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Data on this report is based on areas within the legal city boundary, outlined in black on the map. Any additional neighborhoods shown on the map are associated with the city by name and are included for reference only.

South Pasadena, CA
Real Estate & Demographic Data






South Pasadena profile


Living in South Pasadena



South Pasadena is a medium-sized city located in the state of California. With a population of 25,850 people and six constituent neighborhoods, South Pasadena is the 272nd largest community in California.

South Pasadena home prices are not only among the most expensive in California, but South Pasadena real estate also consistently ranks among the most expensive in America.

Of important note, South Pasadena is also a city of artists. South Pasadena has more artists, designers and people working in media than 90% of the communities in America. This concentration of artists helps shape South Pasadena’s character.

Also of interest is that South Pasadena has more people living here who work in computers and math than 95% of the places in the US.

One interesting thing about the economy is that relatively large numbers of people worked from their home: 17.36% of the workforce. While this number may seem small overall, as a fraction of the total workforce this is high compared to the rest of the county. These workers are often telecommuters who work in knowledge-based, white-collar professions. For example, Silicon Valley has large numbers of people who telecommute. Other at-home workers may be self-employed people who operate small businesses out of their homes.

South Pasadena, while not large, also appears to be attractive to some younger, educated professionals, who help shape the character of the city.

One downside of living in South Pasadena, however, is that residents on average have to contend with a long commute, spending on average 32.30 minutes every day commuting to work. It is, however, a pedestrian-friendly city. Many of its neighborhoods are dense enough and have amenities close enough together that people find it feasible to get around on foot. In addition, local public transit is widely used. For those who would prefer to avoid driving entirely and leave their car at home, it may be an option to use the transit instead.

Like elsewhere in America, most people in South Pasadena use a private automobile to get to work. But notably, a substantial number of South Pasadena‘s citizens do make use of public transit in their daily commute, primarily riding the subway. This helps more people get to work with less air pollution, and require fewer highways to get them there.

Do you like to read, write and learn? If you move to South Pasadena, you'll likely find that many of your neighbors like to as well. South Pasadena is one of the more educated communities in America, with a full 70.95% of its adults having a college degree or even advanced degree, compared to a national average across all communities of 21.84%.

The per capita income in South Pasadena in 2018 was $67,612, which is wealthy relative to California and the nation. This equates to an annual income of $270,448 for a family of four.

South Pasadena is an extremely ethnically-diverse city. The people who call South Pasadena home describe themselves as belonging to a variety of racial and ethnic groups. The greatest number of South Pasadena residents report their race to be White, followed by Asian. South Pasadena also has a sizeable Hispanic population (people of Hispanic origin can be of any race). People of Hispanic or Latino origin account for 19.57% of the city’s residents. Important ancestries of people in South Pasadena include German, Irish, Italian, English, and French.

Foreign born people are also an important part of South Pasadena's cultural character, accounting for 24.42% of the city’s population.

The most common language spoken in South Pasadena is English. Other important languages spoken here include Chinese and Spanish.