Market rankings · California

Home inspectors in California

Markets across California ranked by the Groundwork market score for home inspectors, with competitor counts and household spending for each.

Listings: 612; 31 chain locations (5%)
Official establishments: 1,001; +14.5% since 2019
Household spending a year: $270.6B; On rent and homeowner costs
Listings per 10k households: 0.5; 17% below the U.S.
Housing spending per listing (U.S. = 100): 168; 68% above the U.S.
Rank among states: #18 of 50; Market score 55 · Upper middle

A site report maps the home inspectors on map listings around any address in California by name and distance, and the spending within reach.

Free10 actions over 3 days, no card

Survey estimates 2020–2024 · population estimates 2025 · official business counts 2023 · map listings September 2026 · Data credits · How we measure

What this means

Map listings as of September 2026 show 612 home inspectors in California. 31 of them (5%) are chain locations, against 3% across the U.S. That is 0.5 per 10,000 households, 17% below the U.S. rate of 0.6.

Households in California spend about $270.6B a year on rent and homeowner costs, or $19,977 per household, 20% above the U.S. average. Housing spending per business is 68% above the U.S. figure. That figure is all rent and homeowner costs, used as a measure of housing demand; it is not money home inspectors take in.

In 2023, official counts showed 1,001 businesses with payroll in California classed as building inspection services, up 14.5% from 2019. That is one for every 13,535 households, against one for every 17,237 across the U.S. Across the U.S., the count rose 6.5% over the same years. Since fiscal 2022, 19 SBA-backed loans worth $2.8M have gone to businesses classed as building inspection services in California.

Among 50 states, California ranks #18 for home inspectors, with a Groundwork market score of 55 (upper middle). Of the 17 scored metro areas in or partly in California, the Stockton-Lodi metro area scores highest (85). Among 24 scored counties, San Joaquin County scores highest (83).

Every market in California for home inspectors

Download the ranking (CSV)

Numbered by Groundwork market score among the markets based in California, highest first; the U.S. rank compares each market with every other of its kind. A metro area that crosses a state line is listed in each state it reaches, and numbered only in the state its page is under. How the score works.

Metro areas

Metro areas reaching California, ranked for home inspectors by Groundwork market score
Market	Score	Listings	Per 10k households	Housing spending per listing (U.S. = 100)	Population growth	U.S. rank
1Stockton-Lodi, CA	85	9	0.4	198	+5.5%	#1 of 243
2San Jose-Sunnyvale-Santa Clara, CA	81	16	0.2	391	−0.6%	#4 of 243
3San Francisco-Oakland-Fremont, CA	75	48	0.3	313	−2.4%	#15 of 243
4Vallejo, CA	75	8	0.5	148	+0.6%	#17 of 243
5Salinas, CA	73	7	0.5	141	−1.5%	#21 of 243
6Fresno, CA	71	11	0.3	225	+3.2%	#24 of 243
7Modesto, CA	70	6	0.3	204	+0.7%	#27 of 243
8San Luis Obispo-Paso Robles, CA	68	5	0.5	163	0.0%	#31 of 243
9Sacramento-Roseville-Folsom, CA	66	60	0.7	110	+3.2%	#40 of 243
10Santa Maria-Santa Barbara, CA	64	10	0.7	113	−1.4%	#48 of 243
11Bakersfield-Delano, CA	63	7	0.2	265	+2.3%	#51 of 243
12Santa Rosa-Petaluma, CA	61	6	0.3	247	−0.4%	#58 of 243
13Los Angeles-Long Beach-Anaheim, CA	57	191	0.4	177	−2.6%	#77 of 243
14Oxnard-Thousand Oaks-Ventura, CA	55	12	0.4	184	−1.5%	#90 of 243
15Riverside-San Bernardino-Ontario, CA	55	101	0.7	103	+3.5%	#93 of 243
16San Diego-Chula Vista-Carlsbad, CA	54	72	0.6	126	−0.6%	#103 of 243
17Napa, CA	39	5	1.0	80	−3.3%	#170 of 243
Visalia, CA	Not scored	2	0.1	468	+2.4%
Merced, CA	Not scored	2	0.2	272	+5.1%
Santa Cruz-Watsonville, CA	Not scored	2	0.2	387	−4.7%
Chico, CA	Not scored	3	0.4	182	−0.5%
Yuba City, CA	Not scored	2	0.3	209	+3.3%
Redding, CA	Not scored	1	0.1	473	−0.3%
El Centro, CA	Not scored	4	0.8	75	+1.1%
Hanford-Corcoran, CA	Not scored	2	0.5	142	+1.0%

Small-town markets

Small-town markets reaching California, ranked for home inspectors by Groundwork market score
Market	Score	Listings	Per 10k households	Housing spending per listing (U.S. = 100)	Population growth
Eureka-Arcata, CA	Not scored	0	0.0	n/a	−3.4%
Truckee-Grass Valley, CA	Not scored	6	1.4	52	−0.4%
Ukiah, CA	Not scored	0	0.0	n/a	−3.5%
Clearlake, CA	Not scored	2	0.7	85	−0.6%
Red Bluff, CA	Not scored	1	0.4	156	−1.7%
Sonora, CA	Not scored	2	0.9	77	−4.0%
Gardnerville Ranchos, NV-CA	Not scored	2	0.9	79	+0.9%
Susanville, CA	Not scored	0	0.0	n/a	−13.1%
Crescent City, CA	Not scored	1	1.1	60	−4.4%
Bishop, CA	Not scored	0	0.0	n/a	−4.4%

Counties

Counties in California, ranked for home inspectors by Groundwork market score
Market	Score	Listings	Per 10k households	Housing spending per listing (U.S. = 100)	Population growth	U.S. rank
1San Joaquin County, CA	83	9	0.4	198	+5.5%	#4 of 415
2Santa Clara County, CA	82	16	0.2	380	−0.9%	#7 of 415
3San Francisco County, CA	79	9	0.2	350	−5.6%	#13 of 415
4Solano County, CA	74	8	0.5	148	+0.6%	#34 of 415
5Alameda County, CA	73	23	0.4	221	−2.6%	#40 of 415
6Fresno County, CA	73	10	0.3	217	+2.6%	#41 of 415
7Contra Costa County, CA	72	10	0.2	348	+0.3%	#45 of 415
8Monterey County, CA	71	7	0.5	141	−1.5%	#48 of 415
9Sacramento County, CA	70	38	0.7	109	+2.0%	#60 of 415
10Stanislaus County, CA	69	6	0.3	204	+0.7%	#61 of 415
11San Luis Obispo County, CA	68	5	0.5	163	0.0%	#69 of 415
12Kern County, CA	65	7	0.2	265	+2.3%	#86 of 415
13Santa Barbara County, CA	64	10	0.7	113	−1.4%	#94 of 415
14Placer County, CA	63	12	0.8	106	+8.9%	#100 of 415
15Sonoma County, CA	61	6	0.3	247	−0.4%	#110 of 415
16Los Angeles County, CA	61	136	0.4	184	−3.0%	#111 of 415
17El Dorado County, CA	57	6	0.8	100	+0.6%	#136 of 415
18Riverside County, CA	57	62	0.8	91	+5.0%	#138 of 415
19Orange County, CA	55	55	0.5	159	−1.1%	#156 of 415
20San Diego County, CA	55	72	0.6	126	−0.6%	#157 of 415
21Ventura County, CA	54	12	0.4	184	−1.5%	#164 of 415
22San Bernardino County, CA	53	39	0.6	121	+1.9%	#176 of 415
23Napa County, CA	42	5	1.0	80	−3.3%	#268 of 415
24Nevada County, CA	39	6	1.4	52	−0.4%	#301 of 415
San Mateo County, CA	Not scored	4	0.2	603	−2.5%

Show all 58 counties

Counties in California, ranked for home inspectors by Groundwork market score, continued
Market	Score	Listings	Per 10k households	Housing spending per listing (U.S. = 100)	Population growth
Tulare County, CA	Not scored	2	0.1	468	+2.4%
Merced County, CA	Not scored	2	0.2	272	+5.1%
Santa Cruz County, CA	Not scored	2	0.2	387	−4.7%
Marin County, CA	Not scored	2	0.2	461	−2.9%
Yolo County, CA	Not scored	4	0.5	140	+3.1%
Butte County, CA	Not scored	3	0.4	182	−0.5%
Shasta County, CA	Not scored	1	0.1	473	−0.3%
Imperial County, CA	Not scored	4	0.8	75	+1.1%
Madera County, CA	Not scored	1	0.2	304	+7.4%
Kings County, CA	Not scored	2	0.5	142	+1.0%
Humboldt County, CA	Not scored	0	0.0	n/a	−3.4%
Sutter County, CA	Not scored	1	0.3	229	−0.7%
Mendocino County, CA	Not scored	0	0.0	n/a	−3.5%
Yuba County, CA	Not scored	1	0.3	190	+8.2%
Lake County, CA	Not scored	2	0.7	85	−0.6%
San Benito County, CA	Not scored	0	0.0	n/a	+8.6%
Tehama County, CA	Not scored	1	0.4	156	−1.7%
Tuolumne County, CA	Not scored	2	0.9	77	−4.0%
Calaveras County, CA	Not scored	1	0.5	128	+2.8%
Siskiyou County, CA	Not scored	2	1.0	58	−4.5%
Amador County, CA	Not scored	2	1.2	56	+3.2%
Lassen County, CA	Not scored	0	0.0	n/a	−13.1%
Glenn County, CA	Not scored	0	0.0	n/a	−2.6%
Del Norte County, CA	Not scored	1	1.1	60	−4.4%
Colusa County, CA	Not scored	1	1.3	50	−0.1%
Plumas County, CA	Not scored	1	1.2	53	−5.9%
Inyo County, CA	Not scored	0	0.0	n/a	−4.4%
Mariposa County, CA	Not scored	0	0.0	n/a	−1.2%
Trinity County, CA	Not scored	0	0.0	n/a	−2.3%
Mono County, CA	Not scored	0	0.0	n/a	−5.4%
Modoc County, CA	Not scored	0	0.0	n/a	−2.9%
Sierra County, CA	Not scored	0	0.0	n/a	−4.0%
Alpine County, CA	Not scored	1	23.0	3	−11.6%

Markets with fewer than 5 home inspectors on map listings, and counties under 10,000 people, aren’t scored; they’re listed last in each table.

Questions

How many home inspectors are in California?

There are 612 home inspectors on map listings in California as of September 2026. 31 of them (5%) are chain locations. The listings count home inspectors. Official counts show 1,001 businesses with payroll classed as building inspection services in 2023, up 14.5% from 2019.

How much do households in California spend on rent and homeowner costs?

About $270.6B a year, or $19,977 per household. That is 20% above the U.S. average (an index of 120, where 100 is the U.S. average). For the 612 home inspectors on map listings, housing spending per business is 68% above the U.S. figure. The spending figure is all rent and homeowner costs, a measure of housing demand, not money home inspectors take in. It is estimated from the incomes of the 13,548,091 households in California and national spending patterns by income.

How does California compare with the U.S. for home inspectors?

California has 0.5 home inspectors per 10,000 households, 17% below the U.S. rate of 0.6. The index of housing spending per business is 168, where 100 is the U.S. At the national ratio of home inspectors to household spending, California would have about 1,031, against 612 on map listings. There is one business with payroll in the industry for every 13,535 households, against one for every 17,237 across the U.S. The official count rose 14.5% from 2019 to 2023, against +6.5% for the U.S.

Which market in California has the highest market score for home inspectors?

Among 17 scored metro areas in or partly in California, the Stockton-Lodi metro area scores highest, at 85 (high). Among 24 scored counties in California, San Joaquin County scores highest, at 83 (high). Scores compare each market with others of its kind across the U.S.

What is the Groundwork market score?

The Groundwork market score runs from 0 to 100 and compares a market with others of its kind for one business type: states with states, metro areas with metro areas, small-town markets and counties with their own. It weighs household spending per competitor (35%), households per business with payroll (25%), population growth (20%) and spending power (20%), each ranked against those peers. A higher score means that, taken together, the market has more household spending and more households for each business already there, faster population growth and more spending per household than similar markets. It describes a market, not any one site or deal. California scores 55 for home inspectors (upper middle), #18 of 50 scored states.

How can I see the market around a specific site?

Run a Groundwork site report on an address in California. It maps the home inspectors on map listings near the site and sizes the households and spending within the distance you choose. New accounts get 10 actions over 3 days, no card.

Real estate66,358 listings
Real estate agents and brokers51,532 listings
Property management5,517 listings
Mortgage brokers and lenders8,697 listings

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