The Safest and Most Dangerous Places in Pinole, CA

Pinole is a city of 22,200 in Contra Costa County, about 17 miles northeast of downtown San Francisco · Updated November 2026

Is Pinole, CA safe?

Crime in Pinole is moderate, with an overall CrimeGrade™ of B+. Most US neighborhoods have little crime: 65% of Americans live in neighborhoods with less crime than Pinole. Violent and property crime both grade B+ here. What matters most is the neighborhood: grades within Pinole run from A to C, so check the map below.

B+
Overall CrimeGrade™Safety score 742 of 1,000
Less safe than most US neighborhoods What this means

35% of Americans live in neighborhoods with more crime than Pinole as a whole, and 65% in neighborhoods with less. The typical US neighborhood has a safety score of 838, a CrimeGrade™ of A-. Pinole scores 742.

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.

B+
Violent crimeSafety score 769 of 1,000More violent crime than most US neighborhoods
B+
Property crimeSafety score 694 of 1,000More property crime than most US neighborhoods

How it works


Crime map of Pinole

Map of Pinole shaded by overall CrimeGrade™, from green for the least crime to red for the most
Click the map to explore
F D C B A+
Highest crime Safest
Colorblind friendly off

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 Pinole, CA at ISP Reports.

Who this page is for: homeowners and renters in Pinole, 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 Pinole

Robbery stands out among B-graded cities. For the typical resident of a B-graded US city, the figure is 0.63 robberies a year per 1,000 residents; Pinole has 1.6.

Burglaries happen at stores and businesses far more often than nationally. In Pinole, 68% of reported burglaries happen at stores and businesses, against 28% nationally.


The safest and least safe parts of Pinole

Most of Pinole grades well: 95% of residents live in areas graded A or B, and the rest in areas graded C. Grades across Pinole run from A to C; 27% of residents live in areas with less crime than the typical US neighborhood.

A or B 95%C 5%

Share of residents, by the overall CrimeGrade™ of the area they live in.

Within Pinole, the southeast side has the least crime and the northwest side the most.


Crime rates and types in Pinole

CrimeGrade™ estimates Pinole has about 33 reported crimes a year for every 1,000 residents, 11% less than the US as a whole and 17% 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 is the most common crime in Pinole, about 50% of everything reported, but assault costs more, because each one does more harm.

CrimeCrimeGrade™Reported a yearPer 1,000 residentsUS per 1,000
Violent crime
MurderA-under 10.030.05
RapeA-50.240.38
RobberyC361.60.62
AssaultA-1486.712.3
Property crime
BurglaryA-482.12.4
TheftB-36716.513.1
Vehicle theftB703.22.7
ArsonB40.170.12
VandalismA572.65.5

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 Pinole

Pinole has its own police department, and these figures come from its reports, 2022 to 2024.

Thefts from cars happen most often in parking lots and garages: 53% of them, against 31% nationally.

CrimeMost often atBusiest time
BurglaryStores and businesses (68%)Night (midnight to 6 am)
Car theftStreets and sidewalks (41%)Evening (6 pm to midnight)
Theft from carsParking lots and garages (53%)Afternoon (noon to 6 pm)
VandalismParking lots and garages (31%)Evening (6 pm to midnight)
RobberyStores and businesses (68%)Afternoon (noon to 6 pm)
Aggravated assaultHomes (40%)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 Pinole compares with nearby cities

Pinole has less crime than 8 of its 9 nearest cities; only Hercules has less.

Nearby cities

PlaceOverallViolentPropertyResidents
PinoleB+742B+B+22,200
Hercules 1 mileA-842A-A-21,100
El Sobrante 2 milesB+704A-B-27,300
Rodeo 2 milesB+693B+B10,900
San Francisco 18 milesC409B+F828,800
Show all 9
PlaceOverallViolentPropertyResidents
San Pablo 3 milesC+488B-D+64,600
Crockett 5 milesB+718B+B3,330
North Richmond 5 milesD-109D-D-3,730
Richmond 5 milesC-341C-C-87,200
El Cerrito 6 milesB-603B+C26,300

Nearest first, with each place's distance from Pinole. Beside each overall CrimeGrade™ is its safety score, from 0 to 1,000 (higher is safer).

Compared with cities of similar size and density, Pinole has more crime than 76% of them.

Cities of similar size and density

PlaceOverallViolentPropertyResidents
PinoleB+742B+B+22,200
Birmingham, MIA+936A+A+22,100
Grayslake, ILA920A+A22,300
Massapequa, NYA903A+A22,300
Port Wentworth, GAA898AA22,300
Show all 10
PlaceOverallViolentPropertyResidents
Greenwood Village, COA-810AB22,200
Nogales, AZA-777A-B+22,200
Columbia Heights, MNB+727A-B22,200
Palm River-Clair Mel, FLB+699B-A22,200
Portsmouth, OHB661BB22,300
Pleasantville, NJB639B-B+22,200

Jobs, transit and walkability in Pinole

Two things set Pinole apart: it has 24 jobs for every 100 residents, against 45 for the US as a whole, and 5 buses and trains an hour at the evening rush, where most Americans have none nearby. Places with few jobs tend to report less theft and robbery, yet theft and robbery run higher here than that would suggest.

JobsJobs draw daytime crowds. Places with many jobs tend to report more theft and robbery.24 for every 100 residentsUS: 45Lower than for 81% 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 Pinole: D (18 of 100).5 trips an hourUS: noneHigher than for 72% 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. 84% of residents here live in car-dependent areas.D (16 of 100)US: 21Lower than for 56% of US city residents
Show all 6
Parking lotsBig lots at stores, offices and apartment complexes. Places with more lot space tend to report more theft.1.3 spaces per residentUS: 2.0Lower than for 67% of US city residents
Stores and restaurantsShops and restaurants draw crowds and parked cars. Places with many stores tend to report more theft.11.5 per 1,000 residentsUS: 10.5Higher than for 64% 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.93% where people liveUS: 78%Lower than for 56% of US city residents

BestNeighborhood, a sister site of CrimeGrade™, ranks the neighborhoods of Pinole on shops, parks, home prices, getting around and more.

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 Pinole

Counting police, courts and prisons as well as victims' losses, crime costs Pinole about $1,042 a year per household, 14% 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 $25 million a year, or $1,134 per resident.

How the cost breaks down
CrimeCost a yearPer resident
Murder$1.2 million$55
Rape$320,000$14
Robbery$1.1 million$51
Assault$2.1 million$96
Burglary$430,000$19
Theft$1.9 million$85
Vehicle theft$1.1 million$49
Arson$91,000$4
Vandalism$400,000$18
Total$8.7 million$391

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 Pinole 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
  • Population and housing figures from the US Census Bureau
  • 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.

More about CrimeGrade™ data


Schools in Pinole

Schools in Pinole, CA average a SchoolGrade of C: 35% of students test proficient, against 33% projected for schools like them. Overall, they meet expectations. See schools in Pinole on SchoolGrade