The Paleto Score

Updated 30 October 2026 · Fan site. Not affiliated with Rockstar Games or Take-Two Interactive.

The Paleto Score is the fourth story heist in Grand Theft Auto V (2013). Michael, Franklin and Trevor rob the Blaine County Savings Bank in Paleto Bay with one hired gunman, then fight their way out in armour against police and the army. The haul is about $8 million, but an FIB agent takes most of it, so each lead keeps under $500,000.

What is The Paleto Score?

The Paleto Score is the bank job at the northern tip of the map in Grand Theft Auto V. All three leads take part, with Lester Crest as planner. It sits inside the FIB storyline, the run of jobs the crew carries out under pressure from corrupt agents. The town and its landmarks are described on our Paleto Bay page, so this article focuses on the mission itself.

gta.wiki suggests the robbery may draw on the 1997 North Hollywood bank robbery in Los Angeles. Its trailer footage, the same page notes, used dialogue that ended up in the scouting mission.

How do you unlock The Paleto Score?

According to gta.wiki, the heist opens once two missions are done: Predator and Military Hardware. Before them comes the FIB mission Paleto Score Setup, played as Michael and Trevor with Lester along. Military Hardware is the only real preparation job. Michael or Trevor hijacks an army convoy in the Grand Senora Desert, and that is where the crew's heavy body armour and big guns come from.

Which gunman should you pick for The Paleto Score?

Only one crew slot is open: a gunman. gta.wiki explains that skill matters during the shootout, since a weak gunman can be run over by a police car while a strong one gets out of the way. Daryl Johns is the cheapest at a 9% cut, Norm Richards costs 10.5%, and Packie McReary, Chef and Gus Mota ask for more. If you pick Packie, he refers to his past in Liberty City and the events of GTA IV.

What happens during The Paleto Score?

In short: Franklin is dropped off to wait, Trevor knocks out the bank camera, and the gunman cuts open the safe deposit room. The crew then walks out in armour and fights a running battle through town against the local police, NOOSE teams and finally soldiers with tanks and a helicopter. Franklin rescues Michael and Trevor with a bulldozer, and they escape through the Cluckin' Bell plant onto a train heading for Sandy Shores. The full escape is told on the Paleto Bay page. gta.wiki adds that an early version had Franklin arrive in a tank instead.

gta.wiki collects a few details from the shootout. A police helicopter that goes down during the fight crashes into the South Seas Apartments. The army turns up even though the town is a long way from Fort Zancudo, the base the soldiers would normally come from. Michael also mentions that his first bank job was in Carcer City in 1988, and the crew member Chef can be seen in the window of a liquor store in town even if you did not hire him.

How much money do you get from The Paleto Score?

Very little, by heist standards. In Sandy Shores that night an FIB agent, named Sanchez on gta.wiki, collects about 78% of the money for the bureau. The leftover is split between Lester and the three leads. Michael then suggests the crew split up for a while.

What are the gold medal objectives?

gta.wiki lists four goals for a gold medal: fire more than 4,000 bullets, finish with at least 50% accuracy, complete the mission within 16 minutes, and cause $1 million of damage in Paleto Bay. The mission also unlocks the MG, the Minigun and, in the later editions, the Marksman Rifle at Ammu-Nation, plus the Small Town, Big Job achievement or trophy.

Stock market effect

The raid on the chicken plant hits the share price of Cluckin' Bell. gta.wiki records a fall of about 40% after the mission and a recovery of about 67% after The Third Way, one of the GTA V endings.