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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:
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.
/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
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.
/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
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.
/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
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.
/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
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.
/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
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.
/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
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.
/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
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.
/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.
/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
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.
/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
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 |
---|---|---|
1 | Bellaire, TX | 18,862 |
2 | West University Place, TX | 15,589 |
3 | Meadows Place, TX | 4,899 |
4 | Sugar Land, TX | 118,563 |
5 | Pearland, TX | 125,817 |
6 | El Lago, TX | 2,805 |
7 | Friendswood, TX | 39,893 |
8 | Mont Belvieu, TX | 6,180 |
9 | Seabrook, TX | 13,849 |
10 | Nassau Bay, TX | 4,009 |
11 | Manvel, TX | 11,432 |
12 | Iowa Colony, TX | 5,305 |
13 | Kemah, TX | 2,114 |
14 | Deer Park, TX | 33,599 |
15 | Stafford, TX | 16,904 |
16 | La Porte, TX | 35,340 |
17 | Dickinson, TX | 20,870 |
18 | Santa Fe, TX | 13,326 |
19 | Alvin, TX | 26,592 |
20 | Webster, TX | 11,229 |
21 | Houston, TX | 2,313,238 |
22 | Anahuac, TX | 2,174 |
23 | La Marque, TX | 16,983 |
24 | Humble, TX | 15,819 |
25 | Hitchcock, TX | 7,831 |
26 | Baytown, TX | 76,089 |
27 | South Houston, TX | 17,522 |
28 | Galena Park, TX | 10,848 |
29 | Arcola, TX | 2,541 |