Crowded and large
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Trades, counted 
5.0 Rating on Google
San Bernardino County Business Landscape: Where Trades Are Packed, Climbing or Sparse
A marketing plan starts with the field you are playing on. This San Bernardino County business landscape counts employer locations in fifteen trades, compares each to a typical county, and shows how many are small, how many are large and how much each has grown since 2017. Read it for the crowded categories, the thin ones and the places where new competition arrives fastest.
5.0 Rating on Google- 42,011Employer locations (CBP 2022)
- 682,275Employees on payroll
- 2,180,563Residents (ACS 2018-2022)
- +0.6 percentPopulation change, 2020 to 2023
- 733,104Housing units
How to read it
Density Is Not the Same as Crowded, and Locations Are Not Businesses
County Business Patterns counts employer locations, so a sole proprietor with no payroll is not in the table and a firm with three offices counts three times. The density column divides locations by residents and compares the result with a typical county of 20,000 or more residents, so 1 times means ordinary and 1.5 times means half again as many per resident. San Bernardino County is large enough that most trades are spread across very different markets.
That makes the table a tool for seeing where competition is heavy, not for forecasting your results. The county's size also hides a split: because nearly all residents live in the San Bernardino Valley, most of those locations probably do too, and the High Desert, the mountains and the river towns are lighter markets. Use the counts as a county-wide starting point, then check your own cities in the Maps results for each trade you care about in San Bernardino County.
All fifteen trades
Where San Bernardino County Stands, Trade by Trade, Next to a Median County
Locations, density, size mix and growth since 2017. Every trade in the table has more locations than in 2017.
| Trade | Locations | Per 10,000 residents | Versus typical county | Under 10 staff | With 20+ staff | Change since 2017 |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| Residential remodelers | 535 | 2.4 | 0.8 times | 92 of 100 | 13 | +46.2 percent |
| Roofing contractors | 151 | 0.7 | 0.8 times | 89 of 100 | 6 | +36 percent |
| Electrical contractors | 484 | 2.2 | 1 times | 78 of 100 | 52 | +18.6 percent |
| Plumbing, heating and air-conditioning contractors | 555 | 2.5 | 0.8 times | 82 of 100 | 45 | +9 percent |
| Insurance agencies and brokerages | 572 | 2.6 | 0.7 times | 92 of 100 | 15 | +5.9 percent |
| Real estate agents and brokers | 796 | 3.6 | 1.3 times | 96 of 100 | 9 | +57 percent |
| Law offices | 439 | 2 | 0.7 times | 87 of 100 | 18 | +2.6 percent |
| Accounting and CPA firms | 174 | 0.8 | 0.6 times | 91 of 100 | 6 | +28.9 percent |
| Janitorial services | 281 | 1.3 | 0.7 times | 84 of 100 | 19 | +35.1 percent |
| Landscaping services | 309 | 1.4 | 0.4 times | 78 of 100 | 38 | +7.7 percent |
| Physicians offices | 1,149 | 5.2 | 1.3 times | 79 of 100 | 102 | +5.3 percent |
| Dentists | 956 | 4.4 | 1.5 times | 79 of 100 | 28 | +4.5 percent |
| Full-service restaurants | 1,244 | 5.7 | 0.8 times | 46 of 100 | 383 | +16 percent |
| General automotive repair | 586 | 2.7 | 1 times | 87 of 100 | 20 | +7.9 percent |
| Beauty salons | 260 | 1.2 | 0.6 times | 91 of 100 | 7 | +29.4 percent |
Census County Business Patterns 2022 (employer locations only, so sole proprietors are not counted) against 2017. Typical county means the median county with 20,000 or more residents.
What stands out
Dentists, Real Estate and Physicians Lead; Landscaping and CPAs Run Thin
The three most crowded trades by density in San Bernardino County are dentists at 1.5 times the typical county, real estate agents at 1.3 times and physician offices at 1.3 times. A dental practice here is one of 956 locations, so Maps rankings, reviews and a clear reason to choose you matter more than any generic ad. General auto repair sits close to typical at 1 times.
At the other end, landscaping services are 0.4 times the typical density, accounting and CPA firms 0.6 times, and beauty salons 0.6 times. A low ratio can mean room, but it can also mean that the work is done by people not counted in an employer table, such as self-employed landscapers. Check the search results before you decide a trade is under-served.
Size varies a great deal. Full-service restaurants have 383 locations with 20 or more staff and physician offices 102, while real estate agents and roofers are almost all small, with 96 of 100 and 89 of 100 under ten staff. Small trades live on referrals and local search; larger ones can afford ads and a full-time marketing owner.
Growth
Every Trade Grew, but Real Estate and Remodeling Grew Fastest
Between 2017 and 2022 the number of real estate agent locations in San Bernardino County rose 57 percent, residential remodelers 46.2 percent, roofing contractors 36 percent and janitorial services 35.1 percent. Accounting firms and beauty salons grew about 28.9 and 29.4 percent.
The slowest growth was in law offices at 2.6 percent and dentists at 4.5 percent. Dentists were already the most crowded trade by density, so slow growth there is not a sign of room. For a roofer or remodeler, the pace means new competitors keep arriving, and an established Business Profile and review base are worth more each year.
New homes
Permits for New Homes, Year by Year, Across San Bernardino County
New homes feed remodeling, roofing, landscaping, insurance, real estate and household services. San Bernardino County authorized 7,315 units in its busiest recent year, 2023, and between 6,226 and 6,807 in the others.
| Year | New residential units authorized |
|---|---|
| 2021 | 6,342 |
| 2022 | 6,463 |
| 2023 | 7,315 |
| 2024 | 6,226 |
| 2025 | 6,807 |
Census Building Permits Survey, new privately owned housing units authorized by permit.
Using the numbers
What Local Industries Mean for the Trades You Sell To
Many San Bernardino County businesses sell to other businesses. Transportation and warehousing employs 102,285 workers in the ACS count and construction 76,959, so suppliers, repair shops, staffing firms, cleaners and equipment dealers near the freight corridors of the Inland Empire have customers that are companies, not households. For those businesses, the trade table is a map of buyers: restaurants, medical offices and real estate firms are all large employer groups that buy printing, cleaning, insurance and marketing.
Search behavior differs for those buyers. A facility manager looking for a janitorial or HVAC vendor in Fontana or Rialto searches with the trade and the city, reads two or three sites and calls. A San Bernardino County business that names the cities, building types and response times on its pages, and keeps its Business Profile and citations accurate, is easier to choose. AI search tools increasingly summarize those same pages, so clear facts help there too.
Before you spend
Three Checks to Run in Your Own Cities Before You Spend
Search your trade in each city you serve
Open Google Maps and search the way a customer would, for example your trade plus Fontana, Victorville or Redlands. Note who shows up, how many reviews they have and how complete their profiles look. That is your real field, and it can differ a lot from the county average.
Compare drive time, not only distance
A competitor in a neighboring valley city may be a short drive away, while one across Cajon Pass is a different market. Count as competition only the businesses that can reach your customer the same day.
Decide which pages and listings the gap calls for
If the cities you want are thinly served, a clear page and a complete Business Profile may be enough. If they are crowded, plan on reviews, a stronger website and perhaps paid search as well. The Maps and Google Ads pages describe each route.
Where to begin
Starting Points by Kind of Trade in San Bernardino County
These are first moves for each group in San Bernardino County, drawn from the table above.
Growing fast
New competitors are arriving, so build your Business Profile, reviews and city pages now. Competing later costs more.
Thin on paper
Fewer employer locations does not mean no competition. Self-employed providers are not counted. Start with local search and referrals.
Mid-range
Hold position with consistent reviews, accurate listings and seasonal content. Check the nearby cities for gaps.
Questions
Trade Table Questions From Business Owners
What does San Bernardino County business landscape work cost?
The data on this page is public and costs nothing to read. Acting on it uses the standard plans: RankGuarantee™ landing pages at $495 a month, Organic Growth at $1,495, $2,495 or $3,495 a month and paid ads management from $895 a month. No setup fee and no contract.
What survey years stand behind the trade counts, and how fresh are they?
Employer counts are from Census County Business Patterns for 2017 and 2022. Facts about San Bernardino County, California are from Census sources: population and household figures come from the 2018 to 2022 American Community Survey and the 2020 to 2023 estimates. Building permits come from the Census Building Permits Survey. They are survey snapshots, not live data.
If my trade shows a high density, is the market already full?
Not necessarily. Dense trades are simply competitive. In San Bernardino County, dentists, real estate and physicians are above the typical county, but a clinic with good reviews and a clear service area can still earn calls. It means marketing needs to be sharper, not that it is hopeless.
What if none of the fifteen trades is mine?
The table covers fifteen trades. If yours is not listed, we can read the same Census data for it and also check the Maps results in your cities, which is a better guide to your real competition and tells you how many serious rivals you actually face.
Why do the trades all show growth?
Population growth and new homes can add locations, and a business that opens a second site adds one to the count. Growth does not mean every business is thriving, only that more locations exist. Use it as a measure of how much new competition has arrived, not of profit.
Can I plan my busy months from the permit figures?
They show the pace of new homes, not timing. New homes lead to jobs for roofers, landscapers, remodelers and insurance, usually months or years later. Use the numbers as a sign of long-term demand and your own calls for timing within the year.
How many of these businesses are small?
Most trades are mostly small. Real estate agents are the smallest, with 96 of every 100 locations under ten staff. Restaurants are the one trade where more than half of locations are larger than that, which matters if you sell marketing, cleaning or supplies to them.
Should I compare my business with San Bernardino County or with my own city?
Both. The county table tells you the size of the field. Your own cities tell you who you actually compete with. Check Maps for your trade in each city you serve, and treat the county figures as context for how crowded the whole market has become.
Explore more
Put the Numbers to Work
Start Here
- Search Engine OptimizationSearch engine optimization for the valley, High Desert, mountains and river towns, including how to choose an SEO company or consultant.
- Digital MarketingA 90-day order of work for the valley, the High Desert and the mountains: tracking, Maps, pages, then paid ads.
- Online MarketingAn audit of website, listings, reviews, social, follow-up and tracking before any money is spent.
- HomeThe brief for a freight and travel gateway: search, Maps, paid ads and AI search for the valley, High Desert, mountains and river towns.
Get Found in Search
- Google Maps and Local SEOGoogle Business Profile, citations and reviews for storefronts, service-area businesses and branches across the valley, desert and mountains.
- AI Search OptimizationGEO and answer-engine work for businesses whose customers ask assistants about routes, seasons, fires, snow and local services.
Paid Advertising
- Google Ads ManagementGoogle Ads accounts split by freeway corridor, trade and phone-call value, from the West End to the High Desert.
- PPC ManagementPay-per-click across Google, Bing and Meta, aimed at the trades that are most crowded in the county.
- Meta Ads (Facebook and Instagram)Meta Ads aimed by age, household mix and place, with honest limits on what a feed ad can do.
Website and Content
- Lead GenerationCalls and form fills from your own search, map and ad channels, built for the valley, the High Desert, the mountains and the river towns.
- Website DesignOne website for a business that serves more than one zone: a page for each city and service, fast on a phone, with the call and directions buttons first.
- Content MarketingPosts, pages and profile updates planned around snow, Santa Ana winds, desert heat and the events that move people across the county.
Around the County
- Marketing by AreaFourteen areas from Ontario to Needles, the roads that join them and the order in which a business should cover them.
- Local Business Landscape (you are here)Fifteen trades compared by density, size and change since 2017, with new-home permits, so you can see how crowded your trade is.
Get in Touch
Bring Your Trade and We Will Read the Numbers With You
Tell us your trade and the cities you serve, and we will show where it is crowded, where it is thin and what to do first. Call 610-825-4363 or email hello@getphound.com.