The 10 Best Pasadena Suburbs To Live In For 2022


We analyzed over 28 places around Pasadena to identify the most kickass place to live.

Editor’s Note: Data has been updated for 2022. This is our ninth time ranking the best Pasadena suburbs.

Big city living isn't for everyone--but at the same time, urban areas certainly have their perks.

There's the culture, the food, the arts, the food, the energy, and you know, the food. But there are drawbacks. There's traffic, expensive parking, expensive housing--pretty much, expensive everything, depending on which big city you're looking at.

But that's where the suburbs come in--they have all of the benefits of being near big cities, without actually having to be big cities.

Of course, not all suburbs of Pasadena are created equally, which is precisely why we set out to find the best ones. So without further ado...

Here are the 10 best suburbs to live around Pasadena for 2022:

  1. Bellaire
  2. West University Place
  3. Meadows Place
  4. Sugar Land
  5. Pearland
  6. El Lago
  7. Friendswood
  8. Mont Belvieu
  9. Seabrook
  10. Nassau Bay

What's the best suburb of Pasadena? Bellaire ranks as the best suburb of Pasadena for 2022 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.

Note: 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 larger selection of suburbs.

Feel free to check out some more reading about Texas:

The 10 Best Pasadena Suburbs To Live For 2022

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 $200,250 a year, which is the 2nd highest in the Pasadena region. And only 2.78% are out of work. Homes average more than $829,400 each.

Overall SnackAbility

10
/10

Population: 18,862
Rank Last Year: 2 (Up 1)
Median Income: $200,250
Unemployment Rate: 2.8%
Poverty Rate: 1.8%
More on Bellaire: Real Estate | Data | Photos

Bellaire, TX

Source: Public domain

West University Place is the second best 'burb we looked at near Pasadena for 2022.

It ranks 1st for incomes in the area and only 1.39% of residents lack insurance, good for best.

Overall SnackAbility

10
/10

Population: 15,589
Rank Last Year: 1 (Down 1)
Median Income: $250,001
Unemployment Rate: 6.1%
Poverty Rate: 1.3%
More on West University Place: Real Estate | Data | Photos

West University Place, TX

Source: Public domain

Here in Meadows Place, 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 Meadows Place.

Overall SnackAbility

8.5
/10

Population: 4,899
Rank Last Year: 4 (Up 1)
Median Income: $76,563
Unemployment Rate: 0.7%
Poverty Rate: 2.3%
More on Meadows Place: Real Estate | Data | Photos

Meadows Place, TX

Source: Public domain

Sugar Land ranks as the 4th best suburb of Pasadena for 2022.

You won't find many better places to raise your kids in the region than in Sugar Land and the schools are some of the best around.

Overall SnackAbility

7
/10

Population: 118,563
Rank Last Year: 3 (Down 1)
Median Income: $123,261
Unemployment Rate: 4.9%
Poverty Rate: 4.4%
More on Sugar Land: Real Estate | Data | Photos

Sugar Land, TX

Coming in as the fifth best is Pearland.

Pearland gets kudos for having the 8th most expensive homes in the Pasadena area, where houses sell for an average of $260,300. However, the cost of living here is among the highest in the area.

Overall SnackAbility

9
/10

Population: 125,817
Rank Last Year: 5 (No Change)
Median Income: $102,764
Unemployment Rate: 3.8%
Poverty Rate: 3.5%
More on Pearland: Real Estate | Data | Photos

Pearland, TX

El Lago 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 3.76% which is 6th best in the area.

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

Overall SnackAbility

7
/10

Population: 2,805
Rank Last Year: 6 (No Change)
Median Income: $85,143
Unemployment Rate: 3.8%
Poverty Rate: 5.7%
More on El Lago: Real Estate | Data | Photos

El Lago, TX

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

Friendswood 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 10.8 miles to downtown, which is a good thing.

Overall SnackAbility

9
/10

Population: 39,893
Rank Last Year: 7 (No Change)
Median Income: $108,135
Unemployment Rate: 5.6%
Poverty Rate: 3.8%
More on Friendswood: Real Estate | Data | Photos

Friendswood, TX

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 7.96% of people lack insurance, good for 4th in the area.

Overall SnackAbility

8
/10

Population: 6,180
Rank Last Year: 11 (Up 3)
Median Income: $126,602
Unemployment Rate: 3.5%
Poverty Rate: 8.0%
More on Mont Belvieu: Real Estate | Data

Is 'Everything Better In Seabrook?'

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.

Overall SnackAbility

7.5
/10

Population: 13,849
Rank Last Year: 8 (Down 1)
Median Income: $89,885
Unemployment Rate: 4.1%
Poverty Rate: 6.2%
More on Seabrook: Real Estate | Data | Photos

Seabrook, TX

And rounding out the top ten for 2022 is Nassau Bay.

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.

Overall SnackAbility

7
/10

Population: 4,009
Rank Last Year: 10 (No Change)
Median Income: $62,273
Unemployment Rate: 4.2%
Poverty Rate: 12.8%
More on Nassau Bay: Real Estate | Data | Photos

Nassau Bay, TX

Methodology: How We Determined The Best Suburbs Around Pasadena for 2022

Figuring out the best suburbs around Pasadena was pretty simple; we just needed to list several things that people like, and then find out which cities have the most of those things.

We threw a lot of criteria at this one in order to get the best, most complete results possible:

  • 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

Then we used the newest American Community Survey data for 2016-2020 to research each suburb.

FYI: 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.

And finally, we crowned the city with the best quality of life index the "Best Suburb near Pasadena." We're lookin' at you, Bellaire. You can download the data here.

Read on below to learn more about what it's like to live in the best of the best. Or 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 2022

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.

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

For more Texas reading, check out:

Detailed List Of The Best Pasadena Suburbs

Rank City Population Median Income
1 Bellaire, TX 18,862 $200,250
2 West University Place, TX 15,589 $250,001
3 Meadows Place, TX 4,899 $76,563
4 Sugar Land, TX 118,563 $123,261
5 Pearland, TX 125,817 $102,764
6 El Lago, TX 2,805 $85,143
7 Friendswood, TX 39,893 $108,135
8 Mont Belvieu, TX 6,180 $126,602
9 Seabrook, TX 13,849 $89,885
10 Nassau Bay, TX 4,009 $62,273
11 Manvel, TX 11,432 $84,711
12 Iowa Colony, TX 5,305 $95,144
13 Kemah, TX 2,114 $100,294
14 Deer Park, TX 33,599 $75,838
15 Stafford, TX 16,904 $66,810
16 La Porte, TX 35,340 $75,810
17 Dickinson, TX 20,870 $70,468
18 Santa Fe, TX 13,326 $77,926
19 Alvin, TX 26,592 $57,114
20 Webster, TX 11,229 $53,339
21 Houston, TX 2,313,238 $53,600
22 Anahuac, TX 2,174 $61,343
23 La Marque, TX 16,983 $50,464
24 Humble, TX 15,819 $53,038
25 Hitchcock, TX 7,831 $57,000
26 Baytown, TX 76,089 $54,454
27 South Houston, TX 17,522 $45,038
28 Galena Park, TX 10,848 $47,849
29 Arcola, TX 2,541 $60,707

How Is Your Town In ?

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.