Businesses in Google Maps' top 3 have nearly twice as many Google reviews as the businesses ranked below them, but they aren't rated any higher. That's the main finding of the Google Maps Top 3 Report from Am I found?, a Google Maps visibility tool built by The Lightning Agency's team.
Am I found? ran 6,500 live Google Maps searches for 50 local trades, from plumbers and roofers to dentists and vets: 5,000 across 10 of the biggest US metros on 4 November 2026, and 1,500 across Orlando, Winter Garden and Kissimmee on 27 October. The report then compares every business that reached the top 3 with the businesses ranked 4th to 20th.
What the top 3 have in common
• Reviews: across the 10 metros, top-3 businesses had a median of 51 Google reviews. Businesses ranked 4th to 20th had 28.
• Across trades: the top 3 had more reviews in 43 of 50 trades, and at least twice as many in 19.
• Star ratings: both groups had a median of 4.9 stars. The top 3 were rated the same or lower in 36 of 50 trades.
• Photos: a median of 30 photos against 18, ahead in 44 of 50 trades.
• Websites: 86% of top-3 businesses had a website on their Google listing, against 77% of the rest.
Central Florida sets a higher bar than most big cities
Big cities weren't harder. Central Florida's top 3 had more reviews than the big-city figure in 33 of 50 trades, with a median of 64 against 51. Only Denver, Chicago and Dallas had a higher median. Los Angeles had the lowest, at 30.
| Where | Top 3 median reviews | Ranks 4–20 median reviews | Trades where the top 3 had more |
|---|---|---|---|
| Denver | 96 | 39 | 42 of 50 |
| Chicago | 80 | 42 | 36 of 50 |
| Dallas | 74 | 26 | 40 of 50 |
| Atlanta | 64 | 30 | 37 of 50 |
| Houston | 61 | 25 | 39 of 50 |
| Washington, DC | 60 | 27 | 41 of 50 |
| Phoenix and Scottsdale | 56 | 34 | 38 of 50 |
| New York (Long Island) | 47 | 31 | 34 of 50 |
| Miami | 47 | 26 | 42 of 50 |
| Los Angeles | 30 | 18 | 39 of 50 |
| Central Florida | 64 | 37 | 46 of 50 |
Source: Am I found? Google Maps Top 3 Report (2026). Medians across all 50 trades.
How many reviews the top 3 had, by trade
The bar moves a long way by trade. Top-3 vets had a median of 322 reviews across the metros; top-3 concrete contractors had 9. Comparing a business with a national average, or with a different trade, measures it against the wrong number.
| Trade | Top 3, 10 US metros | Ranks 4–20, 10 US metros | Top 3, Central Florida |
|---|---|---|---|
| Vets | 322 | 143 | 432 |
| Dentists | 304 | 203 | 401 |
| Chiropractors | 102 | 42 | 201 |
| Plumbers | 104 | 23 | 197 |
| HVAC and AC repair | 43 | 12 | 128 |
| Pest control | 25 | 18 | 98 |
| Garage door repair | 53 | 57 | 96 |
| Pool service | 54 | 61 | 61 |
| Electricians | 25 | 13 | 48 |
| Painters | 31 | 13 | 42 |
| Roofers | 43 | 15 | 41 |
| Landscaping and lawn care | 24 | 15 | 39 |
| Handyman | 16 | 10 | 9 |
Several home-service trades need far more reviews around Orlando than in the big cities. Top-3 HVAC and pest control companies in Central Florida had three to four times the big-city count, and plumbers nearly twice. Roofers and handymen are the exceptions. The report lists all 50 trades, and Am I found?'s free Google review calculator shows the bar for each one.
What this means for a Google profile
The report shows what the top 3 have in common, not what put them there. Google also weighs distance and relevance, and in 13 of the 50 trades the top 3 had about the same or fewer reviews than the rest. Still, the pattern is consistent enough to act on:
1. Ask every happy customer for a review, every week, not in bursts. A steady count beats a perfect score.
2. Add real photos of the work, the team and the vehicles. The top 3 had about two-thirds more.
3. Put the website on the Google listing, and make sure the page it points to matches the services the business wants to be found for.
Review requests, photos and Google profile work are part of The Lightning Agency's local SEO service, alongside its guides on SEO for landscaping companies and pool companies.
Check where a business shows up
Most owners check Google Maps from their own desk, see themselves near the top and assume customers do too. A free Am I found? scan searches Google Maps from 81 places around a business and shows where it makes the top 3, where it slips and who out-ranks it.
Google reviews and the Maps top 3: common questions
Across 50 trades in 10 big US metros, top-3 businesses had a median of 51 Google reviews, from 9 for concrete contractors to 322 for vets. In Central Florida the median was 64.
Not on its own in this data. Businesses in the top 3 and those ranked 4th to 20th both had a median of 4.9 stars.
The Google Maps Top 3 Report by Am I found?: 6,500 live Google Maps searches across 50 trades in 10 big US metros and three Central Florida towns, October and November 2026.
Not in this data. Central Florida's top 3 had more reviews than the 10-metro figure in 33 of 50 trades, a median of 64 against 51. Among the metros, Denver's top 3 had the most (96) and Los Angeles the fewest (30).
They went together in this data. The top 3 had more photos in 44 of 50 trades (a median of 30 against 18), and 86% had a website on their Google listing against 77% of the rest. These are patterns, not proof of what Google rewards.
