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Real estate · Metro area · California

Home inspectors in the San Francisco-Oakland-Fremont, CA metro area

Competitor counts, household spending and official business counts for home inspectors in the San Francisco-Oakland-Fremont, CA metro area, set against other metro areas and the U.S.

Groundwork market score · out of 100

Score 75 out of 100: High

Ranked #15 of 243 scored metro areas
#3 of 17 scored metro areas based in California

Listings
48
0 chain locations (0%)
Official establishments
74
+8.8% since 2019
Household spending a year
$39.5B
On rent and homeowner costs · $22,650 a household
Housing spending per listing (U.S. = 100)
313
3.1 times the U.S.
Listings per 10k households
0.3
50% below the U.S.
Population, 2025
4,630,041
−2.4% since 2020

See the home inspectors around any address in the San Francisco-Oakland-Fremont metro area

The site report maps the home inspectors on map listings near the address, by name and distance, and sizes the households and spending around it. Or open the report at the center of the San Francisco-Oakland-Fremont metro area. Signed out, you see a blurred preview; on an account, each report is one action.

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

What this means

The Groundwork market score for home inspectors in the San Francisco-Oakland-Fremont metro area is 75 (high), #15 of 243 scored metro areas and #3 of 17 scored metro areas based in California. That puts it in the top 10% of metro areas for home inspectors.

Map listings as of September 2026 show 48 home inspectors in the San Francisco-Oakland-Fremont metro area. None of them are chain locations, against 3% across the U.S. That is 0.3 per 10,000 households, 50% below the U.S. rate of 0.6.

Household spending on rent and homeowner costs in the San Francisco-Oakland-Fremont metro area comes to about $39.5B a year: $22,650 per household, 36% above the U.S. average. Housing spending per business is 3.1 times 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.

Official counts show 74 businesses with payroll classed as building inspection services in the San Francisco-Oakland-Fremont metro area in 2023, up 8.8% from 2019. That is one for every 23,569 households, against one for every 17,237 across the U.S. Between 2020 and 2025, the population of the San Francisco-Oakland-Fremont metro area declined 2.4%, against +3.1% for the U.S.

How the San Francisco-Oakland-Fremont metro area compares

The same measures for California and the whole U.S. Housing spending per listing divides all rent and homeowner costs by the listings counted: a measure of housing demand for each business, not money any of them take in, so it is shown against the U.S. (100) only. Households per establishment divides households by the official count.

Home inspectors in San Francisco-Oakland-Fremont, CA metro area compared with California and the U.S.
MeasureSan Francisco-Oakland-Fremont metro areaCaliforniaU.S.
Listings per 10k households0.30.50.6
Housing spending per listing (U.S. = 100)313168100
Households per official establishment23,56913,53517,237
Official establishment growth, 2019–2023+8.8%+14.5%+6.5%
Population growth, 2020–2025−2.4%−0.4%+3.1%
Spending per household on rent and homeowner costs$22,650$19,977$16,661
Median household income$136,027$99,122$80,734
Groundwork market score7555

Official counts and lending

Businesses

Official establishments, 2019 to 2023
74+8.8% over the period
Employees, 2023
768
Annual payroll, 2023
$83.5M
One-person businesses, 2023
Not publishedNot published for this business type
Map listings, September 2026
480 chain locations
Listings at the U.S. rate for this spending
151The U.S. ratio of listings to household spending, applied here

SBA-backed loans since fiscal 2022

Loans
0
Amount
$0

SBA-backed loans to businesses classed as building inspection services in the San Francisco-Oakland-Fremont metro area, through June 2026, placed by the borrower’s ZIP code. Official establishments are businesses with payroll; the official counts leave out places with fewer than 3.

Population and households in the San Francisco-Oakland-Fremont metro area

Population, 2025 estimate
4,630,041−2.4% since 2020
Households
1,744,070
Median age
41.3
Homes lived in by their owners
55%
Vehicles per household
1.7
Land area
2,470 sq. mi.
People per square mile
1,881
Median household income
$136,027+28.3% vs. 2015–2019, before inflation
Average household income
$194,370
Median home value
$1,140,700
Jobs located here
2,497,939
Daytime population
4,885,603Residents who don’t work, plus everyone whose job is here

Looking at a specific site in the San Francisco-Oakland-Fremont metro area?

These figures cover the whole metro area. A site report draws rings around one address and counts what’s inside them: households, spending, jobs, and the home inspectors on map listings by name and distance.

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Home inspectors across California

Every California market ranked →

The highest-scoring metro areas in California for home inspectors, numbered among those based in California, with the San Francisco-Oakland-Fremont metro area marked.

Top metro areas in California

Metro areas in California ranked for home inspectors by Groundwork market score
MarketScoreListingsPer 10k householdsHousing spending per listing (U.S. = 100)Population growthU.S. rank
1Stockton-Lodi, CA8590.4198+5.5%#1 of 243
2San Jose-Sunnyvale-Santa Clara, CA81160.2391−0.6%#4 of 243
3San Francisco-Oakland-Fremont, CA75480.3313−2.4%#15 of 243
4Vallejo, CA7580.5148+0.6%#17 of 243
5Salinas, CA7370.5141−1.5%#21 of 243
6Fresno, CA71110.3225+3.2%#24 of 243
7Modesto, CA7060.3204+0.7%#27 of 243
8San Luis Obispo-Paso Robles, CA6850.51630.0%#31 of 243
9Sacramento-Roseville-Folsom, CA66600.7110+3.2%#40 of 243
10Santa Maria-Santa Barbara, CA64100.7113−1.4%#48 of 243

Other business types in the San Francisco-Oakland-Fremont metro area

Each with its Groundwork market score here, out of 100, where it has one.

Questions

How many home inspectors are in the San Francisco-Oakland-Fremont, CA metro area?

There are 48 home inspectors on map listings in the San Francisco-Oakland-Fremont metro area as of September 2026. None of them are chain locations. The listings count home inspectors. Official counts show 74 businesses with payroll classed as building inspection services in 2023, up 8.8% from 2019.

How much do households in the San Francisco-Oakland-Fremont, CA metro area spend on rent and homeowner costs?

About $39.5B a year, or $22,650 per household. That is 36% above the U.S. average (an index of 136, where 100 is the U.S. average). For the 48 home inspectors on map listings, housing spending per business is 3.1 times 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 1,744,070 households in the San Francisco-Oakland-Fremont metro area and national spending patterns by income.

How does the San Francisco-Oakland-Fremont, CA metro area compare with the U.S. for home inspectors?

The San Francisco-Oakland-Fremont metro area has 0.3 home inspectors per 10,000 households, 50% below the U.S. rate of 0.6. The index of housing spending per business is 313, where 100 is the U.S. At the national ratio of home inspectors to household spending, the San Francisco-Oakland-Fremont metro area would have about 151, against 48 on map listings. There is one business with payroll in the industry for every 23,569 households, against one for every 17,237 across the U.S. The official count rose 8.8% from 2019 to 2023, against +6.5% for the U.S.

How fast is the San Francisco-Oakland-Fremont, CA metro area growing?

Population estimates put the San Francisco-Oakland-Fremont metro area at 4,630,041 people in 2025, down 2.4% since 2020, against +3.1% for the U.S. It has 1,744,070 households. Median household income in the San Francisco-Oakland-Fremont metro area is $136,027, 68% above the U.S. median of $80,734. Against the 2015–2019 survey, the median rose 28.3%, before inflation.

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. The San Francisco-Oakland-Fremont metro area scores 75 for home inspectors (high), #15 of 243 scored metro areas.

How can I see the market around a specific site?

Run a Groundwork site report on an address in the San Francisco-Oakland-Fremont metro area. 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.

How the score works · Top markets for home inspectors · All 56 business types in the San Francisco-Oakland-Fremont metro area

Screening a site or an acquisition in the San Francisco-Oakland-Fremont metro area?

A site report maps the competitors on map listings near an address and sizes the households and spending around it.

The button opens the report at the center of the San Francisco-Oakland-Fremont metro area. Signed out, you see a blurred preview; on an account, each report is one action.

This product uses the Census Bureau Data API but is not endorsed or certified by the Census Bureau.

Figures are estimates for research only. Not investment or real estate advice.