Arroyo Grande (Spanish for "Big Creek") is a town in San Luis Obispo County, California, United States. As of the 2020 census, Arroyo Grande had a population of 18,441.
The earliest inhabitants of Arroyo Grande Valley were the northern or Obispeno Chumash Indians. The Arroyo Grande area was still occupied by the Chumash at the time of contact with the first Spanish explorer, Juan Cabrillo. During the colonial settlement of California, the Arroyo Grande Valley became separated into two major ranchos which were granted by the Mexican government around 1840.
In 1862, the San Luis Obispo Board of Supervisors established the township of Arroyo Grande. Businesses developed along a road called Branch Street to serve local agriculture. A railroad depot was built in 1882. The city of Arroyo Grande was incorporated on July 10, 1911.
Arroyo Grande experienced rapid growth in the 1970s and 1980s, partially due to the expansion of the wastewater treatment plant, under an EPA Clean Water Grant, that removed a growth constraint. This federal grant program required preparation of an Environmental Impact Report, which provided much of the initial environmental database for Arroyo Grande.
However, the economy and rising property values has had detrimental effects. Arroyo Grande is currently declining at a rate of -0.26% annually and its population has decreased by -1.52% to 18,155 in 2026 from the most recent census, which recorded a population of 18,436 in 2020. .
The downtown area of Arroyo Grande is known as "The Village". It is where visitors and residents gather for events, festivals and farmerâÂÂs markets. In the center's Centennial Park is the Swinging Bridge. The Swinging Bridge was originally constructed in early 1875 by the Short family, whose land was divided by the Arroyo Grande Creek. The bridge spans a total length 171 feet and is suspended 40 feet above the creek. It is owned and maintained by the city of Arroyo Grande and is the only one of its kind in California. In May 2024, the Swinging Bridge underwent restoration in order to ensure safety for future generations while preserving it's historic charm. The Swinging Bridge Rehabilitation Project finished ahead of schedule and a public ribbon cutting ceremony took place on September 13.
The Village corridor includes historic buildings dating back to the 1800âÂÂs including five museums and a historic reference library that recreate the history of the area with artifacts dating back to the days of the early settlers.
Arroyo Grande is a small coastal town with historic, suburban, and rural elements located at (35.120878, -120.586799).
Arroyo Grande is located in a coastal ecosystem within the California Floristic Province, and the native habitats include coast live oak woodland, central coastal scrub, willow and mixed riparian along Arroyo Grande Creek and numerous tributaries, native bunch-grass grassland, coastal prairie, dunes and intertidal zone, and non-native and agricultural areas.
According to the United States Census Bureau, the city has a total area of , all of it land.
Arroyo Grande has a Temperate-Mediterranean climate (Köppen climate classification Csb).
As of the 2020 census, Arroyo Grande had a population of 18,441 and a population density of . The racial makeup of the city was 73.7% White, 1.0% African American, 0.9% Native American, 3.8% Asian, 0.1% Pacific Islander, 6.6% from other races, and 13.9% from two or more races. Hispanic or Latino of any race were 19.8% of the population.
The census reported that 98.6% of residents lived in households, 0.9% lived in non-institutionalized group quarters, and 0.4% were institutionalized.
The median age was 46.1 years; 19.3% of residents were under the age of 18, 7.0% were ages 18 to 24, 22.3% were ages 25 to 44, 26.0% were ages 45 to 64, and 25.4% were 65 years of age or older. For every 100 females there were 90.2 males, and for every 100 females age 18 and over there were 86.8 males age 18 and over.
There were 7,438 households in Arroyo Grande, of which 27.6% had children under the age of 18 living in them. Of all households, 53.1% were married-couple households, 5.3% were cohabiting couple households, 27.6% had a female householder with no partner present, and 14.0% had a male householder with no partner present. About 26.5% of households were one person, and 15.2% were one person aged 65 or older. The average household size was 2.45. There were 5,010 families (67.4% of all households).
99.5% of residents lived in urban areas, while 0.5% lived in rural areas.
There were 7,979 housing units at an average density of ; 7,438 (93.2%) were occupied. Of the occupied units, 66.4% were owner-occupied and 33.6% were occupied by renters. The homeowner vacancy rate was 0.9% and the rental vacancy rate was 3.6%.
The median household income was $103,258, and the per capita income was $50,203. About 2.0% of families and 4.6% of the population were below the poverty line.
In the California State Legislature, Arroyo Grande is in , and in .
In the United States House of Representatives, Arroyo Grande is in .