Real estate · County · California
Real estate businesses in San Luis Obispo County, CA
How San Luis Obispo County, CA compares with other counties and the U.S. for real estate businesses: competitors, household spending, official counts and growth.
Groundwork market score · out of 100
Score 30 out of 100: Lower middle
Ranked #2,077 of 2,229 scored counties
#48 of 55 scored counties in California
- Listings
- 678
- 38 chain locations (6%)
- Official establishments
- 357
- +10.9% since 2019
- Household spending a year
- $2.1B
- On rent and homeowner costs · $19,548 a household
- Housing spending per listing (U.S. = 100)
- 73
- 27% below the U.S.
- Listings per 10k households
- 61.9
- 61% above the U.S.
- Population, 2025
- 282,367
- 0.0% since 2020
See the real estate businesses around any address in San Luis Obispo County
The site report maps the real estate businesses 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 San Luis Obispo County. Signed out, you see a blurred preview; on an account, each report is one action.
Free10 actions over 3 days, no cardSurvey estimates 2020–2024 · population estimates 2025 · official business counts 2023 · map listings September 2026 · Data credits · How we measure
What this means
San Luis Obispo County scores 30 (lower middle) on the Groundwork market score for real estate businesses, ranking #2,077 of 2,229 scored counties and #48 of 55 scored counties in California. That puts it in the bottom quarter of counties.
Household spending on rent and homeowner costs in San Luis Obispo County comes to about $2.1B a year: $19,548 per household, 17% above the U.S. average. Housing spending per office is 27% below the U.S. figure. The spending figure is all rent and homeowner costs, a measure of housing demand, not money real estate businesses take in.
San Luis Obispo County has 678 real estate businesses on map listings as of September 2026. Of those, 38 are chain locations, or 6%, against 6% across the U.S. That comes to 61.9 for every 10,000 households, 61% above the U.S. rate of 38.5.
In 2023, official counts showed 357 businesses with payroll in San Luis Obispo County classed as real estate agents, property managers, mortgage lenders and inspectors, up 10.9% from 2019. That is one for every 307 households, against one for every 414 across the U.S. Since fiscal 2022, 8 SBA-backed loans worth $6.9M have gone to businesses classed as real estate agents, property managers, mortgage lenders and inspectors in San Luis Obispo County. Population estimates show San Luis Obispo County held about level from 2020 to 2025, against +3.1% for the U.S.
How San Luis Obispo County 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.
| Measure | San Luis Obispo County | California | U.S. |
|---|---|---|---|
| Listings per 10k households | 61.9 | 49.0 | 38.5 |
| Housing spending per listing (U.S. = 100) | 73 | 94 | 100 |
| Households per official establishment | 307 | 293 | 414 |
| Official establishment growth, 2019–2023 | +10.9% | +13.8% | +15.8% |
| Population growth, 2020–2025 | 0.0% | −0.4% | +3.1% |
| Spending per household on rent and homeowner costs | $19,548 | $19,977 | $16,661 |
| Median household income | $97,446 | $99,122 | $80,734 |
| Groundwork market score | 30 | 32 |
Official counts and lending
Businesses
- Official establishments, 2019 to 2023
- 322 → 357+10.9% over the period
- Employees, 2023
- 1,050
- Annual payroll, 2023
- $70.8M
- One-person businesses, 2023
- 1,916Businesses with no payroll
- Map listings, September 2026
- 67838 chain locations
- Listings at the U.S. rate for this spending
- 494The U.S. ratio of listings to household spending, applied here
SBA-backed loans since fiscal 2022
- Loans
- 8
- Amount
- $6.9M
SBA-backed loans to businesses classed as real estate agents, property managers, mortgage lenders and inspectors in San Luis Obispo County, 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 San Luis Obispo County
- Population, 2025 estimate
- 282,3670.0% since 2020
- Households
- 109,503
- Median age
- 42.3
- Homes lived in by their owners
- 62%
- Vehicles per household
- 2.1
- Land area
- 3,301 sq. mi.
- People per square mile
- 85
- Median household income
- $97,446+32.6% vs. 2015–2019, before inflation
- Average household income
- $132,001
- Median home value
- $824,700
- Jobs located here
- 112,621
- Daytime population
- 276,085Residents who don’t work, plus everyone whose job is here
Looking at a specific site in San Luis Obispo County?
These figures cover the whole county. A site report draws rings around one address and counts what’s inside them: households, spending, jobs, and the real estate businesses on map listings by name and distance.
Or open the report at the center of San Luis Obispo County. Signed out, you see a blurred preview; on an account, each report is one action.
Free10 actions over 3 days, no cardReal estate across California
Every California market ranked →The highest-scoring counties in California for real estate businesses, numbered among those based in California, with San Luis Obispo County marked.
Top counties in California
| Market | Score | Listings | Per 10k households | Housing spending per listing (U.S. = 100) | Population growth | U.S. rank |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| 1Yuba County, CA | 85 | 32 | 11.2 | 359 | +8.2% | #7 of 2,229 |
| 2Inyo County, CA | 72 | 12 | 14.9 | 270 | −4.4% | #162 of 2,229 |
| 3Colusa County, CA | 67 | 10 | 13.3 | 301 | −0.1% | #292 of 2,229 |
| 4Merced County, CA | 64 | 210 | 24.4 | 157 | +5.1% | #424 of 2,229 |
| 5Trinity County, CA | 63 | 10 | 17.9 | 203 | −2.3% | #455 of 2,229 |
| 6Kings County, CA | 61 | 85 | 19.3 | 203 | +1.0% | #540 of 2,229 |
| 7Glenn County, CA | 59 | 17 | 17.3 | 219 | −2.6% | #610 of 2,229 |
| 8Tulare County, CA | 56 | 347 | 24.2 | 163 | +2.4% | #775 of 2,229 |
| 9Madera County, CA | 56 | 132 | 29.1 | 140 | +7.4% | #787 of 2,229 |
| 10San Joaquin County, CA | 54 | 868 | 35.4 | 124 | +5.5% | #882 of 2,229 |
| 48San Luis Obispo County, CA | 30 | 678 | 61.9 | 73 | 0.0% | #2,077 of 2,229 |
Other business types in San Luis Obispo County
Each with its Groundwork market score here, out of 100, where it has one.
Food and drink
Groceries and convenience
Auto
Beauty and personal care
Fitness and classes
Health care
Child care
Clothing and laundry
Home services
Real estate
Funeral services
Questions
How many real estate businesses are in San Luis Obispo County, CA?
Map listings as of September 2026 show 678 real estate businesses in San Luis Obispo County. 38 of them (6%) are chain locations. The listings count real estate agents and brokers, property managers, mortgage brokers and lenders, and home inspectors. Official counts show 357 businesses with payroll classed as real estate agents, property managers, mortgage lenders and inspectors in 2023, up 10.9% from 2019. Official counts list 1,916 one-person businesses without payroll.
How much do households in San Luis Obispo County, CA spend on rent and homeowner costs?
About $2.1B a year, or $19,548 per household. That is 17% above the U.S. average (an index of 117, where 100 is the U.S. average). For the 678 real estate businesses on map listings, housing spending per office is 27% below the U.S. figure. That figure is all rent and homeowner costs, used as a measure of housing demand; it is not money real estate businesses take in. It is estimated from the incomes of the 109,503 households in San Luis Obispo County and national spending patterns by income.
How does San Luis Obispo County, CA compare with the U.S. for real estate businesses?
San Luis Obispo County has 61.9 real estate businesses per 10,000 households, 61% above the U.S. rate of 38.5. The index of housing spending per office is 73, where 100 is the U.S. At the U.S. ratio of real estate businesses to household spending, San Luis Obispo County would have about 494, against 678 on map listings. There is one business with payroll in the industry for every 307 households, against one for every 414 across the U.S. The official count rose 10.9% from 2019 to 2023, against +15.8% for the U.S.
How fast is San Luis Obispo County, CA growing?
Population estimates put San Luis Obispo County at 282,367 people in 2025, unchanged since 2020, against +3.1% for the U.S. It has 109,503 households. Median household income in San Luis Obispo County is $97,446, 21% above the U.S. median of $80,734. Against the 2015–2019 survey, the median rose 32.6%, 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. San Luis Obispo County scores 30 for real estate businesses (lower middle), #2,077 of 2,229 scored counties.
How can I see the market around a specific site?
Run a Groundwork site report on an address in San Luis Obispo County. It maps the real estate businesses 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 real estate businesses · All 56 business types in San Luis Obispo County
Screening a site or an acquisition in San Luis Obispo County?
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 San Luis Obispo County. 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.