Groundwork

Health care · Metro area · California

Medical and dental practices in the San Francisco-Oakland-Fremont, CA metro area

Competitor counts, household spending and official business counts for medical and dental practices 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 48 out of 100: Lower middle

Ranked #203 of 387 scored metro areas
#16 of 25 scored metro areas based in California

Listings
16,390
1,020 chain locations (6%)
Official establishments
7,607
+1.3% since 2019
Household spending a year
$2.9B
On medical and dental services · $1,688 a household
Spending per listing
$180K
18% above the U.S.
Listings per 10k households
94.0
11% above the U.S.
Population, 2025
4,630,041
−2.4% since 2020

See the medical and dental practices around any address in the San Francisco-Oakland-Fremont metro area

The site report maps the medical and dental practices 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.

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 16,390 medical and dental practices in the San Francisco-Oakland-Fremont metro area. 1,020 of them (6%) are chain locations, against 11% across the U.S. That comes to 94.0 for every 10,000 households, 11% above the U.S. rate of 84.5.

At $1,688 per household (31% above the U.S. average), households in the San Francisco-Oakland-Fremont metro area spend about $2.9B a year on medical and dental services. That works out to $180K per practice, 18% above the U.S. figure of $152K.

Official counts show 7,607 businesses with payroll classed as offices of physicians, dentists, chiropractors, optometrists and therapists, and urgent care centers in the San Francisco-Oakland-Fremont metro area in 2023, up 1.3% from 2019. That is one for every 229 households, against one for every 270 across the U.S. Official counts list 5,240 one-person businesses without payroll. Since fiscal 2022, 106 SBA-backed loans worth $114.4M have gone to businesses classed as offices of physicians, dentists, chiropractors, optometrists and therapists, and urgent care centers in the San Francisco-Oakland-Fremont metro area.

Between 2020 and 2025, the population of the San Francisco-Oakland-Fremont metro area declined 2.4%, against +3.1% for the U.S. The San Francisco-Oakland-Fremont metro area scores 48 (lower middle) on the Groundwork market score for medical and dental practices, ranking #203 of 387 scored metro areas and #16 of 25 scored metro areas based in California.

How the San Francisco-Oakland-Fremont metro area compares

The same measures for California and the whole U.S. Spending per listing divides a year of household spending on all medical and dental services by the medical and dental practices counted, so it measures the demand for each competitor, not any business’s revenue. Households per establishment does the same with the official count.

Doctors, dentists and clinics 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 households94.088.384.5
Spending per listing$180K$166K$152K
Households per official establishment229199270
Official establishment growth, 2019–2023+1.3%+2.6%+1.5%
Population growth, 2020–2025−2.4%−0.4%+3.1%
Spending per household on medical and dental services$1,688$1,464$1,288
Median household income$136,027$99,122$80,734
Groundwork market score4843

Official counts and lending

Businesses

Official establishments, 2019 to 2023
7,607+1.3% over the period
Employees, 2023
60,891
Annual payroll, 2023
$5.7B
One-person businesses, 2023
5,240Businesses with no payroll
Map listings, September 2026
16,3901,020 chain locations
Listings at the U.S. rate for this spending
19,306The U.S. ratio of listings to household spending, applied here

SBA-backed loans since fiscal 2022

Loans
106
Amount
$114.4M

SBA-backed loans to businesses classed as offices of physicians, dentists, chiropractors, optometrists and therapists, and urgent care centers 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 medical and dental practices on map listings by name and distance.

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.

Free10 actions over 3 days, no card

Doctors, dentists and clinics across California

Every California market ranked →

The highest-scoring metro areas in California for medical and dental practices, 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 medical and dental practices by Groundwork market score
MarketScoreListingsPer 10k householdsSpending per listingPopulation growthU.S. rank
1Stockton-Lodi, CA781,34154.7$253K+5.5%#20 of 387
2Vallejo, CA7684153.4$271K+0.6%#28 of 387
3Yuba City, CA7436959.6$214K+3.3%#34 of 387
4Merced, CA7338344.5$264K+5.1%#37 of 387
5Sacramento-Roseville-Folsom, CA686,15369.8$205K+3.2%#63 of 387
6El Centro, CA6326653.6$208K+1.1%#90 of 387
7Bakersfield-Delano, CA621,79863.1$194K+2.3%#100 of 387
8Riverside-San Bernardino-Ontario, CA6010,36071.4$191K+3.5%#110 of 387
9Visalia, CA5978154.5$224K+2.4%#115 of 387
10Santa Rosa-Petaluma, CA591,49678.3$191K−0.4%#116 of 387
16San Francisco-Oakland-Fremont, CA4816,39094.0$180K−2.4%#203 of 387

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 medical and dental practices are in the San Francisco-Oakland-Fremont, CA metro area?

There are 16,390 medical and dental practices on map listings in the San Francisco-Oakland-Fremont metro area as of September 2026. 1,020 of them (6%) are chain locations. The listings count every outpatient clinic and practice, and urgent care. Official counts show 7,607 businesses with payroll classed as offices of physicians, dentists, chiropractors, optometrists and therapists, and urgent care centers in 2023, up 1.3% from 2019. Official counts also show 5,240 one-person businesses without payroll.

How much do households in the San Francisco-Oakland-Fremont, CA metro area spend on medical and dental services?

About $2.9B a year, or $1,688 per household. That is 31% above the U.S. average (an index of 131, where 100 is the U.S. average). Spread across the 16,390 medical and dental practices on map listings, it comes to $180K per practice. 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 medical and dental practices?

The San Francisco-Oakland-Fremont metro area has 94.0 medical and dental practices per 10,000 households, 11% above the U.S. rate of 84.5. Spending per practice is $180K, 18% above the U.S. figure of $152K. At the national ratio of medical and dental practices to household spending, the San Francisco-Oakland-Fremont metro area would have about 19,306, against 16,390 on map listings. There is one business with payroll in the industry for every 229 households, against one for every 270 across the U.S. The official count rose 1.3% from 2019 to 2023, against +1.5% 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 48 for medical and dental practices (lower middle), #203 of 387 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 medical and dental practices 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 medical and dental practices · 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.