Photo: Allie_Caulfield · CC BY 2.0In Arroyo Grande, the kinds of crime the grade counts fell 57% per resident from 2023 to 2025
Both towns on its borders with figures record more crime per resident. Arroyo Grande’s letter overall is B− (#87 of 416 graded towns in California): close to the middle of U.S. towns, from crimes its police reported through 2023 to 2025. Per 1,000 residents a year, 2.6 violent crimes and 8.3 incidents of property crime were recorded, against 4.9 and 21.4 in the rest of California.
Crimes reported to the FBI per 1,000 residents a year, 2023–2025. “Rest of CA” is every other California city and town in the FBI’s tables; the U.S. figure is the FBI’s national estimate as published, averaged over the three years. The FBI publishes no national homicide or robbery rate in our data, so those compare with all U.S. cities and towns in its tables.
What stands out about safety in Arroyo Grande
Arroyo Grande reports less crime than every graded town next door
Of the 3 California towns on Arroyo Grande’s borders, 2 have a Safety Grade: Grover Beach (B−), Pismo Beach (C−). Oceano is an unincorporated community (a census-designated place) with no police department of its own. Neighbors ↓
Among California towns, higher
California’s cities and towns report more crime than most states’, so Arroyo Grande’s place among its own towns differs from its national one: it reports less crime than 79% of the 416 California towns we grade, against 50% nationally. Safety Grade ↓
Reported crime is falling
Crime reported per resident fell from 2023 to 2025 by more than ordinary year-to-year swings, on the grade’s own score. Trend ↓
Written from the FBI data on this page. Figures are crimes reported to police, not convictions.
What’s behind Arroyo Grande’s grade
Property crimes plus four times violent crimes reported to the FBI per resident, 2023–2025, on a national curve. Property crime holds Arroyo Grande’s grade up; violent crime pulls it down. Its violent rate (2.6) is below the FBI’s national estimate (3.6) but higher than in most individual towns: the national figure is weighted by people, and the grade counts towns.
Reported crime per resident, 2023 to 2025
Show as a table
| Year | Arroyo Grande property | Rest of California property | Arroyo Grande violent | Rest of California violent |
|---|---|---|---|---|
| 2022 | 14.4 | 24.8 | 5.0 | 5.1 |
| 2023 | 11.8 | 25.0 | 4.5 | 5.4 |
| 2024 | 7.5 | 20.8 | 2.0 | 4.9 |
| 2025 | 5.7 | 18.5 | 1.3 | 4.3 |
Crimes per 1,000 residents
Reported crime per resident fell from 2023 to 2025, by more than ordinary year-to-year swings. Per 1,000 residents, 2022–2025, against the rest of California.
Violent crime, by year and by type
Show as a table
| Year | Arroyo Grande | Rest of California | U.S. (FBI national estimate) |
|---|---|---|---|
| 2022 | 5.0 | 5.1 | 4.0 |
| 2023 | 4.5 | 5.4 | 3.9 |
| 2024 | 2.0 | 4.9 | 3.6 |
| 2025 | 1.3 | 4.3 | 3.3 |
Violent crimes per 1,000 residents
By type 2023–2025, counts
Arroyo Grande’s police reported 142 violent crimes to the FBI over 2023–2025, about 2.6 per 1,000 residents a year, against 4.9 in the rest of California and the FBI’s national estimate of 3.6.
Crime in Arroyo Grande per 1,000 residents
Violent crime per 1,000 residents, 2025
Property crime per 1,000 residents, 2025
Crimes reported to police in 2025 per resident; one person can be the victim of more than one, and some reports involve visitors.
And about 1 violent crime, in 2025. Below are 1,000 dots, one per resident; each colored dot is one reported crime.
126 crimes reported in 2025
2025 offenses reported
Offenses reported to police, not convictions. FBI Uniform Crime Reporting. The last row is counted outside the property total.
23 violent and 103 property, as reported to the FBI by Arroyo Grande’s police.
Three people died in crashes on Arroyo Grande’s roads in 2019–2023
Arroyo Grande had 3 fatal crashes in five years, in which three people died; 1 was a cyclist.
That is about what is typical for California towns of 5,000–25,000 people: at their median rate (5.6 deaths per 100,000 residents a year), a town of Arroyo Grande’s size would see about 5 in five years. With numbers this small, a death or two either way changes the picture, so Arroyo Grande’s own rate (3.3) is context, not a ranking.
Deaths are counted where the crash happened, not where the people lived: a highway through town adds through-traffic deaths, and residents’ own risk on roads elsewhere isn’t here. Town rates sit below state and U.S. rates because a third of fatal crashes happen outside any town. Road safety is described here and is not part of the Safety Grade. Source: NHTSA Fatality Analysis Reporting System (FARS), 2019–2023.
Arroyo Grande and its neighbors
| Town | Grade | Violent | Property |
|---|---|---|---|
| Arroyo Grande | B− | 2.6 | 8.3 |
| Grover Beach | B− | 2.4 | 11.3 |
| Oceano | — | — | — |
| Pismo Beach | C− | 4.9 | 22.2 |
Crimes reported to the FBI per 1,000 residents a year, 2023–2025. Oceano is an unincorporated community (a census-designated place) with no police department of its own.
California towns of a similar size
| Town | Grade | Violent | Property |
|---|---|---|---|
| Arroyo Grande | B− | 2.6 | 8.3 |
| Kerman | C | 3.8 | 14.5 |
| Chowchilla | C | 5.3 | 10.0 |
| Rancho Mirage | C− | 2.1 | 25.3 |
| Pinole | C− | 3.4 | 22.0 |
| Hermosa Beach | C− | 3.6 | 25.7 |
The five graded California towns closest to Arroyo Grande’s population (18,123), by grade.
How reported crime compares across the town line. Tap a town to see its safety page.
What this data can and can’t tell you
- It’s reported crime. Only incidents reported to and recorded by police appear here. Many crimes are never reported to police.
- One number for all of Arroyo Grande. A town-wide rate doesn’t show where incidents happen, and that can differ a lot from one part of town to another.
- Visitors count too. Incidents involving people who work, shop or visit are counted against Arroyo Grande’s residents, which raises the per-resident rate.
- Whose population. Rates use the FBI’s population for the department (18,203 in 2025); our figure for Arroyo Grande is 18,123 (2025 Census estimate).
- Gaps are real gaps. A missing year means the department didn’t report a full year, not that nothing happened.
How the grade is calculated, for every town: How TownRatings grades safety →
Questions about safety in Arroyo Grande
Is Arroyo Grande, CA safe?
On crimes reported to the FBI in 2023–2025, Arroyo Grande reports less crime per resident than 50% of U.S. towns, a B− Safety Grade and #87 of 416 in California. Its police reported 2.6 violent crimes per 1,000 residents a year, against 4.9 in the rest of California and the FBI’s national estimate of 3.6.
What is the crime rate in Arroyo Grande?
2.6 violent and 8.3 property crimes per 1,000 residents a year, 2023–2025, as reported to the FBI. The rest of California reports 4.9 and 21.4; the FBI’s national estimate is 3.6 and 17.6.
Is Arroyo Grande safer than Grover Beach?
Grover Beach reports more crime per resident than Arroyo Grande: Grover Beach grades B− for safety and Arroyo Grande B−. Grover Beach’s police reported 2.4 violent and 11.3 property crimes per 1,000 residents a year, 2023–2025.
Who polices Arroyo Grande?
Arroyo Grande’s own police department, which reports to the FBI as “Arroyo Grande”. Its figures are the ones on this page.
Heads-up board
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Neighbors looking out for each other in Arroyo Grande.
Crime: FBI Uniform Crime Reporting Program, Crime Data Explorer: offenses known to law enforcement by city, 2025, and state and national rates. Counts are crimes reported to police, not convictions. The Safety Grade is our own summary of that data, not an official rating. Road deaths: NHTSA Fatality Analysis Reporting System (FARS), 2019–2023. This isn’t an official statement of public safety. In an emergency, call 911.