West Central is a neighborhood of 21,900 residents in Pasadena, close to downtown · Updated November 2026
Is West Central in Pasadena safe?
Crime in West Central is moderate, with an overall CrimeGrade™ of B. Most US neighborhoods have little crime: 74% of Americans live in neighborhoods with less crime than West Central. Violent crime grades better than property crime here, A- against C. Pasadena as a whole grades B+. What matters most is the neighborhood: grades within West Central run from B+ to D+, so check the map below.
B
Overall CrimeGrade™
Safety score 648 of 1,000Less safe than most US neighborhoodsi What this means
26% of Americans live in neighborhoods with more crime than West Central as a whole, and 74% in neighborhoods with less. The typical US neighborhood has a safety score of 838, a CrimeGrade™ of A-. West Central scores 648.
Crime is concentrated in a small share of places, so most neighborhoods score high on the 0 to 1,000 scale. That is why a score in the 800s can still mean more crime than most US neighborhoods.
How to read the map: each area's color compares its crime with the people, homes and cars there, on one national scale, from green for the least crime to red for the most. Each area gets its own color, so a busy shopping center can show red while the homes beside it stay green. The interactive maps load faster on a strong connection. Compare high speed internet in West Central, Pasadena, CA at ISP Reports.
Who this page is for: homeowners and renters in West Central in Pasadena, and anyone thinking about buying or renting a home there.
Business and enterprise customers: this free map shows neighborhood areas. CrimeGrade™ business reports map crime at about 66-meter detail and estimate it for one address and type of business. See business reports
What stands out in West Central
Robberies run high. West Central has robberies at about triple the US rate: 2.0 a year per 1,000 residents, against 0.62 nationally.
Thefts from cars happen in parking lots and garages more often than nationally. In Pasadena as a whole, 52% of reported thefts from cars happen in parking lots and garages, against 31% nationally.
How West Central compares within Pasadena
Low crime is the norm across West Central: 54% of residents live in areas graded A or B, and 5% in areas graded D or F. Grades across West Central run from B+ to D+; every part of West Central has more crime than the typical US neighborhood.
54%41%
A or B 54%C 41%D or F 5%
Share of residents, by the overall CrimeGrade™ of the area they live in.
West Central has less crime than 2 of the 10 neighborhoods in Pasadena. It covers much of the West Central area.
Is crime going up in Pasadena?
Since 2019, reported property crime in Pasadena as a whole is up 28%, while violent crime has held about steady. Murders, rapes, robberies and aggravated assaults went from about 4.3 to 4.6 a year per 1,000 residents (US: 3.7); burglaries, thefts and vehicle thefts from about 20 to 26 (US: 18). In 2024 alone, violent crime fell 11%.
Violent crime, change since 2019
Property crime, change since 2019
PasadenaUnited States
Source: crime reports to the FBI from the police departments that serve Pasadena. The charts follow crimes per resident.
Data table
Year
Violent, Pasadena
Violent, US
Property, Pasadena
Property, US
2016
-22%
+4%
+20%
+15%
2017
-7%
+4%
+2%
+12%
2018
-11%
+0%
+2%
+4%
2019
+0%
+0%
+0%
+0%
2020
-31%
+4%
+7%
-8%
2021
-17%
+6%
+14%
-10%
2022
-13%
+5%
+12%
-6%
2023
+20%
+2%
+26%
-7%
2024
+7%
-4%
+28%
-15%
Crime rates and types in West Central
CrimeGrade™ estimates West Central has about 54 reported crimes a year for every 1,000 residents, 46% more than the US as a whole and 36% more than Pasadena as a whole.
Overall crime
Violent crime
Property crime
Reported crimes a year, per 1,000 residents. These figures include simple assaults and vandalism, which the FBI's violent and property crime rates leave out.
Theft makes up about 42% of crime reported in West Central. Assault is less common but costs more, because each one does far more harm.
Each CrimeGrade™ compares a crime with what it affects: people for assaults and robbery, homes for burglary, parked cars for vehicle theft. Rates count crimes per 1,000 residents.
Select a crime's name to see its map above. CrimeGrade™ business reports map each crime at about 66-meter detail.
Where and when crime happens in Pasadena
The Pasadena Police Department polices West Central; these figures cover Pasadena as a whole, 2022 to 2024.
In Pasadena as a whole, 42% of burglaries hit homes, against 57% nationally.
Crime
Most often at
Busiest time
Burglary
Homes (42%)
Night (midnight to 6 am)
Car theft
Streets and sidewalks (46%)
Evening (6 pm to midnight)
Theft from cars
Parking lots and garages (52%)
Afternoon (noon to 6 pm)
Vandalism
Stores and businesses (23%)
Afternoon (noon to 6 pm)
Robbery
Stores and businesses (50%)
Afternoon (noon to 6 pm)
Aggravated assault
Streets and sidewalks (35%)
Evening (6 pm to midnight)
Shares of the crimes reported to police, 2022 to 2024. Reports with no time recorded are left out of the times.
How West Central compares with nearby neighborhoods
Of the 10 neighborhoods closest to West Central, 7 have less crime. North East and South Arroyo have the least.
Two things set West Central apart: it has 134 jobs for every 100 residents, against 45 for the US as a whole, and 21.7 stores and restaurants for every 1,000 residents, against 10.5 nationally. Places like that tend to report more theft and robbery, and they run high here.
JobsJobs draw daytime crowds. Places with many jobs tend to report more theft and robbery.134 for every 100 residentsUS: 45Higher than for 92% of residents of US city neighborhoods
Stores and restaurantsShops and restaurants draw crowds and parked cars. Places with many stores tend to report more theft and car theft.21.7 per 1,000 residentsUS: 10.5Higher than for 90% of residents of US city neighborhoods
Walk GradeBestNeighborhood's grade for getting through daily life on foot, traced along real walking routes to shops, schools and parks. Walkable places tend to report more theft and assault. 50% of residents here live in walkable areas.B+ (65 of 100)US: 21Higher than for 74% of residents of US city neighborhoods
Show all 4
Bars and nightlifeBars, lounges, clubs and casinos. Places with more bars tend to report more assault and robbery.1.2 per 1,000 residentsUS: 0.6Higher than for 85% of residents of US city neighborhoods
These traits tend to go with more or less crime; none of them causes it on its own. Sources: Census job counts and housing figures, OpenStreetMap and Overture business listings, CrimeGrade™ parking estimates, NASA night-light imagery, US Forest Service tree cover, EPA transit data and BestNeighborhood's Walk Grade.
What crime costs West Central
Crime costs West Central about $1,387 a year per household, counting police, courts and prisons as well as victims' losses, 15% more than the US figure of $1,205.
Cost of crime per resident, per year
Counting the pain and suffering of victims, which comes almost entirely from violent crime, the full cost comes to about $38 million a year, or $1,757 per resident.
How CrimeGrade™ works
A CrimeGrade™ shows how much crime an area has compared with the rest of the country, from A+ for the least crime to F for the most. Every neighborhood in the US is graded on the same scale, so a B in West Central means the same as a B anywhere else.
CrimeGrade™ starts from the crimes people report to police and measures each kind of crime against what it affects: people for assaults, homes for burglaries, parked cars for car thefts.
The rates on this page count crimes for every 1,000 people who live here, the way police departments report them.
Comparisons with US neighborhoods use the Census Bureau's block groups, small areas of about 1,400 residents, and count the people who live in each. The figures count crimes reported to police; many crimes, shoplifting above all, never are. Behind the grades, CrimeGrade™ tested 21,607 factors from 125 data families. For business owners, paid CrimeGrade™ location reports estimate crime at a single address for each type of business.
Where the numbers come from
Crime reports that police departments file with the FBI
State crime records and city crime data, where they are published
Published research on what crime costs victims and communities
These are estimates of reported crime for whole areas, not a record of what happened on any one street. CrimeGrade™ updates them once a year and provides them free and without guarantee. Check local sources before you rely on them for a decision.
Schools in West Central, Pasadena, CA average a SchoolGrade of C-: 30% of students test proficient, against 32% projected for schools like them. Overall, they meet expectations. See schools in West Central on SchoolGrade
