Each edition grades its towns against each other only.
A town of 41,705, settled in 1887.
Homes are expensive, about $1.1 million for a typical one and 11.7 times the Los Angeles metro’s $96K median household income. Overall it grades B−, 205th of 841 graded towns in California. CDC estimates put its residents' health ahead of 84% of the country and the median household earns $129K. Its weakest subject is hazard risk: FEMA rates its natural-hazard risk higher than 92% of U.S. communities, with earthquakes at the top. Altadena’s value of a typical home is $1,126,000, against $709,000 in California’s towns and $332,000 across U.S. towns. Altadena has 13 places on the National Register of Historic Places, among them Mount Lowe Railway and Zane Grey Estate. Altadena is easier to get around on foot or by transit than 86% of U.S. towns.
Where Altadena beats most towns, and one thing worth knowing.
Census counts: 40,568 in 1960, 42,846 in 2020. The archive holds 18 old photos and papers going back to 1887 and 8 maps from 1896 on.
13 places on the National Register of Historic Places.
Each subject compared with towns across the country (schools within California), ordered by how far Altadena is from typical.
Its grades run from A for walkability (better than 86% of comparable towns) to D− for cost of living (better than 1%), so the B− overall blends very different results.
How TownRatings grades towns →
Museums, parks, gardens and other places to visit around Altadena. Close and well known come first.
Big draw14 mi LandmarkHollywood Walk of Fame10.0M visitors a year
Big draw20 mi Stadium & arenaSoFi Stadium
Big draw15 mi MuseumLucas Museum of Narrative Art
Big draw29 mi Theme parkDisneyland17.3M visitors a year
Big draw15 mi Stadium & arenaLos Angeles Memorial Coliseum
Big draw11 mi LandmarkHollywood SignHollywood Walk of Fame: BenSherman, Public domain · SoFi Stadium: Thank You (21 Millions+) views, CC BY 2.0 · Lucas Museum of Narrative Art: Kriddl, CC0 · Disneyland: HarshLight from San Jose, CA, USA, CC BY 2.0 · Los Angeles Memorial Coliseum: CanonStarGal, CC BY-SA 4.0 · Hollywood Sign: Thomas Wolf, www.foto-tw.de, CC BY-SA 3.0
Altadena is unincorporated, so Los Angeles County and regional agencies provide most services.
EPA SDWIS (Oct 9, 2026) · HIFLD + EIA-861 2025 · Census 2020 ZCTAs · NCES 2024–25 · registration: vote.gov, updated Nov 18, 2024.
Ordered by what stands out in Altadena.
Altadena has milder winter nights than nearly all U.S. towns and has less tooth loss than most of California, but it has homes that cost more against local pay than most of California.
Altadena’s trail density stands at 1.7 miles per square mile. Count the trails in 14 parks and preserves and they come to 14 miles. The biggest park or preserve is Angeles National Forest, at 382 acres.
| Biggest places to walk | Trails | Acres |
|---|---|---|
| 1. San Gabriel Mountains National Monument | 4.3 mi | 377 |
| 2. Rubio Canyon | 1.7 mi | 40 |
| 3. The Cobb Estate | 1.2 mi | 39 |
Trails & parks © OpenStreetMap contributors · Conserved land: USGS PAD-US
Below: Two of its 13 schools, each with why it was picked. Public schools: the Pasadena Unified school district. 4 public schools serve Altadena, with 1,854 students in all.
| School | Level | Students | Letter |
|---|---|---|---|
| Mary W. Jackson STEAM Multilingual Magnet ElementaryLargest public elementary schoolGrades K–5 | Grades K–5 | 658 | – |
| Pasadena Waldorf School PrivateLargest high schoolGrades PK–12 | Grades PK–12 | 247 | – |
NCES · EDFacts · graded within CA on state tests and graduation
Paid flood insurance claims in Altadena since 1978: 14. Expected losses in Altadena break down as 36% from earthquakes and 32% from inland flooding. Households locally have drawn federal disaster aid in 6 declared disasters, most recently in 2025.
FEMA flood insurance claims · FEMA disaster declarations and aid · FEMA National Risk Index · OpenFEMA
At 11.7 years of the Los Angeles metro’s $96K median household income, the typical home (about $1.13M) costs more against local pay than in 85% of California towns; that ratio is one input to that grade. The typical value, about $1.13M, is 15% below its December 2024 peak.
On the market in Altadena: a median 42 days to sell. Typical home values fell 5.4% in the year to September 2026. The town’s typical rent is $2,355 a month. The typical Altadena home is worth about $1,126,000, down 5.4% in a year, 48% above the California typical home.
| Altadena | California towns | U.S. towns | |
|---|---|---|---|
| Median rent | $2,355 a month | $1,895 a month | $1,185 a month |
| Renters paying 30%+ of income on rent | 61% | 55% | 48% |
| Households that own their home | 77% | 64% | 73% |
Census ACS, 2020–24 · Zillow Home Value Index · Redfin Data Center
Its widest gap with California is tooth loss: 5.9% of those 65+ have lost all their teeth, against 10.6% statewide. Against the 4,682 U.S. towns with household incomes like Altadena’s, it is healthier than 56%, a smaller edge than it has nationally: part of it comes with its incomes.
Altadena: 37% of adults feel lonely. Against the California average, Altadena comes out ahead on 16 CDC measures out of 32, and behind on 3. Two figures for adults locally: 14% report frequent mental distress, 8.7% smoke cigarettes.
| Altadena | California towns | U.S. towns | |
|---|---|---|---|
| Obesity (CDC PLACES) | 25% | 29% | 35% |
| Frequent mental distress (CDC PLACES) | 14% | 17% | 17% |
| Smoke cigarettes (CDC PLACES) | 8.7% | 11% | 14% |
| Depression (CDC PLACES) | 19% | 22% | 23% |
| What stands out | Altadena | CA |
|---|---|---|
| Fewer older adults who have lost all their teeth | 5.9% | 10.6% |
| Fewer uninsured adults | 6.5% | 10.6% |
| More adults who have had cancer | 7.9% | 6.4% |
CDC PLACES 2025 · modeled estimates for adults · CMS · HRSA
Jobs based here grew from 4,470 in 2013 to 6,046. 25.4% of workers work from home, against 17.2% across California.
Altadena had 6,046 jobs in 2023, up 1,576 from 2013. 25% of workers do their job from home here. The top destinations are Los Angeles (28%), Pasadena (17%) and Burbank (6%). Half commute less than 12 miles.
| Altadena | California towns | U.S. towns | |
|---|---|---|---|
| Work from home | 25% | 14% | 11% |
| Median household income | $129,000 | $95,000 | $80,000 |
| Below the poverty line | 7.9% | 10% | 9.6% |
| Working residents who work in town | 4.8% | 6.6% | 8% |
Census LEHD 2023 · ACS
January nights average 45.3°, milder than in 97% of U.S. towns; July afternoons average 89°.
Snow almost never falls. Its January low stands at 45°F.
| Altadena | California towns | U.S. towns | |
|---|---|---|---|
| January low | 45°F | 40°F | 22°F |
| July high | 89°F | 89°F | 85°F |
NOAA U.S. Climate Normals, 1991–2020
48 within 15 miles of the center of Altadena
About 5 of every 100 Altadena residents are enrolled in college, against 8 across California.
Where Altadena’s working residents go each day. Line width shows the share.
Census LEHD 2023
13 places in Altadena on the National Register of Historic Places.
22 notable people were born in Altadena.
Unincorporated community in California, United States
Altadena (AL-tə-DEE-nə) is an unincorporated area and census-designated place in the San Gabriel Valley and the Verdugos regions of Los Angeles County, California. Directly north of Pasadena, it is located approximately 14 miles (23 km) from Downtown Los Angeles. Its population was 42,846 at the 2020 census, up slightly from a 2010 figure of 42,777. In early 2025, the community was severely impacted by the Eaton Fire.
From Wikipedia, licensed CC BY-SA 4.0 · facts via Wikidata (CC0)
One town shares a border with Altadena.
Altadena reports no FBI crime data of its own. Compare Altadena with a neighbor →
Short answers, built from the data on this page.
Altadena grades B− overall, better than 49% of U.S. towns and #205 of 841 in California. It grades A− for health and B for schools. Cost of living is its weak spot, with a D−.
Yes. Cost of living, which also weighs rents, property taxes and how many households pay 30% or more of their income for housing, grades D−.
22 notable people were born here, including Jon Postel and Marni Nixon.
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