most residents are gainfully employed. Even the cost of living is reasonable.

A solid 10.96% of people lack insurance, good for 10th in the area.

Nassau Bay, TX

Source: Wikipedia User jimthompson | CC BY-SA 2.0
Overall SnackAbility

8
/10

Population: 5,215
Median Income: $74,542
Unemployment Rate: 1.5%
Poverty Rate: 8.8%
More on Nassau Bay: Data | Crime | Real Estate

Is ‘Everything Better In Nassau Bay?’

Almost.

It placed 9th on our list thanks to the fact that it’s really expensive to live here, but the schools are great, so you get what you pay for in that regard.

Manvel, TX

Source: Wikipedia User EricEnfermero | CC BY-SA 3.0
Overall SnackAbility

8
/10

Population: 11,265
Median Income: $105,188
Unemployment Rate: 2.6%
Poverty Rate: 5.0%
More on Manvel: Data | Crime | Cost Of Living | Real Estate

And rounding out the top ten for 2024 is Manvel.

This city is far above average in every category, and the best part? It’s far more affordable than the other cities listed above. So, you get a big bang for your buck here.

Methodology: How We Determined The Best Suburbs Around Pasadena for 2024

Figuring out the best suburbs around Pasadena was simple. We used Saturday Night Science to find things people like about living in the suburbs and then locate the suburbs with those things.

We analyzed the newest American Community Survey data for 2018-2022 to research each suburb. We decided upon the following criteria:

  • Low unemployment rate
  • High median household incomes
  • Population density (lots of things to do)
  • High home values
  • A lot of college-educated people
  • Low poverty
  • High rate of insured families

We defined a suburb as being within 30 miles of Pasadena.

Additionally, we limited the analysis to places that have over 2,000 people. This left us with a grand total of 29 suburbs to evaluate around Pasadena.

We ranked each place with scores from 1 to 29 in each category, where 1 was the “best.

Next, we averaged the rankings for each place to create a quality-of-life index.

Finally, we crowned the city with the best quality of life index, the “Best Suburb near Pasadena.” We’re lookin’ at you, Bellaire.

This result may differ from our state-wide data as we did not include commute times and crime for this analysis to allow for a more extensive selection of suburbs.

We updated the data for 2024. This report is our tenth time ranking the best Pasadena suburbs. Skip to the end to see the list of all the suburbs ranked from best to worst.

Summary: Welcome to the Best Pasadena ‘Burbs of 2024

We said it once, and we’ll say it again–life in the big city isn’t for everyone. At least not all the time.

The best suburbs of Pasadena are .

So if you’re craving the amenities of a larger city like Pasadena but don’t want to deal with the drawbacks, one of these suburbs might be for you.

For more Texas reading, check out:

Table: Best Pasadena Suburbs

Rank City Population Median Income Average Home Price
1 Bellaire, TX 17,163 $215,636 $986,454
2 West University Place, TX 14,963 $250,001 $1,706,657
3 Bayou Vista, TX 2,006 $115,694 $408,880
4 El Lago, TX 3,039 $99,375 $314,774
5 Sugar Land, TX 110,077 $132,247 $431,661
6 Friendswood, TX 40,888 $121,301 $435,930
7 Pearland, TX 124,478 $111,123 $367,684
8 Mont Belvieu, TX 7,868 $132,010 $413,425
9 Nassau Bay, TX 5,215 $74,542 $411,649
10 Manvel, TX 11,265 $105,188 $413,399
11 Meadows Place, TX 4,719 $78,396 $284,797
12 Seabrook, TX 13,558 $96,223 $346,205
13 Iowa Colony, TX 9,500 $110,000 $395,615
14 Deer Park, TX 34,046 $89,219 $270,700
15 Stafford, TX 17,240 $87,245 $295,633
16 Santa Fe, TX 12,792 $91,209 $308,994
17 La Porte, TX 35,782 $79,193 $247,850
18 Dickinson, TX 21,475 $81,739 $259,965
19 Alvin, TX 27,325 $68,266 $248,545
20 Webster, TX 12,297 $58,555 $252,505
21 Houston, TX 2,296,253 $60,440 $260,901
22 Hitchcock, TX 7,398 $75,741 $195,887
23 Humble, TX 16,563 $58,581 $254,424
24 Arcola, TX 2,604 $74,268 $251,270
25 La Marque, TX 18,464 $61,403 $215,534
26 Anahuac, TX 2,420 $69,742 $234,229
27 Baytown, TX 84,449 $61,158 $224,259
28 South Houston, TX 16,169 $51,006 $190,485
29 Galena Park, TX 10,641 $45,614 $161,745
About Chris Kolmar

Chris Kolmar has been in the real estate business for almost ten years now. He originally worked for Movoto Real Estate as the director of marketing before founding HomeSnacks.

He believes the key to finding the right place to live comes down to looking at the data, reading about things to do, and, most importantly, checking it out yourself before you move.

If you've been looking for a place to live in the past several years, you've probably stumbled upon his writing already.

You can find out more about him on LinkedIn or his website.