NAICS 541310

Architectural Services in California

Establishments primarily engaged in planning and designing residential, institutional and commercial buildings and structures.

Establishments (2023): 3,723; Statewide, California
Employees: 28,989; Mid-March employment
Annual payroll: $3.1B; All establishments
Avg. establishment size: 7.8; Employees per establishment

What acquirers look at

Reputation and principal relationships rarely survive an owner exit. Firms with public-sector master service agreements are the exception worth pursuing.

Architecture by county

Ranked by establishment count, 2023 County Business Patterns. For the crowded-versus-underserved reading, see the saturation ranking, which ranks by establishments per resident instead.

#	County	Establishments	Per 10k residents	Share of state
1	Los Angeles County	1,231	1.3	33.1%
2	Orange County	441	1.4	11.8%
3	San Francisco County	383	4.6	10.3%
4	San Diego County	332	1.0	8.9%
5	Alameda County	217	1.3	5.8%
6	Santa Clara County	157	0.8	4.2%
7	Sacramento County	87	0.5	2.3%
8	Marin County	82	3.2	2.2%
9	Santa Barbara County	79	1.8	2.1%
10	Ventura County	72	0.9	1.9%
11	Riverside County	70	0.3	1.9%
12	Contra Costa County	67	0.6	1.8%
13	Sonoma County	66	1.4	1.8%
14	San Mateo County	58	0.8	1.6%
15	San Bernardino County	49	0.2	1.3%
16	San Luis Obispo County	41	1.5	1.1%
17	Placer County	37	0.8	1.0%
18	Monterey County	34	0.8	0.9%
19	Santa Cruz County	34	1.3	0.9%
20	Fresno County	28	0.3	0.8%
21	Nevada County	23	2.3	0.6%
22	Kern County	18	0.2	0.5%
23	Napa County	17	1.3	0.5%
24	El Dorado County	13	0.7	0.3%
25	Stanislaus County	13	0.2	0.3%

Counties in California

Architecture in Los Angeles Architecture in San Diego Architecture in Orange Architecture in Riverside Architecture in San Bernardino Architecture in Santa Clara Architecture in Alameda Architecture in Sacramento Architecture in Contra Costa Architecture in Fresno Architecture in Kern Architecture in Ventura Architecture in San Francisco Architecture in San Joaquin Architecture in San Mateo Architecture in Stanislaus Architecture in Sonoma Architecture in Tulare Architecture in Solano Architecture in Placer Architecture in Santa Barbara Architecture in Monterey Merced Architecture in San Luis Obispo Architecture in Santa Cruz Architecture in Marin Architecture in Yolo Architecture in Butte Architecture in El Dorado Architecture in Shasta Imperial Madera Kings Architecture in Napa Architecture in Humboldt Architecture in Nevada Sutter Yuba Architecture in Mendocino San Benito Lake Tehama Tuolumne Calaveras Siskiyou Amador Glenn Lassen Del Norte Colusa Plumas Inyo Mariposa Trinity Mono Modoc Sierra Alpine

Sources

U.S. Census Bureau, 2023 County Business Patterns. Establishment counts, employment and annual payroll by NAICS. Retrieved 2026-09-08.
U.S. Bureau of Labor Statistics, Quarterly Census of Employment and Wages (2026Q1). Quarterly establishment counts and employment for employers covered by unemployment insurance. Retrieved 2026-09-08.