I compared the 50 largest US metros to see where a new HVAC business has more room to compete. Each dot is one metro. Its position tells you two things: – Left or right: how crowded is the market? We account for population, homeownership and the strength of existing companies. Further left means less competition for the local demand. – Top or bottom: how hard are the market leaders to catch? We look at the 25 strongest companies: their reviews, ratings, years online, paid ads, locations, and franchise or PE backing. Higher up means those leaders are easier for a newcomer to compete with. So the top-left corner combines both: less competition and leaders that are easier to catch. Bigger dots mean more homeowner households. Color shows the share of companies running paid ads. Top 15 easiest markets for HVAC entry: 1. Grand Rapids, MI 2. Buffalo, NY 3. San Francisco, CA 4. Providence, RI 5. San Jose, CA 6. Louisville, KY 7. Richmond, VA 8. Milwaukee, WI 9. Virginia Beach, VA 10. Fresno, CA 11. Pittsburgh, PA 12. Cincinnati, OH 13. San Diego, CA 14. Columbus, OH 15. Minneapolis, MN This is based on digital footprints. Climate and actual heating and cooling needs aren’t included, so treat it as a starting point for market research.

Plumbing competition across the 50 largest US metros. Same approach as HVAC. Each dot is one metro: – Left or right: how crowded is the market? We account for population, homeownership and the strength of existing companies. Further left means less competition for the local demand. – Top or bottom: how hard are the market leaders to catch? We look at the 25 strongest companies: reviews, ratings, years online, paid ads, locations, and franchise or PE backing. Higher up means those leaders are easier to compete with. The top-left corner combines both: less competition and leaders a newcomer can catch. Bigger dots mean more homeowner households. Color shows the share of companies running paid ads. This covers plumbers, septic system services and drainage services. Top 15 easiest markets for plumbing entry: 1. Buffalo, NY 2. Memphis, TN 3. Virginia Beach, VA 4. Louisville, KY 5. Richmond, VA 6. Grand Rapids, MI 7. Milwaukee, WI 8. St. Louis, MO 9. Pittsburgh, PA 10. Fresno, CA 11. Cincinnati, OH 12. Detroit, MI 13. Las Vegas, NV 14. Providence, RI 15. Birmingham, AL These rankings reflect digital footprints. Actual demand and how competitors run their businesses still matter.

Painting business competition across the 50 largest US metros. Each dot is one metro. Further left means less competition for local demand. Higher up means the top 25 companies are easier to catch, based on reviews, ads, track record and franchise or PE backing. Top left = easiest entry. Bigger dots mean more homeowner households. Color shows the share of companies running paid ads. Covers painting, wallpaper installation and paint stripping. Broad handyman and remodeler categories, paint stores, studios and lessons are excluded. Top 15 easiest markets for painting entry: 1. Memphis, TN 2. Las Vegas, NV 3. Birmingham, AL 4. Riverside, CA 5. Buffalo, NY 6. Oklahoma City, OK 7. Virginia Beach, VA 8. San Antonio, TX 9. Fresno, CA 10. San Jose, CA 11. Baltimore, MD 12. Louisville, KY 13. Los Angeles, CA 14. St. Louis, MO 15. Sacramento, CA These rankings reflect digital footprints. Actual demand and how competitors run their businesses still matter.

Electrical companies competition across the 50 largest US metros. Each dot is one metro. Further left means less competition for local demand. Higher up means the top 25 companies are easier to catch, based on reviews, ads, track record and franchise or PE backing. Top left = easiest entry. Bigger dots mean more homeowner households. Color shows the share of companies running paid ads. Covers electricians, electrical installation services, lighting contractors and EV charging station contractors. Top 15 easiest markets for electrical entry: 1. Buffalo, NY 2. Memphis, TN 3. Grand Rapids, MI 4. Birmingham, AL 5. Richmond, VA 6. Cincinnati, OH 7. Cleveland, OH 8. Columbus, OH 9. Louisville, KY 10. Indianapolis, IN 11. San Jose, CA 12. Las Vegas, NV 13. Detroit, MI 14. Pittsburgh, PA 15. Virginia Beach, VA These rankings reflect digital footprints. Actual demand and how competitors run their businesses still matter.

Carpet cleaning competition across the 50 largest US metros. Each dot is one metro. Further left means less competition for local demand. Higher up means the top 25 companies are easier to catch, based on reviews, ads, track record and franchise or PE backing. Top left = easiest entry. Bigger dots mean more homeowner households. Color shows the share running paid ads. Covers carpet, upholstery and tile cleaning. Top 15 easiest markets for carpet cleaning entry: 1. Buffalo, NY 2. Louisville, KY 3. Pittsburgh, PA 4. Richmond, VA 5. Cincinnati, OH 6. Providence, RI 7. Grand Rapids, MI 8. Oklahoma City, OK 9. Milwaukee, WI 10. Minneapolis, MN 11. St. Louis, MO 12. San Antonio, TX 13. Detroit, MI 14. Memphis, TN 15. Cleveland, OH

Fencing business competition across the 50 largest US metros. Each dot is one metro. Further left means less competition for local demand. Higher up means the top 25 companies are easier to catch, based on reviews, ads, track record and franchise or PE backing. Top left = easiest entry. Bigger dots mean more homeowner households. Color shows the share running paid ads. Covers fence and railing contractors. Top 15 easiest markets for fencing entry: 1. Las Vegas, NV 2. Milwaukee, WI 3. Grand Rapids, MI 4. Phoenix, AZ 5. Baltimore, MD 6. San Francisco, CA 7. Cleveland, OH 8. Richmond, VA 9. Riverside, CA 10. Detroit, MI 11. Pittsburgh, PA 12. San Jose, CA 13. Buffalo, NY 14. Salt Lake City, UT 15. St. Louis, MO

Top 20 US metro areas with the lowest competition in home cleaning, based on Home Service Base data: 1. Laredo, TX 2. Houma, LA 3. McAllen, TX 4. Huntington, WV 5. San Jose, CA 6. Racine, WI 7. Charleston, WV 8. Lexington Park, MD 9. Muskegon, MI 10. Florence, AL 11. Sioux City, IA 12. El Centro, CA 13. Lebanon, PA 14. Visalia, CA 15. Oxnard, CA 16. Stockton, CA 17. Dalton, GA 18. Monroe, MI 19. Erie, PA 20. Amherst, MA Same methodology as the pressure washing analysis: each company is weighted by its competitive strength: number of locations, reviews, ratings, domain age, advertising activity, franchise or PE ownership, and weak signals like unclaimed Google Business Profiles.