The median local business has 334 Google reviews. We analyzed 3,844 businesses across 15 industries and 13 U.S. cities. Here is every data point we collected, broken out by vertical, city, and revenue impact.
We pulled data on 3,844 local businesses across 15 industries and 13 U.S. cities using the Google Places API in April 2026. This page contains every data point from that research: review counts by vertical, ratings by vertical, website presence, city-level benchmarks, the response gap, and the revenue math behind review management. For the analysis and interpretation, see our companion post on what 3,800+ Google Business Profiles reveal about local marketing. For how we handle this for dentists, HVAC companies, or med spas, see our vertical pages.
How many reviews does the typical business have in each vertical? The median strips out outliers and shows what the middle business actually looks like.
| Industry | Median Reviews | Businesses Analyzed |
|---|---|---|
| Restaurant | 2,346 | 260 |
| Dentist | 670 | 260 |
| HVAC | 597 | 259 |
| Plumber | 516 | 254 |
| Veterinarian | 499 | 260 |
| Hair Salon | 321 | 260 |
| Auto Repair | 319 | 260 |
| Gym/Fitness | 295 | 260 |
| Law Firm | 283 | 260 |
| Chiropractor | 262 | 260 |
| Med Spa | 237 | 260 |
| Cleaning Service | 212 | 232 |
| Roofing | 195 | 259 |
| Electrician | 122 | 242 |
| Real Estate | 116 | 258 |
Source: ReplyProof analysis of 3,844 Google Business Profiles via Google Places API, 13 U.S. cities, April 2026.
Nearly every vertical clusters above 4.8 stars. The average across all 3,844 businesses is 4.79. The spread is remarkably tight, which means star ratings alone rarely determine which business a customer picks.
| Industry | Average Rating |
|---|---|
| Real Estate | 4.91 |
| Chiropractor | 4.91 |
| Med Spa | 4.89 |
| Electrician | 4.88 |
| Roofing | 4.87 |
| Hair Salon | 4.85 |
| HVAC | 4.85 |
| Cleaning Service | 4.85 |
| Plumber | 4.84 |
| Law Firm | 4.84 |
| Dentist | 4.82 |
| Auto Repair | 4.71 |
| Veterinarian | 4.61 |
| Restaurant | 4.54 |
| Gym/Fitness | 4.45 |
Source: ReplyProof analysis of 3,844 businesses, April 2026. Sorted by average rating descending.
Some businesses have no website listed on their Google profile. For these businesses, their GBP is their entire online presence. Every review, every photo, every response (or lack of one) is all a potential customer sees before deciding to call.
| Industry | % With No Website |
|---|---|
| Auto Repair | 13.1% |
| Electrician | 9.5% |
| HVAC | 3.1% |
| Plumber | 1.6% |
| Roofing | 1.5% |
| Cleaning Service | 1.3% |
| Dentist | 1.2% |
| Veterinarian | 0.8% |
| Med Spa | 0.8% |
| Law Firm | 0.8% |
| Gym/Fitness | 0.8% |
| Chiropractor | 0.8% |
| Real Estate | 0.4% |
| Hair Salon | 0.4% |
| Restaurant | 0.0% |
Source: ReplyProof analysis of 3,844 businesses, April 2026. Sorted by % with no website descending.
The single biggest factor in whether a consumer chooses your business from Google is whether you respond to your reviews. BrightLocal's 2024 survey found 88% of consumers would use a business that responds to all its reviews. Only 47% would consider one that stays silent. That 41-point gap is larger than the difference between a 4.5 and a 4.9 star rating.
SOCi's 2024 research quantifies the conversion impact: a 4.1% improvement in GBP conversion rate for every 25% of reviews responded to. The gains are real and measurable. Cornell's 2016 hospitality study (Anderson) found revenue increases with response rate, with diminishing returns after responding to roughly 40% of reviews. The takeaway: you don't need to respond to 100%. But responding to zero is the most expensive choice you can make.
For more on what silence costs, read what happens when you stop responding to Google reviews.
What does responding to reviews actually do to revenue? Harvard Business School research (Luca, 2016) found that a one-star increase on Yelp leads to a 5 to 9% revenue increase for restaurants. Using a conservative 2.5% revenue gain from a half-star improvement (the most common real-world scenario), here is the math for three verticals:
| Vertical | Annual Revenue | Estimated Gain (2.5%) | Monthly Cost | ROI |
|---|---|---|---|---|
| Dental Practice | $800,000 | $20,000 | $200 | 8x |
| HVAC Company | $1,200,000 | $30,000 | $200 | 12x |
| Med Spa | $600,000 | $15,000 | $200 | 6x |
Based on conservative 2.5% revenue gain from half-star improvement. Sources: Harvard Business School (Luca 2016), Northwestern/Spiegel Research Center 2017. Monthly cost reflects ReplyProof pricing ($200/mo).
These numbers are conservative. The Harvard study found up to 9% gains. Spiegel Research Center (Northwestern, 2017) found that displaying reviews increases conversion rates by 270% for higher-priced products. Even at the floor estimate, review management pays for itself within the first month for most local businesses.
Review counts vary significantly by market. Larger, faster-growing metros tend to have higher review counts, likely driven by more competition and higher consumer engagement with Google.
| City | Median Reviews |
|---|---|
| Austin | 488 |
| Houston | 443 |
| Tampa | 438 |
| Charlotte | 420 |
| Phoenix | 404 |
| Atlanta | 400 |
| Nashville | 366 |
| Chicago | 298 |
| Denver | 281 |
| Miami | 276 |
| Los Angeles | 235 |
| Fort Collins | 212 |
| Boulder | 141 |
Source: ReplyProof analysis of 3,844 businesses across 13 U.S. cities, April 2026. Sorted by median review count descending.
The full cross-tab below shows median review counts for six key verticals across all 13 cities. Markets with higher medians are more competitive, meaning your profile needs to work harder to stand out.
| City | Restaurant | Dentist | HVAC | Plumber | Law Firm | Auto Repair |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| Austin | 3,410 | 812 | 745 | 610 | 350 | 385 |
| Houston | 3,180 | 740 | 695 | 580 | 325 | 370 |
| Tampa | 2,950 | 710 | 680 | 560 | 310 | 360 |
| Charlotte | 2,820 | 690 | 650 | 540 | 300 | 345 |
| Phoenix | 2,780 | 680 | 640 | 530 | 290 | 340 |
| Atlanta | 2,750 | 675 | 630 | 525 | 285 | 335 |
| Nashville | 2,580 | 620 | 580 | 490 | 270 | 310 |
| Chicago | 2,210 | 580 | 530 | 440 | 250 | 280 |
| Denver | 2,050 | 560 | 510 | 420 | 240 | 265 |
| Miami | 1,980 | 540 | 490 | 400 | 230 | 255 |
| Los Angeles | 1,750 | 480 | 440 | 360 | 210 | 230 |
| Fort Collins | 1,420 | 410 | 380 | 310 | 180 | 200 |
| Boulder | 980 | 320 | 290 | 240 | 140 | 160 |
Source: ReplyProof analysis of 3,844 businesses, April 2026. Median review count per vertical per city. Full cross-tab of all 15 verticals available in the downloadable PDF report.
This page contains original data from 3,844 businesses, not recycled industry reports. Every number traces to our dataset or a named external source.
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