Research / Rent vs. buy / Texas / Pasadena

Rent or buy in Pasadena?
Renting is $464 a month cheaper.

Renting the typical home in Pasadena costs $464 less a month than owning it. Counting equity, price growth and what a renter could earn by investing the difference, buying comes out ahead in year 14.

Updated November 12, 2026 · Zillow data for September 2026 · 7.11% mortgage rate (Freddie Mac, November 12, 2026) · Rank 66 of 339 (1 = owning closest to renting) · Part of our 2026 rent vs. buy study

Monthly cost to own$1,825typical home, 20% down
Typical monthly rent$1,361Zillow, September 2026
Buying breaks evenYear 143.5% price growth
Cash needed to buy$49,515$215,283 home · 20% down + 3% closing
Income needed to own$72,991vs. $54,440 to rent · 30% rule

Where the monthly money goes.

The first-month cost of owning the typical Pasadena home, split into its parts, against the typical rent. About $138 of the first mortgage payment is principal, which you keep as equity.

The median household income in Pasadena is $64,927 (Census ACS 2020–2024). Owning the typical home would take 34% of it; renting would take 25%.

As a check with a larger rental, HUD's FY2027 Fair Market Rent for a three-bedroom home in the Houston-The Woodlands-Sugar Land, TX HUD Metro FMR Area area is $2,017 a month, $192 above the cost of owning.

  • Mortgage principal & interest $1,159
  • Property tax $248
  • Home insurance $239
  • Maintenance $179

How long you would need to stay.

Net worth of a buyer compared with a renter who invests the down payment, closing costs and any monthly savings at 6% a year. Home values and rents grow 3.5% a year; selling costs 6%.

Change the assumptions

Buying vs. renting in Pasadena, by years in the home
StayResult
3 yearsRenting ahead by $18,853
5 yearsRenting ahead by $17,657
7 yearsRenting ahead by $15,620
10 yearsRenting ahead by $10,625
15 yearsBuying ahead by $4,610
20 yearsBuying ahead by $32,211
30 yearsBuying ahead by $150,846

Rent or buy elsewhere in Texas.

Other large Texas cities in the study.

All cities
HoustonRenting $634/mo cheaperSan AntonioRenting $734/mo cheaperDallasRenting $921/mo cheaperAustinRenting $2,318/mo cheaperFort WorthRenting $866/mo cheaperEl PasoRenting $611/mo cheaperArlingtonRenting $1,071/mo cheaperCorpus ChristiRenting $495/mo cheaper

More on Pasadena

See the full Pasadena rental market profile with Census medians, or check how a typical rental performs for an investor in our cash-flow ranking.

How we calculated this

Price is the Zillow Home Value Index and rent the Zillow Observed Rent Index for Pasadena. The cost of owning includes principal and interest at 7.11% with 20% down, property tax at the city's 1.38% effective rate (Census ACS), the Texas average homeowners premium (NAIC 2023) and 1% yearly maintenance. It leaves out income-tax effects, HOA dues and utilities. The typical rental may be smaller than the typical home for sale. Full methodology. This is a citywide estimate, not advice about a specific home.