Arroyo Grande is a city in San Luis Obispo County, California, United States. The population was 18,441 as of the 2020 census, up from 17,252 as of the 2010 census. 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.