The Safest and Most Dangerous Places in Pacific Grove, CA
Pacific Grove is a city of 15,100 in Monterey County, about 15 miles west of downtown Salinas · Updated November 2026
Is Pacific Grove, CA safe?
Yes. An overall CrimeGrade™ of A means crime in Pacific Grove is low. Most US neighborhoods have little crime too, so Pacific Grove sits near the middle: 56% of Americans live in neighborhoods with more crime, and 44% in neighborhoods with less. Violent and property crime both grade A here. Its neighborhoods are much alike, from A to B+; see the map below.
A
Overall CrimeGrade™
Safety score 863 of 1,000About as safe as the typical US neighborhoodi What this means
56% of Americans live in neighborhoods with more crime than Pacific Grove as a whole, and 44% in neighborhoods with less. The typical US neighborhood has a safety score of 838, a CrimeGrade™ of A-. Pacific Grove scores 863.
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 Pacific Grove, CA at ISP Reports.
Who this page is for: homeowners and renters in Pacific Grove, 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 Pacific Grove
Simple assaults are uncommon. Pacific Grove has simple assaults at less than half the US rate: 3.2 a year per 1,000 residents, against 9.7 nationally.
The safest and least safe parts of Pacific Grove
Every part of Pacific Grove where people live grades A or B on the national scale. Grades across Pacific Grove run from A to B+; 74% of residents live in areas with less crime than the typical US neighborhood.
100%
A or B 100%
Share of residents, by the overall CrimeGrade™ of the area they live in.
Within Pacific Grove, the southwest side has the least crime and the center the most.
Crime rates and types in Pacific Grove
CrimeGrade™ estimates Pacific Grove has about 20 reported crimes a year for every 1,000 residents, 46% less than the US as a whole and 49% less than California.
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 Pacific Grove. Assault is less common but costs more, because each one does 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 Pacific Grove
Pacific Grove has its own police department, and these figures come from its reports, 2022 to 2024.
Thefts from cars happen most often at homes: 40% of them, against 34% nationally.
Crime
Most often at
Busiest time
Theft from cars
Homes (40%)
Afternoon (noon to 6 pm)
Vandalism
Streets and sidewalks (30%)
Afternoon (noon to 6 pm)
Shares of the crimes reported to police, 2022 to 2024. Reports with no time recorded are left out of the times.
How Pacific Grove compares with nearby cities
Pacific Grove has less crime than 4 of its 7 nearest cities.
Two things set Pacific Grove apart: it has 18.6 stores and restaurants for every 1,000 residents, against 10.5 nationally, and a Walk Grade of C (39 of 100) on BestNeighborhood, against 21 for the US as a whole. Even so, 52% of residents in Pacific Grove live in car-dependent areas, where most errands take a car. Places like that tend to report more theft; here theft sits near the national middle.
Stores and restaurantsShops and restaurants draw crowds and parked cars. Places with many stores tend to report more theft.18.6 per 1,000 residentsUS: 10.5Higher than for 95% of US city residents
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.C (39 of 100)US: 21Higher than for 87% of US city residents
Transit serviceBuses and trains an hour at the evening rush. Places with busy transit tend to report more theft and robbery. BestNeighborhood's Transit Grade for Pacific Grove: C- (26 of 100).NoneUS: noneLower than for 84% of US city residents
Show all 6
Residents in dense blocksBlocks of 10,000 or more people per square mile. Dense neighborhoods tend to report more robbery and car theft.44% of residentsUS: 24%Higher than for 80% of US city residents
Lit at nightSatellite images show which neighborhoods are lit at night, a sign of busy streets and businesses. Brightly lit places tend to report more theft and vandalism.65% where people liveUS: 78%Lower than for 80% of US city residents
Parking lotsBig lots at stores, offices and apartment complexes. Places with more lot space tend to report more theft.1.0 spaces per residentUS: 2.0Lower than for 78% of US city residents
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 Pacific Grove
Crime costs Pacific Grove about $507 a year per household, counting police, courts and prisons as well as victims' losses, 58% less 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 $11 million a year, or $711 per resident.
How the cost breaks down
Crime
Cost a year
Per resident
Murder
$440,000
$29
Rape
$300,000
$20
Robbery
$240,000
$16
Assault
$1.0 million
$66
Burglary
$130,000
$9
Theft
$650,000
$43
Vehicle theft
$140,000
$9
Arson
$41,000
$3
Vandalism
$480,000
$32
Total
$3.4 million
$227
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 Pacific Grove 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 Pacific Grove, CA average a SchoolGrade of A+: 58% of students test proficient, against 51% projected for schools like them. Overall, they exceed expectations. See schools in Pacific Grove on SchoolGrade
