At 8.6%, unemployment in Pasadena is higher than in 91% of U.S. towns
About one in seven work in Pasadena itself; outside it, Houston draws the most (40%, 17 miles). The two grades for Pasadena are C for jobs and income and B for walkability. Home is the office for 8% of workers; Texas has 14%.
Census ACS 2020–24, Census LEHD 2023, EPA Smart Location Database. How the two grades are made
The work figures that set Pasadena apart
Much of Pasadena works one town over
48% of working residents work in a town that borders Pasadena: Houston (40%), Deer Park (5%) and La Porte (3%). Next door ↓
Pasadena trades workers with the towns around it
Pasadena has about as many jobs (64,835) as working residents (57,400), but they are mostly different people: 47,763 residents leave for work each day while 55,198 people come in. Only 15% of the jobs in Pasadena are held by people who live here. Day and night ↓
Written from the Census figures on this page. Commute flows, distances and jobs are Census LEHD 2023, primary jobs only (the self-employed aren’t counted); commute time and working from home are from the Census American Community Survey.
How Pasadena earns its Jobs & income grade
On income, poverty, unemployment and job access, Pasadena is better than 35% of U.S. towns, #389 of 642 in Texas. Job access by car holds Pasadena’s grade up (ahead of 97% of U.S. towns); unemployment pulls it down.
A fairly firm grade. Within the Census margins of error for income, poverty and unemployment, Pasadena could be anywhere from C to C+.
The daily commute in and out of Pasadena
On a workday 47,763 residents head out to work, 9,637 work right here, and 55,198 people come in from elsewhere.
About as many people by day as by night: the people who leave are replaced by the people who come in.
About as many jobs as working residents (1.13 per resident).
Workday population = residents − those who work elsewhere + those who come in (the Census “commuter-adjusted” method). Residents: Census survey; commuters: LEHD 2023, primary jobs.
Where Pasadena goes to work
Where Pasadena clocks in
40% of workers
5% of workers
3% of workersLines run between town centers. The top 10 towns each way; “Everywhere else” is the rest, including other states.
A thicker line means more commuters. Switch between where residents work and where the people who work here live.
Jobs in Pasadena: what the 64,835 are
What kind of work
What it pays
Who does it
Jobs based in Pasadena, 2013 → 2023: 57,288 → 64,835. Big swings can come from how a large employer reports its locations, not only from real openings or closings.
Primary jobs covered by unemployment insurance (not the self-employed). Pay is monthly earnings. LEHD 2023.
Here is what they are, next to the jobs Pasadena’s own residents hold wherever they work.
Each way, about 27 minutes from Pasadena
Round trip, about 230 workdays a year: roughly 8.5 full days in the car, bus or train.
Average commute minutes, one way
of Pasadena workers work from home, vs 14% across Texas. Their commute is the hallway.
Share of the 58,764 commuters (the 8% who work from home are left out). Across Texas: 83% drive alone, 1% take transit; U.S.: 81% and 4%. Census ACS 2020–24.
From the Census survey of workers who don’t work from home.
How far Pasadena’s workers travel
Straight-line distance from each worker’s home block to their main job’s block. LEHD 2023.
Every working resident’s trip, home to work, as the crow flies. Roads add to it, so real drives run longer.
Getting around Pasadena: mostly by car
On EPA’s walkability index and the share of commuters who walk, bike or take transit, Pasadena is more walkable than 63% of U.S. towns, #160 of 642 in Texas. The street layout scores higher than the way people actually get to work: 1.8% of commuters walk, bike or take transit, below the 3.0% across Texas.
A firm grade. EPA’s index has no published margin of error; the commuting share comes from a Census survey of 63,820 workers.
How TownRatings grades walkability →
Transit service (shown, not graded). 3% of residents live within a ¾-mile walk of a bus or train stop, 0% within a quarter mile. At the weekday evening rush, about 0.1 trips an hour stop near the typical resident, more than in 41% of the 9,825 U.S. towns with transit data.
Transit at the evening rush trips an hour stopping within ¼ mile of the typical resident, EPA 2020
Households without a car (shown, not graded). 6.1% of Pasadena households have no vehicle (Texas 5.4%, U.S. 8.4%). <1% of Pasadena’s commuters take a bus or train.
These are town averages; neighborhoods differ.
Pasadena places 191st of 239 on jobs and income among U.S. towns of 104,000 to 201,000
| # | Town | People | Household income | Poverty | Unemployment | Work in town | Grade |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| 1 | Carmel IN | 105,634 | $142K | 3.9% | 2.7% | 23% | A+ |
| 2 | Clay Township IN | 104,932 | $142K | 3.9% | 2.7% | 23% | A+ |
| 3 | Fishers IN | 104,812 | $130K | 4.0% | 2.8% | 14% | A+ |
| 4 | Pearland TX | 129,930 | $119K | 4.1% | 3.3% | 10% | A+ |
| … | |||||||
| 9 | Allen TX | 113,447 | $131K | 6.1% | 3.7% | 11% | A |
| 10 | Sugar Land TX | 107,726 | $136K | 5.5% | 4.1% | 15% | A |
| … | |||||||
| 189 | Topeka KS | 125,795 | $57K | 15.7% | 4.9% | 66% | C+ |
| 190 | Lancaster CA | 170,084 | $82K | 15.6% | 7.5% | 25% | C |
| 191 | Pasadena TX | 148,539 | $65K | 18.9% | 8.6% | 17% | C |
| 192 | Dearborn MI | 105,611 | $65K | 24.3% | 6.6% | 23% | C |
| 193 | Providence RI | 195,310 | $68K | 20.7% | 8.2% | 36% | C |
| … | |||||||
| 239 | Macon-Bibb County GA | 157,556 | $51K | 24.7% | 8.1% | 53% | D |
Census ACS 2020–24 (income, poverty, unemployment), Census LEHD (work in town), TownRatings Jobs & income grades. Each town links to its Work & commute page.
Ranked on the Jobs & income grade: the towns either side of Pasadena, the top three, the last and three more from Texas.
Pasadena and its neighbors: 48% work next door
Average commute minutes, one way
Jobs & commute next door
| Town | Pasadena workers there | Jobs & income | Walkability | Commute | Household income |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| Pasadena | – | C | B | 27 min | $64,927 |
| Houston | 40% | C+ | A | 27 min | $64,813 |
| Taylor Lake Village | under 1% | A+ | B+ | 35 min | $165,875 |
| Deer Park | 5% | B+ | B | 24 min | $100,382 |
| La Porte | 3% | B | C | 24 min | $80,753 |
| Seabrook | under 1% | B+ | B− | 29 min | $102,726 |
| South Houston | under 1% | C | B | 31 min | $53,497 |
| Nassau Bay | under 1% | B+ | A | 25 min | $71,696 |
| El Lago | under 1% | A | B | 31 min | $95,625 |
Same-state neighbors only. Commute: average minutes each way, Census ACS 2020–24.
The biggest share goes to Houston. Darker towns draw more of Pasadena’s workers. Tap a town to see its commute.
What this data can and can’t tell you
- Two sources, two years. Trips, distances and jobs based here: Census LEHD 2023, primary jobs, where the employer reports them. Income, poverty, unemployment, commute time and how people travel: Census ACS 2020–24 averages.
- Straight lines, older transit. Miles are as the crow flies. EPA’s walkability and transit files use 2017–20 inputs.
Jobs and commuting in Pasadena: questions
What is the median household income in Pasadena?
$64,927 (±$3,020) (Census ACS 2020–24), against $78,476 across Texas and $80,734 nationally.
What is the poverty rate in Pasadena?
18.9%, against 13.8% across Texas and 12.5% nationally (Census ACS 2020–24).
How long is the commute from Pasadena?
27 minutes each way on average, against 27 across Texas and 26 nationally. 8% of workers work from home.
Where do people who live in Pasadena work?
17% work in town. The top destinations elsewhere are Houston (40%, 17 mi), Deer Park (5%, 3 mi), La Porte (3%, 6 mi) (Census LEHD 2023).
Is Pasadena walkable?
Pasadena is more walkable than 63% of U.S. towns (Walkability B): an EPA walkability index of 8.7 out of 20, and 2% of commuters walk, bike or take transit.
Can you get around Pasadena without a car?
<1% of commuters take transit and 6% of households have no car. 0% of residents live within a quarter mile of a stop.
Commuter talk
Getting to work from Pasadena, from the people who make the trip.
More of Pasadena
Flows, distances and jobs: U.S. Census Bureau, LEHD Origin-Destination Employment Statistics (LODES 8), 2023, primary jobs. Commute time, working from home and working out of state: U.S. Census Bureau, American Community Survey 5-year estimates. Distances are straight lines between home and work; real drives run longer. Walkability index, job access and transit service: U.S. EPA Smart Location Database. The two grades are our own summaries of these figures, not official ratings.