What rating do the strongest local competitors have?
On average 4.63 stars across 46,096 pairs, and 79.2% sat at 4.5 or higher. The profiles they were compared with averaged 4.29.
Original research · 2026
The Local Leader Gap 2026
How 21,373 Google Business Profiles compare with their three strongest nearby competitors, from a dataset of 78,234 profiles.
Every owner knows the question: why does the place around the corner sit above me? We paired each profile with its three strongest comparable neighbours and placed rating and review volume side by side. This is observational research: it describes differences, not ranking causes.
Data collected 30 July – 1 October 2026 · free to cite under CC BY 4.0 · source: Google Maps Platform Places API
Research snapshot
- Study
- The Local Leader Gap 2026
- Publisher
- RecensioAI B.V.
- Markets
- United States and the Netherlands
- Dataset
- 78,234
- Profiles with leaders
- 21,373
- Comparison pairs
- 46,096
- Unique leaders
- 17,927
- Period
- 30 July – 1 October 2026
- Research type
- Observational analysis
- Source
- Google Maps Platform Places API
- Version
- 1.0
- Published
- 2 October 2026
Leaders are the three strongest comparable businesses nearby by rating and review volume. They are selected on strength, so having more reviews is a result of the selection, not a finding.
1. Key findings
Every figure names its denominator. A profile can appear as a leader for several businesses, which is why we count pairs and unique leaders separately.
79.2%
of local leaders rate 4.5 stars or higher
Other profiles: 40.8%
Pairs · n=46,096
Among the strongest nearby competitors, 4.5+ is the norm. Only 8.8% of leaders sat below 4.3, versus 41.4% of the profiles they were compared with.
52
reviews: median gap to the weakest leader
Median 84 versus 131 reviews
Profiles with three local leaders · n=21,373
The distance to the nearest of the three leaders is usually not hundreds of reviews but a few dozen. That is reachable with a steady asking routine.
72%
rate lower than all three of their leaders
Avg 4.29★ versus 4.63★
Profiles with three local leaders · n=21,373
Almost three in four profiles have not only fewer reviews but also a lower rating than every nearby leader. Volume alone does not close that gap.
2. The gap by industry
Hospitality shows the largest gap: leaders rate almost half a star higher. In salons and trades the bar is already so high that tenths of a star make the difference.
| Industry | n | Profile rating | Leader rating | Median reviews | Leader median | 4.5+ profile / leader | Distance |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| Restaurants, cafés and bars | 12,623 | 4.05 | 4.51 | 170 | 258 | 16.2% / 67.0% | 2.4 km |
| Auto repair and garages | 3,627 | 4.49 | 4.76 | 51 | 84 | 61.4% / 94.1% | 3.3 km |
| Hair and beauty salons | 3,490 | 4.69 | 4.84 | 35 | 58 | 83.0% / 97.1% | 2.5 km |
| Trades and contractors | 534 | 4.69 | 4.87 | 25 | 42 | 83.3% / 96.0% | 4.8 km |
| Dentists | 453 | 4.21 | 4.55 | 45 | 51 | 35.8% / 71.4% | 2.1 km |
| Other trades | 646 | 4.54 | 4.84 | 61 | 85 | 67.3% / 94.2% | 4.6 km |
Dentists (n=453) and trades (n=534) are smaller groups; read those rows as indicative.
3. The US versus the Netherlands
United States
n=11,502
- Avg rating profile / leader
- 4.15 / 4.56
- Median reviews profile / leader
- 140 / 220
- Below 4.3 profile / leader
- 54.0% / 12.5%
the Netherlands
n=9,871
- Avg rating profile / leader
- 4.44 / 4.72
- Median reviews profile / leader
- 53 / 84
- Below 4.3 profile / leader
- 27.9% / 4.9%
US profiles collect far more reviews but rate lower. More than half of US profiles sat below 4.3. In the Netherlands volume is lower, so a leader is reachable with fewer reviews.
4. What this means for your business
The data shows two gaps, not one. Leaders have a higher rating and a larger review volume. Asking for more reviews without improving the experience closes the volume gap but leaves you under the rating.
- Know your three real leaders. They usually sit within 3 km, not across town.
- Count in dozens, not hundreds. The median gap to the weakest leader is 52 reviews.
- Protect your rating. Among leaders 4.5+ is the norm; every unresolved bad experience counts.
- Ask every week, not once a year. A steady routine builds volume and recency together.
5. What this study does not say
It does not say how Google ranks. We do not measure positions in Google Maps; distance to the searcher, relevance and other signals also play a role there.
Nor does it say that more reviews automatically lead to more customers. It describes what the strongest businesses in an area look like.
For the wider figures there is the main study, and more in the research programme.
Quick answers from the research
Each answer refers to the profiles studied and names the sample the figure comes from.
How many reviews do I need to catch a local leader?
At the median, 52 reviews to match the review count of the weakest of your three leaders. It varies strongly by trade; a free scan calculates it for your area.
Is this the Google Maps top 3?
No. We do not measure positions in Google. The leaders are the three strongest comparable businesses nearby, selected on rating and review volume from public Google data.
How far away are those competitors?
At the median, 2.7 km. Your real competition usually sits in your own neighbourhood, not across the whole city.
Does this differ between the US and the Netherlands?
Yes. In the US leaders average 4.56 versus 4.15; in the Netherlands 4.72 versus 4.44. Dutch profiles carry fewer reviews, so the volume gap is smaller there.
Methodology
Of 78,234 unique profiles (one row per Google place ID), 21,373 carried a stored set of their three strongest comparable businesses nearby. Together they form 46,096 pairs with 17,927 unique leaders.
Leaders were selected within the same trade and in the immediate area, ranked on rating weighted by review volume. Industries are grouped on the profile's category. In this dataset the Netherlands also includes a small share of Flemish profiles.
The group of profiles with leaders is not random: these are businesses with at least one stronger neighbour. Read the figures as a description of businesses that have a leader nearby, not of all businesses. We do not publish individual business names.
Version and updates
This is version 1.0, published on 26 August 2026. This URL is permanent: new editions and corrections appear here rather than at a new page, so existing citations keep working.
This study is part of RecensioAI's research programme, where we keep our methodology and every edition. The main study is The State of Local Reputation 2026.
Who are your three local leaders?
Run a free scan of your Google Business Profile. You see your three strongest nearby competitors, their rating and exactly how many reviews you need to overtake them.
How to cite this research
Journalists, agencies and researchers may use these aggregate figures freely under CC BY 4.0. One condition: cite the source and link back to this page.
RecensioAI (2026). The Local Leader Gap 2026: how 21,373 Google Business Profiles compare with their three strongest nearby competitors in the United States and the Netherlands. https://recensioai.com/local-leader-gap-study
Canonical URL: https://recensioai.com/local-leader-gap-study