How many Google reviews does a contractor need? Benchmarks for 15 trades

No single number fits every contractor. A useful target is what other contractors in your trade and your city have. We counted the reviews on 38,091 Google Maps profiles of contractors in 15 trades and 30 US cities, in our Google reviews study. This page turns those numbers into a benchmark you can check your own profile against.

Your trade in your city

TradeAllElectricalGarage door repairHandymanHouse cleaningHVACJunk removalLandscapingLocksmithMovingPaintingPest controlPlumbingRoofingTree serviceWater damage restoration

CityAllAtlantaAustinBostonCharlestonCharlotteChicagoColumbiaColumbusDallasDenverDetroitFort WorthHoustonIndianapolisJacksonvilleLas VegasLos AngelesMiamiMobileNashvilleNew YorkPhiladelphiaPhoenixSan AntonioSan DiegoSan FranciscoSan JoseSavannahSeattleWashington

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A typical profile runs from 10 reviews for Handyman to 120 for Moving.

• Moving120
• Locksmith104
• Plumbing73.5
• Garage door repair55
• Junk removal44.5
• HVAC34
• Roofing31
• House cleaning28
• Pest control28
• Water damage restoration26
• Tree service24
• Painting17
• Electrical16
• Landscaping16
• Handyman10

Each trade, all cities together

Trade	Typical profile	First three results	Places 4 to 20	Fewer than 10 (%)	No website link (%)	Profiles
Moving	120	261.5	193.5	11	10	2,555
Locksmith	104	117.5	142.5	11	14	1,977
Plumbing	73.5	250.5	110	17	17	2,848
Garage door repair	55	134.5	61	19	14	2,377
Junk removal	44.5	185.5	71	24	16	1,360
HVAC	34	90	43.5	32	29	2,945
Roofing	31	55	46	28	18	2,929
House cleaning	28	187	41.5	30	18	2,673
Pest control	28	12	14	38	20	2,794
Water damage restoration	26	28.5	19	34	14	2,625
Tree service	24	8	44	35	26	2,758
Painting	17	61.5	54.5	41	26	2,698
Electrical	16	29	17	40	30	2,662
Landscaping	16	25	20	41	23	2,369
Handyman	10	32	17	50	39	2,521

Source: Local Reputation HQ (2026), Google Reviews of US Contractors. Google Maps profiles in 30 cities, October 2026; “–” = fewer than 30 profiles. Each bar is one trade in one place. Download the data (CSV)

The typical profile is the median: half of the profiles in the trade have more reviews, half fewer. The first three results are the first three matching profiles in a Google Maps search from the city's location.

For a plumber, the typical profile has 73.5 reviews and the first three results have a median of 250.5. For an electrician the numbers are 16 and 29.

The bar can be lower than it looks. In electrical, 40 percent of profiles have fewer than 10 reviews. A profile with 10 reviews therefore already has more reviews than four in ten of the profiles it competes with.

The numbers differ a lot by city: the typical plumber has 201.5 reviews in Denver and 21 in Los Angeles.

Reviews are not the only factor

Google names three main factors for local results: relevance, distance and how well-known a business is. The number of reviews is one of the signals for how well-known a business is (Google Business Profile Help: Tips to improve your local ranking).

In our data, the first three results had fewer reviews than places 4 to 20 in three trades: locksmith, pest control and tree service. More reviews help, but a high count alone does not put a profile at the top.

How to close the gap

1. Ask every customer, with a direct link. Google's guidance is that customers need a Google Account to leave a review, and that a business can share a link or a QR code to its review form (Google Business Profile Help: Tips to get more reviews).
2. Get the link once. Open your Business Profile on a computer and select Read reviews, then Get more reviews. There you can copy the link or save the QR code (Google Business Profile Help: review link and QR code).
3. Do not offer anything in return. Google considers reviews given in exchange for incentives fake and misleading content and strictly prohibits them. Separately, the Federal Trade Commission's final rule prohibits fake reviews and testimonials (FTC press release).
4. Reply to reviews. Google's tips for reviews recommend replying. Templates are in how to respond to a negative Google review, and what to do about fakes is in how to remove fake Google reviews.

For a routine that crews can follow after every job, see how to get more Google reviews. How the benchmark was measured, with all the caveats and the full data, is in the Google reviews study.