12.97 million people live in Los Angeles, CA, which places it 2nd of the 387 metropolitan areas. This page lays out the income and housing picture and a trade-by-trade look at the competition.
The metropolitan statistical area covers Los Angeles, Long Beach and Anaheim.
The median home value of $871,300 is 162 percent above the national figure. Households here bring in a median of $95,958, 19 percent above the national figure. Together they say a good deal about the ticket sizes a local business can expect.
The household mix in brief. The unemployment rate stands at 6.8%, 2 points above the US share. Residents skew younger than the national median: 38.5 years, about the same as the national median. Homeownership stands at 48.4%, 17 points below the US share. Education: 38% with a bachelor's or higher, 2 points above the US share.
Los Angeles, CA versus California: income 3 percent lower than the California figure, home values 19 percent higher than the California figure, business density 21 percent denser than the California figure.
There are 411,949 employer businesses in Los Angeles, CA. Per 1,000 people that is 31.8, 27 percent above the national figure. Of those, 11,176 are home-services contractors (plumbing and HVAC, electrical, roofing, concrete, specialty trades and landscaping), a 2.7% share of the business base, 2 points below the US share. The most numerous category on this page is restaurants at 29,168.
| Trade (NAICS) | Count | Per 100,000 | Index vs US |
|---|---|---|---|
| Dentists | 9,296 | 71.6 | 1.39× |
| Physicians' offices | 14,795 | 114 | 1.38× |
| Legal services | 11,913 | 91.8 | 1.34× |
| General freight trucking | 6,754 | 52.1 | 1.17× |
| Lessors of real estate (all) | 7,544 | 58.1 | 1.12× |
| Personal care services (all) | 8,273 | 63.8 | 1.04× |
| Restaurants and other eating places | 29,168 | 224.8 | 0.96× |
| Beauty salons | 3,689 | 28.4 | 0.89× |
| Electrical contractors | 3,229 | 24.9 | 0.79× |
| General automotive repair | 3,076 | 23.7 | 0.74× |
| Self-storage facilities | 677 | 5.2 | 0.74× |
| Grocery and convenience retailers | 3,500 | 27 | 0.71× |
| Plumbing, heating and air-conditioning contractors | 3,793 | 29.2 | 0.69× |
| Child day care services | 2,639 | 20.3 | 0.65× |
| Roofing contractors | 739 | 5.7 | 0.59× |
| Automobile dealers | 1,202 | 9.3 | 0.52× |
| Other specialty trade contractors (paving, asphalt, fencing) | 909 | 7 | 0.43× |
| Concrete foundation and structure contractors | 468 | 3.6 | 0.41× |
| Landscaping services | 2,038 | 15.7 | 0.35× |
| Highway, street and bridge construction | 140 | 1.1 | 0.31× |
Index: local share of all establishments divided by the US share; above 1 means the trade is more common here than nationally.
More common here than nationally: dentists, physicians' offices, legal services and general freight trucking. The sharpest example is dentists: 9,296 establishments, 1.4 times the share seen nationally. Less common here than nationally: road and paving contractors, landscaping services, concrete contractors and specialty trade contractors. Road and paving contractors number just 140, about 31% of the US share, which is room for a well-run operator to be the obvious choice. Roughly where the national mix would put them: restaurants, beauty salons and personal care services.
Adjusted for population, restaurants are the thickest on the ground (224.8 per 100,000), with physicians' offices and legal services next. The most numerous of the listed trades: restaurants with 29,168 establishments, then physicians' offices (14,795) and legal services (11,913). Across the groups, medical and dental practices run 1.4 times the US share and the home-services trades about 56% of.
dentists, physicians' offices and legal services face a full field here. Each new review, each answered call and each page that matches a specific search is a small edge, and the edges add up. In road and paving contractors, landscaping services and concrete contractors, the shortage of local establishments is an opening: the searches are there, the competition for them is not, and a listing that ranks plus a page that converts can own the category quickly. With a median age about the same as the national median, expect more discovery through maps, short video and AI answers; search alone covers less of the market. Income 19 percent above the national figure means larger average jobs; the pitch should match, with premium options shown plainly. With ownership at 48.4%, renters are a bigger share than usual; home-services advertisers do well to court property managers as well as households.
Where to start in Los Angeles, CA, based on the competition profile above.
Google search ads for the exact services and towns, tracked to the phone call.
Profile upkeep, posts, Q&A and photos on the listing customers see first.
Ranking for the service-and-town searches without paying per click.
A fast site with the services, the area served and a clear way to call or book.
Paid social that reaches people before they search.
YouTube campaigns fenced to the market.
Los Angeles, CA has 12.97 million residents (US Census Bureau ACS 2024 5-year estimate), ranking 2nd of 387 metropolitan areas.
The median household income in Los Angeles, CA is $95,958 (ACS 2024 5-year), above the US median of $80,734.
The Census Bureau counts 411,949 employer establishments in Los Angeles, CA (County Business Patterns 2023), or 31.8 businesses per 1,000 residents.
The median home value in Los Angeles, CA is $871,300, and 48.4% of homes are owner-occupied (ACS 2024 5-year).
Measured against the US business mix (County Business Patterns 2023), dentists, physicians' offices and legal services have more establishments per resident than the US average; road and paving contractors, landscaping services and concrete contractors have fewer in Los Angeles, CA.
One conversation about your trade, your area and your goals; then a written plan.
Data: US Census Bureau ACS 2024 5-year estimates and County Business Patterns 2023. Updated 2026-09-29.