Photo: dconvertini · CC BY-SA 2.0Fewer crimes per resident are recorded in Pacific Grove than in 63% of U.S. towns
Annual rates stand at 1.4 violent crimes and 8.1 incidents of property crime for every thousand residents, next to 4.9 and 21.4 in the rest of California. Add to that, that puts it at B for safety, judged on crimes Pacific Grove’s police reported from 2023 to 2025: #42 of 416 graded towns in 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 Pacific Grove
Pacific Grove reports less crime than every graded town next door
Of the 2 California towns on Pacific Grove’s borders, 1 have a Safety Grade: Monterey (C−). Del Monte Forest 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 Pacific Grove’s place among its own towns differs from its national one: it reports less crime than 90% of the 416 California towns we grade, against 63% nationally. Safety Grade ↓
Written from the FBI data on this page. Figures are crimes reported to police, not convictions.
What’s behind Pacific Grove’s grade
Property crimes plus four times violent crimes reported to the FBI per resident, 2023–2025, on a national curve. Both violent and property crime are lower than in most U.S. towns; property crime is the stronger of the two.
Violent crime, by year and by type
Show as a table
| Year | Pacific Grove | Rest of California | U.S. (FBI national estimate) |
|---|---|---|---|
| 2022 | 0.9 | 5.1 | 4.0 |
| 2023 | 1.6 | 5.4 | 3.9 |
| 2024 | 1.4 | 4.9 | 3.6 |
| 2025 | 1.0 | 4.3 | 3.3 |
Violent crimes per 1,000 residents
By type 2023–2025, counts
Pacific Grove’s police reported 60 violent crimes to the FBI over 2023–2025, about 1.4 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 Pacific Grove 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.
Reported crime is steady
Show as a table
| Year | Pacific Grove property | Rest of California property | Pacific Grove violent | Rest of California violent |
|---|---|---|---|---|
| 2022 | 7.8 | 24.8 | 0.9 | 5.1 |
| 2023 | 7.8 | 25.0 | 1.6 | 5.4 |
| 2024 | 9.1 | 20.8 | 1.4 | 4.9 |
| 2025 | 7.4 | 18.5 | 1.0 | 4.3 |
Crimes per 1,000 residents
Reported crime per resident was steady from 2023 to 2025: the change is within ordinary year-to-year swings. Per 1,000 residents, 2022–2025, against the rest of California.
125 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.
15 violent and 110 property, as reported to the FBI by Pacific Grove’s police.
One person died in crashes on Pacific Grove’s roads in 2019–2023
Pacific Grove had 1 fatal crash in five years, in which one person died.
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 Pacific Grove’s size would see about 4 in five years. With numbers this small, a death or two either way changes the picture, so Pacific Grove’s own rate (1.3) 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.
Pacific Grove and its neighbors
| Town | Grade | Violent | Property |
|---|---|---|---|
| Pacific Grove | B | 1.4 | 8.1 |
| Del Monte Forest | — | — | — |
| Monterey | C− | 4.0 | 16.6 |
Crimes reported to the FBI per 1,000 residents a year, 2023–2025. Del Monte Forest 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 |
|---|---|---|---|
| Pacific Grove | B | 1.4 | 8.1 |
| La Palma | C+ | 1.6 | 17.4 |
| McFarland | C | 4.5 | 8.5 |
| Livingston | C | 3.8 | 14.2 |
| Parlier | C− | 7.7 | 9.4 |
| Red Bluff | D− | 12.3 | 43.8 |
The five graded California towns closest to Pacific Grove’s population (14,659), 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 Pacific Grove. 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 Pacific Grove’s residents, which raises the per-resident rate.
- Whose population. Rates use the FBI’s population for the department (14,792 in 2025); our figure for Pacific Grove is 14,659 (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 Pacific Grove
Is Pacific Grove, CA safe?
On crimes reported to the FBI in 2023–2025, Pacific Grove reports less crime per resident than 63% of U.S. towns, a B Safety Grade and #42 of 416 in California. Its police reported 1.4 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 Pacific Grove?
1.4 violent and 8.1 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 Pacific Grove safer than Monterey?
Monterey reports more crime per resident than Pacific Grove: Monterey grades C− for safety and Pacific Grove B. Monterey’s police reported 4.0 violent and 16.6 property crimes per 1,000 residents a year, 2023–2025.
Who polices Pacific Grove?
Pacific Grove’s own police department, which reports to the FBI as “Pacific Grove”. Its figures are the ones on this page.
Heads-up board
Your answer becomes a post in Town Square.
Please don’t name or describe individuals. In an emergency, call 911.
Neighbors looking out for each other in Pacific Grove.
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.