Saturation rankings
Which California markets are crowded, and which are not
For each industry below, every California city and county with sourced data is ranked on how much provision it already has, and compared against the statewide baseline. It is the same question whether you are buying, selling or starting: is this market already served, or is there room in it.
- Industries ranked
- 48
- Owner-operated categories
- City rankings
- 7,130
- Across all industries
- Counties
- 58
- All of California
- Reference year
- 2023
- County Business Patterns
Rankings by industry
The two counties shown are the extremes of each county ordering, measured in establishments per 10,000 residents. Counties under 2,000 residents and markets with fewer than 5 establishments are excluded, because ratios over very small bases are dominated by noise. Open an industry for its city ranking, which is measured differently and explained there.
| Industry | Statewide | Median per 10k | Most saturated county | Least saturated county |
|---|---|---|---|---|
| HVAC, Plumbing & Mechanical Contractors271 cities ranked | 11,686 | 3.0 | Mono10.4 per 10k | Kings1.6 per 10k |
| Electrical Contractors275 cities ranked | 10,162 | 2.7 | Nevada5.7 per 10k | Merced1.2 per 10k |
| Roofing Contractors126 cities ranked | 2,926 | 0.9 | Amador2.4 per 10k | Merced0.3 per 10k |
| Landscaping & Tree Care Services262 cities ranked | 9,393 | 2.7 | Plumas9.7 per 10k | Imperial0.9 per 10k |
| Pest Control Services93 cities ranked | 1,984 | 0.5 | Tuolumne1.9 per 10k | San Francisco0.1 per 10k |
| Swimming Pool Cleaning & Maintenance96 cities ranked | 2,198 | 0.5 | Nevada2.2 per 10k | San Francisco0.1 per 10k |
| Janitorial & Commercial Cleaning Services230 cities ranked | 6,956 | 1.7 | Mono13.6 per 10k | Yuba0.6 per 10k |
| Flooring Contractors98 cities ranked | 2,194 | 0.6 | Sonoma0.9 per 10k | Kern0.2 per 10k |
| Glass & Glazing Contractors30 cities ranked | 1,030 | 0.3 | Nevada0.8 per 10k | Tulare0.1 per 10k |
| Septic & Water Well Services111 cities ranked | 2,711 | 1.0 | Plumas4.3 per 10k | San Francisco0.3 per 10k |
| General Automotive Repair265 cities ranked | 9,799 | 2.6 | Plumas4.8 per 10k | Kings1.6 per 10k |
| Automotive Body & Collision Repair193 cities ranked | 4,141 | 1.0 | San Mateo1.8 per 10k | Merced0.4 per 10k |
| Car Washes105 cities ranked | 2,231 | 0.6 | Sutter0.9 per 10k | San Francisco0.2 per 10k |
| Towing & Roadside Assistance50 cities ranked | 1,292 | 0.4 | Siskiyou1.4 per 10k | Santa Clara0.2 per 10k |
| General Freight Trucking197 cities ranked | 17,372 | 2.9 | Sutter31.5 per 10k | Marin0.4 per 10k |
| Construction Equipment Rental11 cities ranked | 580 | 0.1 | Kern0.5 per 10k | Santa Clara0.1 per 10k |
| Dental Practices295 cities ranked | 22,757 | 4.0 | Orange9.1 per 10k | Yuba0.6 per 10k |
| Veterinary Clinics169 cities ranked | 3,467 | 1.1 | Plumas4.8 per 10k | Merced0.4 per 10k |
| Home Health & Home Care Services168 cities ranked | 5,577 | 0.8 | Los Angeles2.7 per 10k | Tulare0.2 per 10k |
| Independent Pharmacies188 cities ranked | 4,247 | 0.9 | Humboldt1.6 per 10k | Solano0.5 per 10k |
| Physician Practices288 cities ranked | 29,615 | 5.4 | Mono13.6 per 10k | Yuba1.5 per 10k |
| Optometry Practices142 cities ranked | 2,757 | 0.6 | Orange1.2 per 10k | Tulare0.4 per 10k |
| Accounting & Tax Preparation Firms263 cities ranked | 11,500 | 2.4 | Marin4.7 per 10k | Lake1.2 per 10k |
| Insurance Agencies & Brokerages288 cities ranked | 13,919 | 2.9 | Orange6.1 per 10k | Yuba1.0 per 10k |
| IT Managed Service Providers189 cities ranked | 8,210 | 0.9 | San Francisco5.3 per 10k | Tulare0.1 per 10k |
| Staffing & Employment Agencies131 cities ranked | 5,051 | 0.8 | San Francisco2.4 per 10k | Madera0.3 per 10k |
| Engineering Services231 cities ranked | 8,898 | 1.9 | San Luis Obispo4.3 per 10k | Merced0.3 per 10k |
| Architectural Services115 cities ranked | 3,723 | 0.8 | San Francisco4.6 per 10k | San Joaquin0.1 per 10k |
| Law Offices255 cities ranked | 22,821 | 2.8 | San Francisco14.2 per 10k | Madera0.8 per 10k |
| Security Guard & Patrol Services74 cities ranked | 2,173 | 0.4 | Los Angeles0.8 per 10k | San Luis Obispo0.2 per 10k |
| Commercial Printing89 cities ranked | 1,884 | 0.4 | Orange0.9 per 10k | Merced0.2 per 10k |
| Sign Manufacturing & Installation13 cities ranked | 612 | 0.1 | Orange0.3 per 10k | San Francisco0.1 per 10k |
| Machine Shops & Precision Machining93 cities ranked | 2,221 | 0.4 | Santa Clara1.6 per 10k | Contra Costa0.2 per 10k |
| Sheet Metal & Metal Fabrication23 cities ranked | 851 | 0.2 | Stanislaus0.4 per 10k | Contra Costa0.1 per 10k |
| Plastics Product Manufacturing14 cities ranked | 541 | 0.1 | San Luis Obispo0.3 per 10k | Santa Clara0.1 per 10k |
| Specialty Food Manufacturing6 cities ranked | 531 | 0.2 | Santa Cruz0.3 per 10k | Riverside0.0 per 10k |
| Cabinet & Architectural Millwork20 cities ranked | 828 | 0.2 | Sonoma0.6 per 10k | Fresno0.1 per 10k |
| Full-Service Restaurants301 cities ranked | 31,333 | 7.7 | Mono27.2 per 10k | Kings3.0 per 10k |
| Retail Bakeries38 cities ranked | 1,377 | 0.3 | Humboldt0.8 per 10k | San Joaquin0.2 per 10k |
| Beer, Wine & Liquor Stores186 cities ranked | 4,408 | 0.9 | Napa3.7 per 10k | Kings0.4 per 10k |
| Fitness & Recreational Sports Centers220 cities ranked | 5,371 | 1.3 | Marin3.4 per 10k | Madera0.4 per 10k |
| Hair Salons, Barber Shops & Day Spas286 cities ranked | 19,365 | 3.2 | Orange7.1 per 10k | Lake0.9 per 10k |
| Laundromats & Coin Laundry36 cities ranked | 1,235 | 0.3 | Mendocino0.7 per 10k | Kern0.1 per 10k |
| Dry Cleaning & Laundry Services84 cities ranked | 2,013 | 0.5 | Marin1.2 per 10k | Merced0.2 per 10k |
| Funeral Homes & Services14 cities ranked | 794 | 0.2 | Butte0.5 per 10k | San Francisco0.1 per 10k |
| Self-Storage Facilities115 cities ranked | 2,247 | 0.6 | Siskiyou1.7 per 10k | San Francisco0.3 per 10k |
| Child Day Care Services269 cities ranked | 9,670 | 2.6 | San Francisco5.9 per 10k | Tuolumne1.1 per 10k |
| Pet Boarding, Grooming & Daycare114 cities ranked | 2,591 | 0.6 | Marin1.6 per 10k | Tulare0.2 per 10k |
What density does and does not tell you
Density is a supply measure: businesses divided by residents. It does not measure revenue, profitability or demand, and it cannot see money that comes from outside the market. A county full of contractors may simply be where the building is happening. A county with almost none may be served from the next one over. Use it to decide which markets are worth a closer look, not to decide anything on its own.
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.
- U.S. Census Bureau, 2023 ZIP Code Business Patterns. Establishment counts by ZIP code and NAICS, aggregated over the ZIP codes assigned to each city, including the all-industry totals used as the local business base. Retrieved 2026-09-10.