Restaurant health inspection grades in California
GradeLocal lists 83,390 California restaurants. Their average score is 93.0, an A. This guide explains who inspects them, what the results mean and how the grades break down.
Who inspects restaurants in California
Los Angeles and San Diego counties publish scores and letters, and San Bernardino publishes scores and letters too. Santa Clara publishes scores out of 100 (and green/yellow/red placards). Napa publishes letter grades. Alameda publishes green, yellow or red placards; San Francisco and Sacramento publish pass, minor or critical violation and closure results; and Marin, Stanislaus and Ventura publish placard or violation results, which we turn into letters. Scores out of 100 count toward averages.
Coverage: 11 of 58 counties. All sources
Marin County food inspection data from data.marincounty.gov, used under the Open Database License (ODbL).
What California publishes
The agencies behind our California listings publish scores out of 100, the agency’s own letter grades, pass or fail results, rating words or placards and violation counts. 60,581 of the 83,390 listings (72.6%) have an official score out of 100. The rest show a GradeLocal score worked out from the official result.
How GradeLocal grades California restaurants
Where the agency publishes a score out of 100, that is the score we show (the Official score), and the letter comes from it: 90 or higher is an A, 80 to 89 is a B, 70 to 79 is a C and below 70 is a D.
When the agency publishes its own letter, we use that letter. When an agency publishes an F, we show it as a D.
For pass or fail results, a pass is an A, a pass with conditions or a required reinspection is a C, and a fail or a closure is a D.
Rating words and placards are translated into a GradeLocal letter. The table below shows how the most common results were translated.
For violation counts, we count every violation in the latest inspection. None is an A, 1 or 2 is a B, 3 to 5 is a C, and 6 or more is a D. An emergency closure order is also a D.
Results with no score of their own get a set score for each letter: A is 95, B is 85, C is 72 and D is 50.
There are four letters, A to D, with no F. The same rule applies in every state, and the cutoffs are never adjusted for a state, county or city. We always use the latest inspection.
How grades work has the full rules.
| Official result | Letter | Listings |
|---|---|---|
| Pass | A | 9,285 |
| Green | A | 6,788 |
| 1 violation | B | 1,826 |
| 0 violations | A | 988 |
| A | A | 903 |
| 2 violations | B | 836 |
| 3 violations | C | 432 |
| Minor Violations | B | 307 |
How California restaurants grade
The latest grade for each of the 83,390 listings.
Inspection dates in our California data run from May 17, 2023 to Oct 13, 2026. 52,133 of the 83,390 listings (62.5%) were inspected in the 12 months before Oct 16, 2026. A restaurant may have been inspected again since.
Top-rated places in California
Ten A-grade places with the highest scores. Ties go to the most recent inspection, and each name appears once.
- ABNSF Barstow Railyard- CanteenBarstowOfficial score 100, inspected Oct 9, 2026
- AChipotle Mexican Grill #4798San BernardinoOfficial score 100, inspected Oct 9, 2026
- AAllred Child Development CenterSan BernardinoOfficial score 100, inspected Oct 8, 2026
- ABanquetes Economicos IncChinoOfficial score 100, inspected Oct 8, 2026
- ABaymont Hotel- Compass GroupOntarioOfficial score 100, inspected Oct 8, 2026
- ABest BuyOntarioOfficial score 100, inspected Oct 8, 2026
- ABritaliciousChinoOfficial score 100, inspected Oct 8, 2026
- ABurlington #1818HesperiaOfficial score 100, inspected Oct 8, 2026
- ACL's Kitchen LLCChinoOfficial score 100, inspected Oct 8, 2026
- ACobalt Institute of Math & ScienceVictorvilleOfficial score 100, inspected Oct 8, 2026
A grade shows one inspection on one day. Check the official record linked on each page.
Counties in California
Every county with at least one listing. Pick one to see its restaurants.
| County | Restaurants | Average |
|---|---|---|
| Alameda County | 4,421 | 93.9 · A |
| Los Angeles County | 31,338 | 93.7 · A |
| Marin County | 1,124 | 94.6 · A |
| Napa County | 1,057 | 93.5 · A |
| Sacramento County | 4,645 | 93.8 · A |
| San Bernardino County | 10,056 | 93.9 · A |
| San Diego County | 11,927 | 93.5 · A |
| San Francisco County | 5,349 | 94.4 · A |
| Santa Clara County | 8,686 | 92.3 · A |
| Stanislaus County | 1,958 | 86.7 · B |
| Ventura County | 2,829 | 80.2 · B |
Questions about California grades
Who inspects restaurants in California?
Los Angeles and San Diego counties publish scores and letters, and San Bernardino publishes scores and letters too. Santa Clara publishes scores out of 100 (and green/yellow/red placards). Napa publishes letter grades. Alameda publishes green, yellow or red placards; San Francisco and Sacramento publish pass, minor or critical violation and closure results; and Marin, Stanislaus and Ventura publish placard or violation results, which we turn into letters. Scores out of 100 count toward averages.
What does California publish: a score, a letter or something else?
The agencies behind our California listings publish scores out of 100, the agency’s own letter grades, pass or fail results, rating words or placards and violation counts. 60,581 of the 83,390 listings (72.6%) have an official score out of 100. The rest show a GradeLocal score worked out from the official result.
How does GradeLocal grade restaurants in California?
Where the agency publishes a score out of 100, that is the score we show (the Official score), and the letter comes from it: 90 or higher is an A, 80 to 89 is a B, 70 to 79 is a C and below 70 is a D. When the agency publishes its own letter, we use that letter. When an agency publishes an F, we show it as a D. For pass or fail results, a pass is an A, a pass with conditions or a required reinspection is a C, and a fail or a closure is a D. Rating words and placards are translated into a GradeLocal letter. The table below shows how the most common results were translated. For violation counts, we count every violation in the latest inspection. None is an A, 1 or 2 is a B, 3 to 5 is a C, and 6 or more is a D. An emergency closure order is also a D. Results with no score of their own get a set score for each letter: A is 95, B is 85, C is 72 and D is 50. We always use the latest inspection.
How many California restaurants are on GradeLocal?
83,390 restaurants in 11 counties. The average score is 93.0, an A. 88.4% have an A.
How current are the California grades?
Inspection dates in our California data run from May 17, 2023 to Oct 13, 2026. We update each state’s records regularly, but there is always a delay, and a restaurant may have been inspected again since. For the latest official report, follow the agency link on each restaurant’s page.