City · Harris County, Texas

Pasadena, Texas

Pasadena is a city in Harris County, Texas, part of the Houston-Pasadena-The Woodlands, TX metro area. It has 149,433 residents. Pasadena, Texas has a quality-of-life score of 9 out of 100 (very low), ranking #14,287 of 15,651 US cities and towns. Within Texas it ranks #777 of 1,016 cities and towns. It ranks best on average weekly wage (high), new business applications (high) and distance to an emergency room (low). It ranks worst on high school diploma or higher (low), uninsured residents (under 65) (high) and public libraries (low).

9Very low

Quality-of-life score: #14,287 of 15,651 cities and towns
Texas: #777 of 1,016 in TX
Population: 149,433 (2020-2024)
Land area: 44 mi²
Density: 3,420.2 /mi²
FIPS code: 4856000

Percentile-based score (100 is the best in the country) from 75 of 80 indicators, with the default “Explorer” weights.

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Scores by category

Each category averages its indicators' percentile scores among US cities and towns.

Safety9#14,264/15,637
Economy26#11,578/15,631
Housing28#10,858/14,977
Health48#8,142/15,609
Healthcare37#9,905/15,650
Environment1#15,300/15,453
Education10#14,160/15,649
Infrastructure40#9,385/15,650
Community8#14,316/15,651
Leisure & amenities30#10,881/15,651

Strengths · Weaknesses

Indicators where Pasadena, Texas ranks highest and lowest among US cities and towns (score = percentile, 100 = best). Values marked “Harris County value” are the county’s: the source publishes no figure for this city or town, and the county holding most of its residents stands in.

Strengths

Average weekly wage · high$1,759
95/100Texas $1,499United States $1,5142025U.S. Bureau of Labor StatisticsHarris County value
New business applications · high19.8 /1k
89/100Texas 17.2 /1kUnited States 16.6 /1k2025U.S. Census BureauHarris County value
Distance to an emergency room · low3.8 mi
83/100Texas 5.5 miUnited States 5.5 miJul 2026Centers for Medicare & Medicaid ServicesHarris County value
Comfortable days · high31.0%
83/100Texas 30.7%United States 26.8%2016-2025NOAA National Centers for Environmental InformationHarris County value
Distance to an airport · low13 mi
80/100Texas 33 miUnited States 33 mi2025Federal Aviation Administration · Bureau of Transportation Statistics · U.S. Census BureauHarris County value
Depression · low20.6%
78/100Texas 21.2%United States 20.7%2023Centers for Disease Control and PreventionModel-based estimate

Weaknesses

High school diploma or higher · low73.3%
1/100Texas 86.0%United States 89.6%2020-2024U.S. Census Bureau Census table B15003
Uninsured residents (under 65) · high31.7%
1/100Texas 19.1%United States 9.8%2020-2024U.S. Census Bureau Census table B27010
Public libraries · low0.2 /10k
2/100Texas 0.3 /10kUnited States 0.5 /10k2024Institute of Museum and Library ServicesHarris County value
Property crime rate · high2,910 /100k
2/100Texas 1,786 /100kUnited States 1,535 /100k2025Federal Bureau of InvestigationHarris County value
Fine particulate matter (PM2.5) · high10.1 µg/m³
3/100Texas 8.9 µg/m³United States 8.0 µg/m³2022Centers for Disease Control and Prevention · U.S. Environmental Protection AgencyHarris County value
Violent crime rate · high630 /100k
4/100Texas 345 /100kUnited States 328 /100k2025Federal Bureau of InvestigationHarris County value

Trends

The largest changes over about five years, next to the country's over the same periods.

New homes permittedWorsening
0.8 /1k (2021) → 0.4 /1k (Sep 2025–Aug 2026)
−50%5 yearsUS 5.2 /1k → 4.2 /1k
Home price to income ratioWorsening
2.3× (2015-2019) → 3.2× (2020-2024)
+43%5 yearsCensus table B25077US 3.5× → 4.1×
Rent-burdened householdsWorsening
45.9% (2015-2019) → 52.6% (2020-2024)
+6.7 pts5 yearsCensus table B25070US 49.6% → 51.1%
Broadband subscriptionsImproving
86.8% (2015-2019) → 91.6% (2020-2024)
+4.8 pts5 yearsCensus table B28002US 82.7% → 91.0%
Median household incomeImproving
$55,039 (2015-2019) → $64,927 (2020-2024)
+18%5 yearsCensus table B19013US $65,712 → $81,604
Rent as share of incomeWorsening
28.2% (2015-2019) → 31.5% (2020-2024)
+3.3 pts5 yearsCensus table B25071US 29.8% → 30.6%

What changed in five years

How each measure moved between two periods about five years apart, read against whether more or less is better, the published margin of error and the same change in other places.

Over about five years, Pasadena, Texas improved on 4 of 15 measures with a comparison and declined on 5. 6 moved within the margin of error and 0 barely changed.

Earlier (2015-2019)
Latest (2020-2024)
Lower standingHigher standing

Position is the place's standing among cities and towns: further right is better, whichever way the measure counts.

Improved4

Property tax−0.5 points1.82% → 1.33%
Bachelor's++1.8 points14.4% → 16.2%
Broadband+4.8 points86.8% → 91.6%
Household income+18%$55,039 → $64,927

Declined5

Uninsured+2.9 points28.8% → 31.7%
Price / income+1.0×2.3× → 3.2×
Rent / income+3.3 points28.2% → 31.5%
Inequality+0.0230.434 → 0.457
Rent burden+6.7 points45.9% → 52.6%

All 15 measures

Change of every measure of Pasadena, Texas between two periods about five years apart
Measure	Before	After	Change	Reading	Favourable vs peers
Average commute time	26.5 min2015-2019	26.6 min2020-2024	+0.1 min	Within the margin of error	46%
Bachelor's degree or higher	14.4%2015-2019	16.2%2020-2024	+1.8 points	Improved	41%
Broadband subscriptions	86.8%2015-2019	91.6%2020-2024	+4.8 points	Improved	30%
Child poverty rate	25.6%2015-2019	28.1%2020-2024	+2.6 points	Within the margin of error	28%
Effective property tax rate	1.82%2015-2019	1.33%2020-2024	−0.5 points	Improved	90%
High school diploma or higher	72.2%2015-2019	73.3%2020-2024	+1 points	Within the margin of error	47%
Home price to income ratio	2.3×2015-2019	3.2×2020-2024	+1.0×	Declined	23%
Income inequality (Gini index)	0.4342015-2019	0.4572020-2024	+0.023	Declined	32%
Median household income	$55,0392015-2019	$64,9272020-2024	+18%	Improved	29%
Poverty rate	17.0%2015-2019	18.9%2020-2024	+1.9 points	Within the margin of error	27%
Public transit commuters	0.3%2015-2019	0.3%2020-2024	−0.1 points	Within the margin of error	24%
Rent as share of income	28.2%2015-2019	31.5%2020-2024	+3.3 points	Declined	31%
Rent-burdened households	45.9%2015-2019	52.6%2020-2024	+6.7 points	Declined	32%
Unemployment rate	9.4%2015-2019	8.6%2020-2024	−0.8 points	Within the margin of error	67%
Uninsured residents (under 65)	28.8%2015-2019	31.7%2020-2024	+2.9 points	Declined	19%

“Against peers” compares the change with the same change in the 14640 cities and towns that have the same two periods. It describes how common a change is, not why it happened.

Sources: American Community Survey 5-Year Estimates. Values are the latest and the one five years earlier of the same publisher dataset; datasets that changed publisher in between are never compared.

Survey estimates (American Community Survey) compare the two most recent 5-year windows that do not share years, so the margin of error of the difference holds. The 2015-2019 window predates the pandemic and 2020-2024 includes it.
A change counts only when it is larger than 1.645 times the square root of the two standard errors squared, summed (a 90% margin). Measures published without a margin must change by at least 5% to count.
“Against peers” compares the change with the same change in the 15651 cities and towns that have the same two periods. It describes how common a change is, not why it happened.
Standing is a percentile among the same places: 0 is the lowest value on the measure (or the worst when lower is better), 100 the best.

Cities and towns like Pasadena, Texas five years ago that improved

The places whose measures looked most like those of Pasadena, Texas in the earlier period, ranked by how many measures improved beyond the margin of error, minus how many declined. A comparison of published data, not a forecast and not advice.

For comparison, Pasadena, Texas itself moved −8.4 points in standing on average over the same 10 measures (standings of all places average about zero).

How the ranking works

Similarity is the root-mean-square difference of standings in the earlier period over the measures most places have. Places are ranked by measures that improved beyond the margin of error minus those that declined (a count that estimation noise in small places cannot inflate), then by the mean change of standing over the measures a place has in both periods. Only places with more improvements than declines and a rise in standing are listed. Standings are relative, so a place can improve in absolute terms and still lose standing.

Who lives here

Age, race and education of residents, from the American Community Survey. Shares are of all residents (age), residents of every origin (race) or adults 25 and over (education).

Age and sex

149,433 residents (±52)

Men
Women

80 and over
70–79
60–69

Income

How household income is spread, not just the middle: each bar is the share of households in that income range.

Household income

49,560 households (±1,113)

Pasadena, Texas
Texas share

Under $25k17%8,375
$25k–50k22%10,755
$50k–75k17%8,617

Homes

Who owns and who rents, what homes cost, and what the housing stock looks like.

Owners and renters

49,560 households (±1,113)

Pasadena, Texas
Texas share

Own54%26,999
Rent46%22,561

No change since 2015–2019 is larger than the margin of error.

Table view

Getting to work

How workers travel to their job and how long it takes them.

How people get to work

63,820 workers (±1,818)

Pasadena, Texas
Texas share

Drive alone75%47,981
Carpool13%8,583
Public transit0.3%†174

Jobs and pay

What the largest occupations here pay, from the Bureau of Labor Statistics' Occupational Employment and Wage Statistics survey.

The Bureau of Labor Statistics publishes pay by metro area, not by county or city. The metro area page lists its largest occupations and lets you look up any job.

Pay in the Houston-Pasadena-The Woodlands, TX

Local businesses

Employer businesses and sole proprietors by industry, per resident and against the state and the nation. Counts of businesses next to counts of people, not a measure of demand.

The Census Bureau publishes business counts by county, not by city, so these are the figures of Harris County, the county holding most of Pasadena's residents.

Harris County has 111,215 employer establishments, 227 for every 10,000 residents (0.91× the US rate of 248; 1.04× Texas's), with 2,182,164 paid employees at an average annual pay of $80,572. The Census Bureau also counts 605,074 nonemployer businesses, mostly sole proprietors.

Establishments: 111,215; 605,074 nonemployers
Per 10,000 residents: 227; US 248 · Texas 218
Paid employees: 2,182,164
Average annual pay: $80,572; US $68,342

Employer establishments, employees, average pay and nonemployers of Harris County by industry, with the density per resident against the nation

Ambulatory health care services	10,905	22.3	1.07×About typical	129,335	$64,823	25,136
Restaurants and other eating places	8,852	18.1	0.98×About typical	195,911	$23,182	4,368
Lessors of real estate	5,455	11.1	0.90×About typical	31,717	$83,945	41,015
Specialty trade contractors	4,728	9.7	0.62×Fewer than typical	93,890	$72,159	48,336
Offices of physicians	4,110	8.4	1.30×More than typical	41,464	$112,403	4,277
Limited-service restaurants	3,958	8.1	1.01×About typical	87,661	$19,853	1,311
Management, scientific and technical consulting	3,649	7.5	1.11×About typical	30,505	$125,328	18,617
Full-service restaurants	3,574	7.3	0.95×About typical	92,715	$26,713	2,033
Legal services	3,363	6.9	1.28×More than typical	26,255	$142,429	5,608
Construction of buildings	2,395	4.9	0.65×Fewer than typical	27,129	$95,725	22,613
Architectural, engineering and related services	2,369	4.8	1.39×More than typical	65,882	$123,074	4,792
Offices of dentists	2,302	4.7	1.17×About typical	14,168	$53,907	1,426

Rank places for an industry Open Harris County

County Business Patterns (2023); Nonemployer Statistics (2024)

Per-resident figures divide by the population estimate of 2023: 4,896,507 residents here, 336,755,052 in the United States. County Business Patterns counts establishments in 2023; the Nonemployer Statistics count businesses in 2024.
“More than typical” is a density at least 1.25 times the nation's per resident, “fewer” at most 0.8 times, with at least 10 establishments. It compares counts of businesses with counts of people: it says nothing about demand, incomes, size, quality or profit, and visitors and commuters are not residents.
The Census Bureau adds noise to employment and payroll to protect confidentiality, and withholds some figures: an industry with few establishments can show employees or pay as unavailable.
Industries overlap: a narrower industry (full-service restaurants) is part of a broader one (restaurants), so the rows do not add up.
Industries follow the North American Industry Classification System; the two surveys use different editions (NAICS 2017 and 2022), which this page matches industry by industry.

Federal contracts performed here

In FY2026, an estimated $413.2M of federal contract obligations were for work performed in Pasadena, Texas: $2,765 per resident (US $1,994).

Obligations: $413.2M; +28% vs FY2025
Per resident: $2,765; US $1,994
Sole-source: 40%; US 30%
Single offer: 18%; US 8.8%

A signal is a reason to look closer, not evidence of wrongdoing: most sole-source awards are lawful and justified.

Top buying agencies

National Aeronautics and Space Administration$402.6M97%
Department of the Army$8.5M2.1%
Defense Logistics Agency$932K0.2%
Department of the Navy$481.9K0.1%
National Science Foundation$239.9K0.1%
Department of Veterans Affairs$238.4K0.1%
Department of the Air Force$130.4K0.0%
Federal Acquisition Service$13.8K0.0%

Top recipients

THE BOEING COMPANY$106.5M26%
KBR WYLE SERVICES, LLC$73.9M18%
AXIOM SPACE INC$61.5M15%
HAMILTON SUNDSTRAND SPACE SYSTEMS INTERNATIONAL, INC.$40.6M9.8%
INTUITIVE MACHINES, LLC$27.4M6.6%

Spending by fiscal year

271MFY2017
322.4MFY2018
325.4MFY2019
256.4MFY2020
304.8MFY2021
317.6MFY2022
329.7MFY2023
349.1M

Top industries (NAICS)

Aerospace product and parts manufacturing · 3364$207.5M50%
Scientific research and development services · 5417$77.3M19%
Nonscheduled air transportation · 4812$33.6M8.1%
Nonresidential building construction · 2362$26.7M6.5%
Architectural, engineering, and related services · 5413$19.1M4.6%
Computer systems design and related services · 5415

Largest awards whose ZIP code lies mostly in Pasadena, Texas

WAYGATE NDI EQUIPMENT REMEDIAL MAINTENANCE SERVICES SERV P24-015RN$223.7K
WAYGATE TECHNOLOGIES USA LP· Harris County, TX· Equipment maintenance· Jan 28, 2025 – Mar 27, 2026· FA813225P0012
8511810286!SORBENT,OIL$137.2K
COMPLETE ENVIRONMENTAL PRODUCTS INC· Harris County, TX· Other equipment & supplies· Dec 12, 2025 – Dec 12, 2025· SPE4A726F1767
8511922995!SORBENT,OIL$121.5K
COMPLETE ENVIRONMENTAL PRODUCTS INC· Harris County, TX· Other equipment & supplies· Feb 17, 2026 – Feb 17, 2026· SPE4A726F3142
8511709229!SORBENT,OIL

Source: Federal contract transactions (Federal Procurement Data System) (U.S. Department of the Treasury, USAspending.gov), data current to Oct 3, 2026, loaded Oct 3, 2026.

How this is estimated

Agencies report each contract action's place of performance as a county and a ZIP code. A ZIP code's money is split among the cities it covers by the share of its land inside each (Census 2020 ZIP code tabulation areas); the part outside city limits stays with the county.

The place of performance is what the contracting agency reports, often the contractor's office rather than where the work happens.
Shares are of land, not of people or businesses: a ZIP code that is mostly rural land but has its offices in town gives the town less than it should.
ZIP codes that are not mapped areas (post office boxes, the unique ZIP codes of large federal sites and companies) stay with their county, unless one city covers nearly all of it.
Counts of actions and awards include those only partly in Pasadena, Texas, so they do not add up across cities.

Pasadena, Texas's figures are part of those of Harris County, TX ($4.6B in FY2026), never added to them: 9.1% of that total.

Grants and other federal assistance are counted by county here, not split among cities: Pasadena is mostly in Harris County.

See federal money in Harris County

Representation in Congress

Members serving today, with their record in the current Congress (party-unity votes cast with their caucus, roll calls missed). Not a grade.

Pasadena, Texas is split between congressional districts: each representative is shown with the share of its residents in their district (current boundaries).