The Google Maps Top 3 Report
We ran 6,500 live Google Maps searches across 50 local trades, in 10 of the biggest US metros and in Central Florida, and compared the businesses Google puts in its top 3 with everyone ranked 4 to 20. Here's what separates them.
- 6,500
- live Google Maps searches
- Local trades
- 50
- Big US metros
- 10
- Plus Central Florida
- 3 towns
- Searched
- Oct–Nov 2026
The short version
- Across 10 big US metros, businesses in Google's map top 3 had a median of 51 Google reviews. Businesses ranked 4–20 had 28.
- The top 3 had more reviews in 43 of 50 trades, and at least twice as many in 19.
- Star ratings didn't separate them: 4.9 for both groups. The top 3 were rated the same or lower in 36 of 50 trades.
- The top 3 had more photos (median 30 against 18) in 44 of 50 trades, and more often had a website (86% against 77%).
- The bar depends on the city: the top 3 in Denver had a median of 96 reviews, in Los Angeles 30.
- Big cities weren't harder. Central Florida's top 3 had more reviews than the national figure in 33 of 50 trades (median 64 against 51).
- The bar depends on the trade too: top-3 vets had a median of 322 reviews, top-3 concrete contractors 9.
Six findings
Each one has its own link to share.
How many Google reviews do you need to be in the top 3?
It depends on the trade. Across all 50, in 10 big US metros, the middle was 51. Health and personal services sit far above that (vets 322, dentists 304, optometrists 280); trades and contractors far below (general contractors 25, handyman 16, concrete 9).
Work out your own number with the Google review calculator.
Does a higher star rating help you rank?
Not on its own. Both groups had a median rating of 4.9, and the top 3 were rated the same or lower than the rest in 36 of 50 trades. More reviews beat a perfect score.
Do photos and a website matter?
Usually. The top 3 had more photos in 44 of 50 trades, with the widest gap in dog boarding (87 against 33). They were ahead on websites in 43 of 50; among movers, 95% of the top 3 had one, against 73% of the rest.
Where don't reviews decide?
In 13 of 50 trades the top 3 had about the same or fewer reviews than the rest. In pool service (54 against 61), garage door repair, pressure washing, tree service and appliance repair (11 against 20) they had fewer. There, category and distance did more of the work.
Is it harder in a big city?
Not by reviews. Central Florida's top 3 had more reviews than the big-city figure in 33 of 50 trades: vets 432 against 322, plumbers 197 against 104. Where big cities were higher, it was trades like auto repair (145 against 75) and locksmiths (112 against 45).
City by city
Median reviews across the 50 trades, top 3 against ranks 4–20, and in how many trades the top 3 had more.
| Where | Top 3 | Ranks 4–20 | Top 3 had more |
|---|---|---|---|
| Denver | 96 | 39 | 42 of 50 |
| Chicago | 80 | 42 | 36 of 50 |
| Dallas | 74 | 26 | 40 of 50 |
| Atlanta | 64 | 30 | 37 of 50 |
| Houston | 61 | 25 | 39 of 50 |
| Washington, DC | 60 | 27 | 41 of 50 |
| Phoenix and Scottsdale | 56 | 34 | 38 of 50 |
| New York (Long Island) | 47 | 31 | 34 of 50 |
| Miami | 47 | 26 | 42 of 50 |
| Los Angeles | 30 | 18 | 39 of 50 |
| Central Florida | 64 | 37 | 46 of 50 |
All 50 trades, side by side
Medians for businesses in the top 3 against ranks 4–20, in 10 big US metros. The last column is the top-3 median in Central Florida.
| Trade | Reviews | Rating | Photos | Website | Central FL |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| Vets | 322 vs 143 | 4.6 vs 4.6 | 73 vs 35 | 98% vs 89% | 432 |
| Dentists | 304 vs 203 | 4.8 vs 4.8 | 20 vs 15 | 86% vs 87% | 401 |
| Optometrists | 280 vs 69 | 4.7 vs 4.7 | 26 vs 8 | 95% vs 80% | 382 |
| Nail salons | 193 vs 140 | 4.6 vs 4.6 | 137 vs 105 | 75% vs 71% | 147 |
| Movers | 182 vs 33 | 4.9 vs 4.9 | 58 vs 16 | 95% vs 73% | 165 |
| Auto repair | 145 vs 80 | 4.7 vs 4.7 | 23 vs 16 | 65% vs 59% | 75 |
| Personal injury lawyers | 130 vs 62 | 4.9 vs 4.9 | 22 vs 11 | 99% vs 95% | 157 |
| Barbershops | 129 vs 101 | 4.8 vs 4.8 | 37 vs 34 | 67% vs 70% | 112 |
| Auto body shops | 128 vs 68 | 4.8 vs 4.7 | 31 vs 19 | 75% vs 60% | 129 |
| Physical therapy | 113 vs 51 | 5.0 vs 5.0 | 15 vs 8 | 94% vs 83% | 80 |
| Locksmiths | 112 vs 31 | 4.8 vs 4.6 | 48 vs 38 | 93% vs 90% | 45 |
| Dog boarding | 110 vs 53 | 4.8 vs 4.8 | 87 vs 33 | 92% vs 80% | 143 |
| Hair salons | 109 vs 93 | 4.8 vs 4.8 | 63 vs 46 | 80% vs 77% | 114 |
| Med spas | 107 vs 82 | 4.9 vs 4.9 | 32 vs 25 | 98% vs 91% | 68 |
| Towing | 107 vs 63 | 4.8 vs 4.7 | 39 vs 22 | 85% vs 73% | 105 |
| Gyms | 106 vs 51 | 4.9 vs 4.9 | 44 vs 27 | 94% vs 86% | 69 |
| Plumbers | 104 vs 23 | 4.9 vs 4.9 | 55 vs 15 | 88% vs 74% | 197 |
| Chiropractors | 102 vs 42 | 4.9 vs 5.0 | 19 vs 9 | 92% vs 79% | 201 |
| Dog groomers | 92 vs 92 | 4.7 vs 4.7 | 63 vs 54 | 87% vs 83% | 122 |
| House cleaning | 86 vs 15 | 4.8 vs 5.0 | 29 vs 13 | 88% vs 71% | 80 |
| Divorce lawyers | 64 vs 28 | 4.8 vs 4.8 | 9 vs 6 | 96% vs 90% | 59 |
| Insurance agents | 63 vs 36 | 4.9 vs 4.9 | 7 vs 5 | 88% vs 83% | 68 |
| Pool service | 54 vs 61 | 4.6 vs 4.6 | 26 vs 44 | 86% vs 85% | 61 |
| Garage door repair | 53 vs 57 | 4.9 vs 4.8 | 38 vs 37 | 88% vs 84% | 96 |
| Mortgage brokers | 51 vs 20 | 5.0 vs 5.0 | 7 vs 3 | 96% vs 90% | 57 |
| Flooring | 50 vs 17 | 4.8 vs 4.9 | 49 vs 22 | 87% vs 82% | 48 |
| Massage therapists | 48 vs 48 | 4.9 vs 4.9 | 13 vs 10 | 65% vs 63% | 16 |
| Junk removal | 47 vs 42 | 5.0 vs 4.9 | 38 vs 27 | 79% vs 79% | 77 |
| Realtors | 45 vs 25 | 5.0 vs 5.0 | 17 vs 10 | 88% vs 89% | 37 |
| HVAC and AC repair | 43 vs 12 | 4.9 vs 5.0 | 17 vs 5 | 75% vs 59% | 128 |
| Roofers | 43 vs 15 | 5.0 vs 5.0 | 39 vs 18 | 89% vs 74% | 41 |
| Car detailing | 41 vs 31 | 5.0 vs 4.9 | 45 vs 26 | 73% vs 67% | 28 |
| Carpet cleaning | 32 vs 21 | 4.9 vs 4.9 | 23 vs 16 | 80% vs 71% | 45 |
| Mold removal | 32 vs 19 | 5.0 vs 5.0 | 30 vs 17 | 89% vs 82% | 65 |
| Painters | 31 vs 13 | 5.0 vs 5.0 | 60 vs 24 | 80% vs 74% | 42 |
| Solar installers | 31 vs 18 | 4.9 vs 4.8 | 15 vs 8 | 85% vs 78% | 64 |
| Fence companies | 27 vs 26 | 4.9 vs 4.9 | 37 vs 39 | 86% vs 81% | 55 |
| Kitchen and bath remodeling | 27 vs 15 | 5.0 vs 5.0 | 49 vs 27 | 92% vs 77% | 35 |
| Water damage restoration | 27 vs 22 | 5.0 vs 4.9 | 37 vs 24 | 80% vs 83% | 43 |
| Pressure washing | 26 vs 27 | 5.0 vs 4.9 | 30 vs 26 | 86% vs 77% | 27 |
| Electricians | 25 vs 13 | 5.0 vs 4.9 | 12 vs 6 | 72% vs 67% | 48 |
| General contractors | 25 vs 11 | 5.0 vs 5.0 | 33 vs 18 | 88% vs 77% | 26 |
| Pest control | 25 vs 18 | 5.0 vs 4.8 | 9 vs 9 | 76% vs 71% | 98 |
| Accountants | 24 vs 10 | 5.0 vs 4.9 | 4 vs 2 | 90% vs 73% | 29 |
| Landscaping and lawn care | 24 vs 15 | 4.8 vs 4.9 | 30 vs 17 | 74% vs 74% | 39 |
| Window cleaning | 23 vs 21 | 5.0 vs 5.0 | 22 vs 24 | 80% vs 76% | 37 |
| Tree service | 18 vs 26 | 5.0 vs 4.9 | 10 vs 23 | 62% vs 75% | 47 |
| Handyman | 16 vs 10 | 5.0 vs 5.0 | 20 vs 17 | 71% vs 62% | 9 |
| Appliance repair | 11 vs 20 | 5.0 vs 4.9 | 5 vs 7 | 64% vs 62% | 60 |
| Concrete contractors | 9 vs 8 | 5.0 vs 5.0 | 16 vs 12 | 78% vs 71% | 16 |
How we did it
For each of 50 trades we ran two searches (the plain trade, and its most common job or emergency search) from five points around the centre of each of 10 big US metros: Denver, Chicago, Dallas, Atlanta, Houston, Washington, DC, Phoenix and Scottsdale, New York (Long Island), Miami, Los Angeles. That's 100 live Google Maps searches per trade, 5,000 in all, on 4 November 2026. We ran the same searches from five points in each of three Central Florida towns (Orlando, Winter Garden and Kissimmee), 1,500 more, on 27 October 2026.
For every business in the top 20 we recorded its best rank, reviews, rating, photos, categories, website and whether the profile was claimed. "Top 3" means it reached the top 3 at one or more points. Figures are medians. A business can appear in more than one trade.
Limits: one date per region, and a handful of searches returned no results (one Chicago point falls on Lake Michigan). Google also weighs distance and relevance, so these are patterns, not rules.
Am I found? (2026). The Google Maps Top 3 Report. 6,500 Google Maps searches across 50 local trades in 10 US metros and Central Florida. amifound.ai/research/google-maps-top-3
Questions
How many Google reviews does a business need to be in the map's top 3?
Across 50 trades in 10 big US metros, top-3 businesses had a median of 51 reviews, from 9 for concrete contractors to 322 for vets. It also varies by city: 96 in Denver, 30 in Los Angeles. Use the Google review calculator for your trade.
Do you need more reviews in a big city?
Not in our data. Central Florida's top 3 had more reviews than the national big-city figure in 33 of 50 trades. What it takes depends on the businesses you're up against near you, which is why we search from 81 places around each business.
Does a higher star rating help you rank on Google Maps?
Not on its own, in our data. Both groups had a median of 4.9 stars, and the top 3 were rated the same or lower in 36 of 50 trades.
Can I quote these numbers?
Yes. Please credit "Am I found? Google Maps Top 3 Report (2026)" with a link to this page.