Each edition grades its towns against each other only.
Pine Grove is a solid, middle-of-the-road choice. It grades C− overall, 511th of 841 graded towns in California, with no subject far below average. Its best mark is schools: its schools outperform 52% of the state's. Expect to pay for it: homes are expensive, about $404K for a typical one and 4.6 times the county’s $88K median household income. 29% of residents are 65 or older in Pine Grove, against 16% in California’s towns and 18% across U.S. towns. FEMA rates its natural-hazard risk higher than 80% of U.S. communities, with avalanches at the top.
Where Pine Grove beats most towns.
2,219 counted in 2010 and 2,891 in 2020.
U.S. Census 2010 & 2020 counts
Each subject compared with towns across the country (schools within California), ordered by how far Pine Grove is from typical.
How TownRatings grades towns →
The archive holds 6 old photos and papers going back to 2012 and a map from 1948 on.
Pine Grove is unincorporated, so Amador County and regional agencies provide most services.
EPA SDWIS (Oct 9, 2026) · HIFLD + EIA-861 2025 · Census 2020 ZCTAs · NCES 2024–25 · registration: vote.gov, updated Nov 18, 2024.
Ordered by what stands out in Pine Grove.
Pine Grove has home values still below their peak and sends most of its workers to Jackson and beyond, but it has little public open land.
The typical value, about $404K, is 11% below its July 2022 peak. At about $404K, home values are down 3% in five years, against a rise of 13% across California.
Pine Grove’s median rent is $1,253 a month. The typical Pine Grove home is worth about $404,000, about the same as a year ago, 47% below the California typical home. 79% of households own their home in Pine Grove.
| Pine Grove | California towns | U.S. towns | |
|---|---|---|---|
| Households that own their home | 79% | 64% | 73% |
| Median rent | $1,253 a month | $1,898 a month | $1,185 a month |
Census ACS, 2020–24 · Zillow Home Value Index · Redfin Data Center
Its public schools are run by the Amador County Unified school district. Its one school is below.
| School | Level | Students | Letter |
|---|---|---|---|
| Pine Grove Elementary STEM MagnetLargest public elementary schoolGrades K–6 | Grades K–6 | 259 | B |
NCES · EDFacts · graded within CA on state tests and graduation
FEMA National Risk Index · OpenFEMA
Pine Grove has 350 jobs for its 1,243 working residents: even if every job went to a resident, most would still commute out.
Most working residents leave Pine Grove for work: only 3% work in town. The average trip to work in Pine Grove is 32 minutes. Jobs based in Pine Grove grew to 350 in 2023, 75 more than in 2013.
| Pine Grove | California towns | U.S. towns | |
|---|---|---|---|
| Average trip to work | 32 minutes | 28 minutes | 25 minutes |
| Below the poverty line | 5.9% | 10% | 9.6% |
| Working residents who work in town | 3.2% | 6.6% | 8% |
| Median household income | $89,000 | $95,000 | $80,000 |
Census LEHD 2023 · ACS
Pine Grove has mild winters and warm summers. July afternoons reach 91°, January nights drop to 38° and snow is almost unheard of.
NOAA U.S. Climate Normals, 1991–2020
Just 141 of its 4,766 acres are conserved, so there is little public open land in Pine Grove itself; its outdoors grade is C−.
0.9 miles of trail in 1 park or preserve.
| Pine Grove | California towns | U.S. towns | |
|---|---|---|---|
| Miles of trail per square mile | 0.1 miles per square mile | 1.0 | 0.4 |
| Conserved land | 3% | 4.3% | 4.3% |
| Biggest places to walk | Trails | Acres |
|---|---|---|
| 1. Indian Grinding Rock State Historic Park | — | 6 |
Trails & parks © OpenStreetMap contributors · Conserved land: USGS PAD-US
41% of Pine Grove adults have high blood pressure. Pine Grove beats the California average on 10 of 32 CDC measures and trails it on 8. 14% of Pine Grove adults have diabetes.
| Pine Grove | California towns | U.S. towns | |
|---|---|---|---|
| High blood pressure (CDC PLACES) | 41% | 31% | 35% |
| Binge drink (CDC PLACES) | 14% | 16% | 16% |
| Yearly checkup (CDC PLACES) | 76% | 72% | 79% |
| Diabetes (CDC PLACES) | 14% | 12% | 12% |
| What stands out | Pine Grove | CA |
|---|---|---|
| Fewer uninsured adults | 6.2% | 10.6% |
| Fewer adults facing housing insecurity | 9.8% | 14.9% |
| More adults who have had cancer | 12.1% | 6.4% |
CDC PLACES 2025 · modeled estimates for adults · CMS · HRSA
None within 15 miles of Pine Grove; the nearest are
About 4 of every 100 Pine Grove residents are enrolled in college, against 8 across California.
Where Pine Grove’s working residents go each day. Line width shows the share.
Census LEHD 2023
Census-designated place in California, United States
Pine Grove is a census-designated place in Amador County, California, United States. It lies at an elevation of 2513 feet (766 m). The population was 2,891 at the 2020 census. The current boundaries of Pine Grove include the former mining towns of Clinton and Irishtown. The town also is home to Indian Grinding Rock State Historic Park. A post office opened in Pine Grove in 1856.
From Wikipedia, licensed CC BY-SA 4.0 · facts via Wikidata (CC0)
One town shares a border with Pine Grove.
| Town | CA rank | Overall | Cost | Safety | Schools | Health |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| Pine Grove | #511 | C− | C− | — | B− | B− |
| Red Corral | — | — | C− | — | B− | B− |
Red Corral has fewer than 2,500 residents, so it gets subject grades but no overall grade. Pine Grove and Red Corral report no FBI crime data of their own. Compare Pine Grove with a neighbor →
Short answers, built from the data on this page.
Pine Grove grades C− overall, better than 18% of U.S. towns and #511 of 841 in California. It grades B− for health and B− for schools. Hazard risk is its weak spot, with a D.
Yes. Cost of living, which also weighs rents, property taxes and how many households pay 30% or more of their income for housing, grades C−.