Research · Markets
The most competitive local markets in America
A plumber in Orlando, FL needs 830 Google reviews to reach the local top quarter: the highest review bar of 6,043 city-and-trade markets we measured.
Key findings
- The hardest local-service markets to stand out in: plumbers in Orlando, FL (830 reviews for the top quarter), locksmiths in Portland, OR (756 reviews for the top quarter) and plumbers in Salt Lake City, UT (692 reviews for the top quarter).
- Reviews are highly concentrated: in travel agencies (94%), garage doors (89.5%) and security systems (88.9%), the 10% most-reviewed businesses hold most of the trade's Google reviews.
- Electricians: hardest market West Covina, CA (506 reviews for the top quarter), easiest Flushing, NY (4).
- HVAC Contractors: hardest market Overland Park, KS (634 reviews for the top quarter), easiest Fairfield, CA (11).
- Plumbers: hardest market Orlando, FL (830 reviews for the top quarter), easiest Mount Vernon, NY (12).
- Roofing Contractors: hardest market Spring, TX (213 reviews for the top quarter), easiest Antioch, CA (11).
Page One Partner Research · 6,043 businesses · Updated November 2026 · Methodology
Hardest markets to stand out in
Google reviews needed for the local top quarter (75th percentile). City-and-trade markets with at least 40 businesses; restaurants and charters excluded.
- Plumbers, Orlando FL830
- Locksmiths, Portland OR756
- Plumbers, Salt Lake City UT692
- Auto Repair & Detailing, Englewood CO639
- HVAC Contractors, Overland Park KS634
- Plumbers, Clarksville TN614
- Auto Repair & Detailing, Mesquite TX592
- Pest Control, Jacksonville FL567
- Auto Repair & Detailing, Plano TX542
- Auto Repair & Detailing, Orem UT536
- Auto Repair & Detailing, Round Rock TX527
- HVAC Contractors, Bradenton FL518
- HVAC Contractors, Largo FL514
- Pet Services, Clarksville TN508
- Electricians, West Covina CA506
- Salons & Beauty, Lakeland FL504
- Windows, Doors & Garage Doors, Charlotte NC493
- Salons & Beauty, Knoxville TN484
- Plumbers, Henderson NV482
- Auto Repair & Detailing, Olathe KS478
- HVAC Contractors, Charleston SC475
- Moving Companies, Denver CO469
- HVAC Contractors, Tempe AZ468
- Salons & Beauty, Chesapeake VA461
- Auto Repair & Detailing, Roswell GA459
Share of all reviews held by the top 10% of businesses
Businesses ranked by Google review count within each trade.
- Real Estate99.9%
- Travel Agencies94%
- Garage Doors89.5%
- Charters & Recreation89.2%
- Security Systems88.9%
- Pool Contractors88.8%
- Electricians87.8%
- HVAC Contractors87.8%
- Handyman Services87.6%
- Drywall & Insulation85.7%
- Carpentry & Cabinets85.2%
- Solar Installation85%
- Plumbers84.1%
- Limo Service83.4%
- Cleaning Services83.3%
- Appraiser82.9%
- Doctors & Clinics82.6%
- Property Maintenance82.1%
- Podiatrists80.1%
- Appliance Repair79.7%
- General Contractors79.6%
- Welding & Metal Fabrication78.6%
- Home Inspectors77.2%
- Pressure Washing & Exterior Cleaning76.8%
- Siding & Gutters76.7%
- Insurance Agencies75.5%
- Towing Services75.3%
- Junk Removal & Hauling74.9%
- Attorneys74.2%
- Landscaping & Lawn Care74.1%
- Deck & Outdoor Living74%
- Roofing Contractors73.8%
- Demolition Contractors73.1%
- Fence Contractors72.8%
- Windows, Doors & Garage Doors72.5%
- Painters72.5%
- Concrete, Masonry & Paving71.8%
- Locksmiths71.4%
- Accountants & Tax69%
- Waste Management67.8%
- Interior Design & Architecture67.7%
- Auto Glass67.3%
- Remodeling Contractors66.5%
- Excavation & Site Work64.6%
- Moving Companies64.2%
- Flooring & Tile64.1%
- Pest Control63.5%
- Home Builders60.9%
- Tree Services60.7%
- Self Storage60.1%
- Damage Restoration58.6%
- Equipment Rental58.1%
- Cash For Gold58.1%
- Pet Services55.5%
- Auto Repair & Detailing55.2%
- Salons & Beauty55.2%
- Chiropractors53.8%
- Trailer Rental52.3%
- Med Spas49.2%
- Restaurants46.5%
Hardest and easiest market by trade
Download CSV| Trade | Markets measured | Typical top-quarter bar | Hardest market | Reviews needed | Easiest market | Reviews needed |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| Appliance Repair | 45 | 101 | Charlotte, NC | 239 | Anaheim, CA | 33.5 |
| Appraiser | 20 | 13.8 | Portland, OR | 35 | San Antonio, TX | 5 |
| Attorneys | 414 | 35.3 | Killeen, TX | 283 | Berkeley, CA | 7.5 |
| Auto Glass | 31 | 150 | Portland, OR | 269.5 | San Francisco, CA | 66 |
| Auto Repair & Detailing | 316 | 226.3 | Englewood, CO | 639 | Pasadena, TX | 73.8 |
| Carpentry & Cabinets | 75 | 21.5 | Raleigh, NC | 48.5 | Bakersfield, CA | 7.5 |
| Cash For Gold | 4 | 181 | Houston, TX | 311.5 | New York, NY | 105 |
| Charters & Recreation | 50 | 154.5 | Nashville, TN | 1092 | Corpus Christi, TX | 53 |
| Chiropractors | 1 | 105.5 | Atlanta, GA | 105.5 | Atlanta, GA | 105.5 |
| Cleaning Services | 229 | 49.8 | Ann Arbor, MI | 326.8 | Fairfield, CA | 12 |
| Concrete, Masonry & Paving | 78 | 36.9 | Sarasota, FL | 108.5 | Anchorage, AK | 14.8 |
| Damage Restoration | 12 | 97.1 | Denver, CO | 190.8 | Las Vegas, NV | 57 |
| Demolition Contractors | 1 | 10.3 | Miami, FL | 10.3 | Miami, FL | 10.3 |
| Doctors & Clinics | 415 | 55 | Surprise, AZ | 456 | New Brunswick, NJ | 10.8 |
| Drywall & Insulation | 42 | 30 | San Diego, CA | 87 | Aurora, CO | 9.8 |
| Electricians | 311 | 29 | West Covina, CA | 506 | Flushing, NY | 4.3 |
| Fence Contractors | 39 | 64 | Indianapolis, IN | 139.3 | Fresno, CA | 25.8 |
| Flooring & Tile | 85 | 60.3 | Kansas City, MO | 130 | San Francisco, CA | 18 |
| Garage Doors | 18 | 148.3 | Charlotte, NC | 257 | San Francisco, CA | 37.8 |
| General Contractors | 478 | 19.3 | Spring, TX | 95 | Nevada City, CA | 5 |
| Handyman Services | 167 | 22.3 | Melbourne, FL | 95 | Santa Ana, CA | 3.5 |
| Home Builders | 8 | 25.3 | San Antonio, TX | 37.5 | Scottsdale, AZ | 21 |
| Home Inspectors | 44 | 110.5 | Colorado Springs, CO | 424 | Los Angeles, CA | 7 |
| HVAC Contractors | 344 | 80.4 | Overland Park, KS | 634.3 | Fairfield, CA | 10.5 |
| Insurance Agencies | 114 | 55.9 | Pompano Beach, FL | 191 | San Francisco, CA | 14 |
| Interior Design & Architecture | 46 | 12.8 | San Diego, CA | 19.8 | Berkeley, CA | 5.5 |
| Junk Removal & Hauling | 20 | 106 | Las Vegas, NV | 254.3 | Dallas, TX | 50.5 |
| Landscaping & Lawn Care | 263 | 34.8 | Frisco, TX | 155.5 | San Francisco, CA | 8 |
| Limo Service | 42 | 54.5 | Orlando, FL | 258.8 | Jersey City, NJ | 13 |
| Locksmiths | 46 | 266.6 | Portland, OR | 755.8 | St. Paul, MN | 116.3 |
| Med Spas | 22 | 197.9 | Tampa, FL | 376.5 | San Francisco, CA | 73 |
| Moving Companies | 29 | 243.5 | Denver, CO | 469.3 | St. Louis, MO | 90 |
| Painters | 102 | 50.3 | Marietta, GA | 165 | Escondido, CA | 7.8 |
| Pest Control | 2 | 341.8 | Jacksonville, FL | 566.5 | Miami, FL | 117 |
| Pet Services | 147 | 236.3 | Clarksville, TN | 507.5 | Honolulu, HI | 82 |
| Plumbers | 159 | 133 | Orlando, FL | 829.5 | Mount Vernon, NY | 12.3 |
| Podiatrists | 34 | 70.6 | Albuquerque, NM | 399 | Buffalo, NY | 15 |
| Pool Contractors | 75 | 59 | Pittsburgh, PA | 282.8 | Huntington Beach, CA | 20.5 |
| Pressure Washing & Exterior Cleaning | 143 | 66 | Durham, NC | 267.5 | Honolulu, HI | 15 |
| Real Estate | 621 | 34 | Hilton Head Island, SC | 319.3 | Inglewood, CA | 7 |
| Remodeling Contractors | 30 | 45.3 | St. Petersburg, FL | 79 | Atlanta, GA | 35 |
| Restaurants | 4 | 2679.3 | New York, NY | 2797 | Washington, DC | 1683.8 |
| Roofing Contractors | 329 | 66 | Spring, TX | 213 | Antioch, CA | 11 |
| Salons & Beauty | 196 | 216.3 | Lakeland, FL | 504 | San Mateo, CA | 56.5 |
| Security Systems | 36 | 30.4 | Charlotte, NC | 109 | Washington, DC | 8 |
| Siding & Gutters | 4 | 66.5 | Charlotte, NC | 81.8 | Indianapolis, IN | 45.5 |
| Solar Installation | 41 | 55 | Tampa, FL | 189 | Fort Lauderdale, FL | 15 |
| Towing Services | 99 | 113 | Birmingham, AL | 367.5 | Riverside, CA | 32.5 |
| Travel Agencies | 82 | 30.3 | Henderson, NV | 98 | Buffalo, NY | 6.8 |
| Tree Services | 17 | 97.8 | Tampa, FL | 180.3 | San Jose, CA | 41 |
| Waste Management | 17 | 70 | Charlotte, NC | 112.3 | Baltimore, MD | 19 |
| Welding & Metal Fabrication | 42 | 20 | Denver, CO | 42 | San Jose, CA | 10.5 |
| Windows, Doors & Garage Doors | 54 | 93.3 | Charlotte, NC | 492.5 | San Francisco, CA | 20 |
Hardest local-service markets
Download CSV| Trade | City | State | Listed businesses | Median reviews | Top-quarter bar | Top 10% share of reviews |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| Plumbers | Orlando | FL | 72 | 130 | 829.5 | 56.7% |
| Locksmiths | Portland | OR | 45 | 380 | 755.8 | 67.5% |
| Plumbers | Salt Lake City | UT | 77 | 105.5 | 691.5 | 67.1% |
| Auto Repair & Detailing | Englewood | CO | 40 | 241 | 639 | 54.1% |
| HVAC Contractors | Overland Park | KS | 43 | 60 | 634.3 | 92.2% |
| Plumbers | Clarksville | TN | 40 | 53 | 614 | 76.5% |
| Auto Repair & Detailing | Mesquite | TX | 55 | 197 | 592 | 55.8% |
| Pest Control | Jacksonville | FL | 41 | 248.5 | 566.5 | 57.2% |
| Auto Repair & Detailing | Plano | TX | 102 | 235 | 541.5 | 45.5% |
| Auto Repair & Detailing | Orem | UT | 46 | 235.5 | 536 | 49% |
| Auto Repair & Detailing | Round Rock | TX | 63 | 133.5 | 527.3 | 44.4% |
| HVAC Contractors | Bradenton | FL | 46 | 229 | 518 | 57.9% |
| HVAC Contractors | Largo | FL | 72 | 85 | 514 | 66.3% |
| Pet Services | Clarksville | TN | 68 | 157 | 507.5 | 55% |
| Electricians | West Covina | CA | 41 | 11 | 506 | 100% |
| Salons & Beauty | Lakeland | FL | 55 | 150 | 504 | 50% |
| Windows, Doors & Garage Doors | Charlotte | NC | 59 | 126.5 | 492.5 | 59.6% |
| Salons & Beauty | Knoxville | TN | 71 | 183.5 | 484.3 | 38.6% |
| Plumbers | Henderson | NV | 47 | 43 | 482 | 72.5% |
| Auto Repair & Detailing | Olathe | KS | 60 | 191 | 478 | 43.8% |
| HVAC Contractors | Charleston | SC | 115 | 45 | 475 | 90.4% |
| Moving Companies | Denver | CO | 60 | 197.5 | 469.3 | 46.9% |
| HVAC Contractors | Tempe | AZ | 101 | 99 | 468.3 | 84.8% |
| Salons & Beauty | Chesapeake | VA | 53 | 230 | 461 | 43.1% |
| Auto Repair & Detailing | Roswell | GA | 45 | 188.5 | 459.3 | 49.8% |
Review concentration by trade
Download CSVAnswers
Questions this research answers
What is the most competitive city for local service businesses?
By the review count needed to reach the local top quarter, the hardest local-service markets are plumbers in Orlando, FL (830 reviews), locksmiths in Portland, OR (756 reviews) and plumbers in Salt Lake City, UT (692 reviews) (Page One Partner Research, November 2026).
What is the most competitive city for HVAC contractors?
Overland Park, KS: a business there needs 634 Google reviews to reach the local top quarter. The easiest of the markets we measured is Fairfield, CA (11) (Page One Partner Research, November 2026).
What is the most competitive city for plumbers?
Orlando, FL: a business there needs 830 Google reviews to reach the local top quarter. The easiest of the markets we measured is Mount Vernon, NY (12) (Page One Partner Research, November 2026).
What is the most competitive city for roofing contractors?
Spring, TX: a business there needs 213 Google reviews to reach the local top quarter. The easiest of the markets we measured is Antioch, CA (11) (Page One Partner Research, November 2026).
Do a few businesses get most of the reviews?
Yes. In most trades the 10% most-reviewed businesses hold the majority of all Google reviews. In several trades most businesses have none at all, so the bottom half holds almost nothing (Page One Partner Research, November 2026).
Methodology
How we measured it
Scope: every figure here describes businesses listed in the Page One Partner directory, not every business in the United States. Counts are businesses in our directory, not totals for a trade, state or city; percentages and benchmarks describe our listings and can differ from the whole market.
Source: the Page One Partner directory, 1,720,952 U.S. local service business listings (all 50 states and Washington, D.C.), each built from the business's public Google Business Profile and public business records. Listings held back by our quality checks (a phone number from another state, a map pin far from the stated city, a Google match that belonged to a different business) are excluded.
Trades: each business is filed under one trade from its Google category. Only trades with at least 1,000 listings are reported, and rating figures use trades with at least 200 businesses carrying 10 or more reviews.
A market is one trade in one city with at least 40 listed businesses (6,043 markets). The review bar is the 75th percentile of Google review counts among that market's businesses with at least one review. It measures how hard it is to stand out on reviews, not demand, prices or population; per-capita measures need population data we have not yet added. Restaurants and charters are left out of the headline ranking because they are not local service trades. Review concentration is the share of a trade's total Google reviews held by its 10% most-reviewed businesses.
Figures are aggregates. Page One Partner does not publish business-level rows from this research. The aggregate tables are free to reuse under CC BY 4.0: credit "Page One Partner Research" with a link to the study.
Recomputed weekly from the live directory; this edition was computed in November 2026. Small shifts between editions are expected as businesses are added and ratings change.
Cite this study
Page One Partner Research. "The most competitive local markets in America." November 2026. https://pageonepartner.com/research/competitive-markets/
Link to it
<a href="https://pageonepartner.com/research/competitive-markets/">Page One Partner Research: The most competitive local markets in America</a>
Press and data questions: info@pageoneinsights.com
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Every figure is free to cite and chart under CC BY 4.0. Credit “Page One Partner Research” and link to this page. The numbers describe businesses listed in our directory, not every business in the country.