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
The 10 best suburbs to live around Pasadena for 2025:
What’s the best suburb of Pasadena? Bellaire ranks as the best suburb of Pasadena for 2025 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 2025
/10
Population: 17,116
Median Income: $236,311
Unemployment Rate: 3.0%
Poverty Rate: 2.6%
More on Bellaire: Data
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 $236,311 a year, which is the 2nd highest in the Pasadena region. And only 2.97% are out of work. Homes average more than $978,300 each.
/10
Population: 14,907
Median Income: $250,001
Unemployment Rate: 6.0%
Poverty Rate: 2.0%
More on West University Place: Data
West University Place is the second best ‘burb we looked at near Pasadena for 2025.
It ranks 1st for incomes in the area and only 2.2% of residents lack insurance, good for 2nd best.
/10
Population: 109,735
Median Income: $137,511
Unemployment Rate: 4.5%
Poverty Rate: 5.1%
More on Sugar Land: Data
Here in Sugar Land, 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 Sugar Land.
4. El Lago, TX
/10
Population: 3,016
Median Income: $104,375
Unemployment Rate: 3.9%
Poverty Rate: 4.0%
More on El Lago:
El Lago ranks as the 4th best suburb of Pasadena for 2025.
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.
/10
Population: 125,983
Median Income: $112,470
Unemployment Rate: 3.1%
Poverty Rate: 4.2%
More on Pearland: Data
Coming in as the fifth best is Pearland.
Pearland gets kudos for having the 9th most expensive homes in the Pasadena area, where houses sell for an average of $330,900. However, the cost of living here is among the highest in the area.
/10
Population: 40,827
Median Income: $125,052
Unemployment Rate: 4.9%
Poverty Rate: 2.8%
More on Friendswood: Data
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 4.85%.
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.
7. Mont Belvieu, TX
/10
Population: 8,416
Median Income: $127,902
Unemployment Rate: 2.8%
Poverty Rate: 9.8%
More on Mont Belvieu:
The 7th best suburb on our list goes to Mont Belvieu.
Mont Belvieu 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 21.0 miles to downtown, which is a good thing.
/10
Population: 13,617
Median Income: $109,489
Unemployment Rate: 3.4%
Poverty Rate: 6.6%
More on Seabrook: Data
Seabrook 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 14.73% of people lack insurance, good for 13th in the area.
9. Nassau Bay, TX
/10
Population: 5,211
Median Income: $78,057
Unemployment Rate: 1.3%
Poverty Rate: 13.3%
More on Nassau Bay:
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.
10. Meadows Place, TX
/10
Population: 4,689
Median Income: $92,736
Unemployment Rate: 3.5%
Poverty Rate: 7.4%
More on Meadows Place:
And rounding out the top ten for 2025 is Meadows Place.
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 2025
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 2019-2023 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 2025. 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 2025
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 | 17,116 | $236,311 | $978,300 |
| 2 | West University Place, TX | 14,907 | $250,001 | $1,406,600 |
| 3 | Sugar Land, TX | 109,735 | $137,511 | $406,600 |
| 4 | El Lago, TX | 3,016 | $104,375 | $303,700 |
| 5 | Pearland, TX | 125,983 | $112,470 | $330,900 |
| 6 | Friendswood, TX | 40,827 | $125,052 | $399,500 |
| 7 | Mont Belvieu, TX | 8,416 | $127,902 | $365,200 |
| 8 | Seabrook, TX | 13,617 | $109,489 | $332,000 |
| 9 | Nassau Bay, TX | 5,211 | $78,057 | $339,400 |
| 10 | Meadows Place, TX | 4,689 | $92,736 | $256,000 |
| 11 | Iowa Colony, TX | 11,028 | $126,167 | $356,300 |
| 12 | Deer Park, TX | 33,823 | $95,233 | $238,900 |
| 13 | Manvel, TX | 12,873 | $113,938 | $321,600 |
| 14 | La Porte, TX | 36,077 | $81,801 | $217,100 |
| 15 | Stafford, TX | 17,279 | $85,910 | $247,900 |
| 16 | Webster, TX | 12,283 | $62,536 | $284,900 |
| 17 | Santa Fe, TX | 12,828 | $95,815 | $290,200 |
| 18 | Alvin, TX | 27,700 | $68,769 | $212,500 |
| 19 | Dickinson, TX | 21,612 | $82,018 | $244,500 |
| 20 | La Marque, TX | 18,833 | $70,632 | $189,400 |
| 21 | Houston, TX | 2,300,419 | $62,894 | $253,400 |
| 22 | Anahuac, TX | 2,652 | $74,615 | $216,100 |
| 23 | Old River-Winfree, TX | 2,308 | $105,667 | $151,800 |
| 24 | Hitchcock, TX | 7,480 | $77,713 | $159,500 |
| 25 | Baytown, TX | 84,538 | $61,699 | $187,900 |
| 26 | Arcola, TX | 2,050 | $73,778 | $182,700 |
| 27 | Humble, TX | 16,489 | $52,927 | $191,200 |
| 28 | South Houston, TX | 16,017 | $52,611 | $176,100 |
| 29 | Galena Park, TX | 10,527 | $54,167 | $116,400 |