Local market brief · retrieved Oct 21, 2026
Los Angeles: what's moving in the local market.
- new businesses registered in the City of LA in 12 months
- 27,579
- LA Office of Finance · Oct 2025–Sep 2026
- people live in the City of LA
- 3,857,263
- Census ACS 2020–2024
Public numbers on who lives here, what is opening, how crowded each category is and what work is open. Terramore helps you read what they could mean for your business, next to your own website, reviews and calls.
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Los Angeles market board
Public data · retrieved Oct 21, 2026
Market
Who is here?
3,857,263
people in the City of LA
Census ACS 2020–2024
$81,939
median household income
Census ACS 2020–2024
Business activity
What is opening and changing?
27,579
new business registrations in 12 months
LA Office of Finance · Oct 2025–Sep 2026
64,237
building permits issued in 12 months
LADBS · Oct 2025–Sep 2026
Competition
How crowded is it?
304,988
business locations with employees in LA County
Census County Business Patterns 2023
47,074
active licensed contractors in LA County
CSLB · Sep 28, 2026
Opportunity
What is open right now?
230
open public bids in the LA region
RAMP · Oct 21, 2026
102
of those bids are for services
RAMP · Oct 21, 2026
Every figure links to its public source further down the page. These are city and county totals, not figures about any one business.
Market
What does the Los Angeles market look like?
Who lives here, how they live, and what they earn. These shape what people buy and how far a marketing dollar goes.
3,857,263
People
City of Los Angeles
1,439,097
Households
1,554,332 homes in total
$81,939
Median household income
Per year
64.0%
Rent their home
920,674 of 1,439,097 households
$1,933
Median rent
Per month, rent plus utilities
The wider county
Los Angeles County has 9,808,667 people in 3,416,449 households, with a median household income of $90,112. The city holds 39.3% of the county's people.
Source: US Census Bureau, American Community Survey 5-year (Tables B01003, B11001, B19013, B25001, B25003, B25064 (via the Census Reporter API)). City of Los Angeles (place 06-44000). 2020–2024 (ACS 2024 5-year). Retrieved 2026-10-21. Open the public data (opens in a new tab)
Source: US Census Bureau, American Community Survey 5-year (Tables B01003, B11001, B19013 (via the Census Reporter API)). Los Angeles County (06-037). 2020–2024 (ACS 2024 5-year). Retrieved 2026-10-21. Open the public data (opens in a new tab)
Business activity
What business activity is happening?
New registrations show who just opened, across every kind of business. Permits show where money is going into buildings.
New business registrations, City of LA
27,579
Started Oct 2025 – Sep 2026, out of 632,799 active business accounts.
New registrations per month
Oct 2025 to Sep 2026
January looks high because many accounts default to a January 1 start date.
Show the numbers as a table
| Month | New registrations |
|---|---|
| Oct 2025 | 2,440 |
| Nov 2025 | 1,908 |
| Dec 2025 | 1,877 |
| Jan 2026 | 4,772 |
| Feb 2026 | 2,206 |
| Mar 2026 | 2,314 |
| Apr 2026 | 2,187 |
| May 2026 | 2,173 |
| Jun 2026 | 2,192 |
| Jul 2026 | 2,020 |
| Aug 2026 | 1,809 |
| Sep 2026 | 1,681 |
New registrations in the industries we work with, last 12 months
- Home builders and remodelers1,064
- Full-service restaurants482
- Quick-service restaurants403
- Beauty salons367
- Bakeries173
- Gyms and fitness centers138
Industry codes used: home builders and remodelers 233210, 236115, 236117, 236118; full-service restaurants 722110, 722511; quick-service restaurants 722211, 722513; beauty salons 812112; bakeries 311811, 445291; gyms and fitness centers 713940.
Building permits issued, City of LA
64,237
Oct 2025 – Sep 2026, up 0.9% on the 12 months before (63,693). New-building permits are up 12.1%.
Permits issued
Oct 2025 to Sep 2026
Busiest month: Sep 2026 (5,931, the highlighted column). Quietest: Nov 2025 (4,492).
Show the numbers as a table
| Month | Permits issued |
|---|---|
| Oct 2025 | 5,845 |
| Nov 2025 | 4,492 |
| Dec 2025 | 5,075 |
| Jan 2026 | 5,156 |
| Feb 2026 | 5,040 |
| Mar 2026 | 5,806 |
| Apr 2026 | 5,379 |
| May 2026 | 5,267 |
| Jun 2026 | 5,377 |
| Jul 2026 | 5,312 |
| Aug 2026 | 5,557 |
| Sep 2026 | 5,931 |
By permit type, last 12 months
- Alterations and repairs · up 0.1%42,998
- Additions · down 10.5%4,911
- New buildings · up 12.1%4,716
- Grading · up 16.3%3,656
- Pools and spas · up 6.8%2,392
- New non-building structures · up 1.9%1,944
- Demolitions · down 13.7%1,606
- Signs · up 2.4%1,391
- Other (non-building repairs, additions, demolitions, relocations) · up 16.7%623
Most permits are changes to buildings that already exist: 66.9% are alterations and repairs. The change after each type compares with the 12 months before.
What the 4,716 new-building permits were for
- Accessory dwelling units (ADUs)1,828
- Single-family homes1,698
- Duplexes315
- Apartment buildings183
Top four uses shown. The rest are garages, patio covers, carports and other small buildings, plus a few offices and shops.
Source: LA Office of Finance, Listing of Active Businesses (data.lacity.org 6rrh-rzua). Businesses registered with the City of Los Angeles. Location start date Oct 2025 – Sep 2026. Retrieved 2026-10-21. Open the public data (opens in a new tab) Owners pick their own industry code, and codes from different years are mixed. January is high because many accounts default to a January 1 start date.
Source: LA Department of Building and Safety, Building Permits Issued from 2020 to Present (data.lacity.org pi9x-tg5x). City of Los Angeles. Issued Oct 2025 – Sep 2026 (prior: Oct 2024 – Sep 2025). Retrieved 2026-10-21. Open the public data (opens in a new tab)
Competition
How crowded is your category?
How many businesses like yours there are in LA County, and how many people there are for each one. Fewer people per business means a harder fight for each customer.
Businesses with employees, LA County
| Category | Places | People per place |
|---|---|---|
| Restaurants and bars (all)NAICS 7225 | 21,461 | 457 |
| Quick-service restaurantsNAICS 722513 | 9,402 | 1,043 |
| Full-service restaurantsNAICS 722511 | 8,214 | 1,194 |
| Residential remodelersNAICS 236118 | 3,775 | 2,598 |
| Clothing storesNAICS 4481 | 3,044 | 3,222 |
| Beauty salonsNAICS 812112 | 2,656 | 3,693 |
| New single-family home buildersNAICS 236115 | 1,617 | 6,066 |
| Gyms and fitness centersNAICS 713940 | 1,283 | 7,645 |
| Retail bakeriesNAICS 311811 | 469 | 20,914 |
How we worked out people per place: LA County population (9,808,667, Census ACS 2020–2024) divided by the number of places (County Business Patterns 2023), rounded. The two counts come from different years, so read it as a rough guide. LA County has 304,988 business locations with employees in all.
Licensed contractors, LA County
47,074
active licenses
3,822
new in the last 12 months, still active
1,847 of the new licenses are general building (B) contractors.
Active licenses by trade
- General building · B23,145
- Electrical · C-106,635
- Plumbing · C-364,598
- Heating and air conditioning · C-202,838
- Painting · C-332,804
- General engineering · A1,966
- Landscaping · C-271,607
- Flooring · C-151,174
- Roofing · C-391,165
A license can hold several trades, so the trades add up to more than the license count.
Source: US Census Bureau, County Business Patterns (CBP 2023 county file (cbp23co), NAICS 2017 codes). Los Angeles County (06-037). 2023 (published May 2025). Retrieved 2026-10-21. Open the public data (opens in a new tab) Counts places with paid employees. Owner-only businesses are not included.
Source: US Census Bureau, American Community Survey 5-year (Tables B01003, B11001, B19013 (via the Census Reporter API)). Los Angeles County (06-037). 2020–2024 (ACS 2024 5-year). Retrieved 2026-10-21. Open the public data (opens in a new tab)
Source: California Contractors State License Board, public license master file (CSLB license data (Terramore's copy, snapshot 2026-09-28)). Los Angeles County, by the business address on the license. Active on 2026-09-28; new = issued 2025-09-28 to 2026-09-28 and still active. Retrieved 2026-10-21. Open the public data (opens in a new tab) Address of record, not where the work is done. Active = status CLEAR. A license can hold several trades.
Opportunity
What public work is open right now?
City departments, LA County, the school district, the port and the airport post bids in one place. Some are small enough for a local business.
230
open bids on October 21, 2026
Listed on RAMP, the Los Angeles regional bid portal. We count them; we don't list them here. Search RAMP by your trade to see each one.
Search bids on RAMP (opens in a new tab)Open bids by kind
- Goods (commodity)111
- Services102
- Construction16
- Not given1
State bids (Cal eProcure) and federal bids (SAM.gov) are not counted here yet.
Source: City of Los Angeles RAMP, Open Bid Opportunities (data.lacity.org hf3r-utnq). LA regional bids: City departments, LA County, LAUSD, Port, LAX, DWP and others. Open or amended on 2026-10-21. Retrieved 2026-10-21. Open the public data (opens in a new tab)
What this could mean
The same numbers mean different things for different businesses.
Pick a kind of business to see how we might read the same four city signals for it.
Pick a kind of business
The same LA numbers, read for: service business
The city data has no single code for service businesses, so this reading uses the shared signals only.
Shared city signal
27,579 new business registrations, City of LA
LA Office of Finance · Oct 2025 – Sep 2026
What this could mean
More businesses opening nearby could mean more competitors in your field, and more new businesses that may need a service like yours.
Shared city signal
304,988 business locations with employees, LA County
Census County Business Patterns 2023
What this could mean
A crowded field of established firms. Being easy to find and quick to reply could matter as much as price.
Shared city signal
64,237 building permits issued, City of LA (up 0.9%)
LADBS · Oct 2025 – Sep 2026
What this could mean
Most permits (42,998) are alterations and repairs. That could mean more demand for work that follows a project: cleaning, moving, landscaping, security.
Shared city signal
230 open public bids in the LA region
RAMP · Oct 21, 2026
What this could mean
102 of the open bids are for services. A few could fit a local service business; it is worth a search by your trade.
What we would check first for a real business
How you show up when someone nearby searches for your service, and how fast you answer.
These are interpretations, not measured facts. City and county totals don't show cause and effect, and they don't describe any one business. For a real business we check them against your own numbers: your website, your reviews, your calls and your past customers. Then we make the work, from the pages and ads to the posts, emails and texts.
Source: LA Office of Finance, Listing of Active Businesses (data.lacity.org 6rrh-rzua). Businesses registered with the City of Los Angeles. Location start date Oct 2025 – Sep 2026. Retrieved 2026-10-21. Open the public data (opens in a new tab) Owners pick their own industry code, and codes from different years are mixed. January is high because many accounts default to a January 1 start date.
Source: US Census Bureau, County Business Patterns (CBP 2023 county file (cbp23co), NAICS 2017 codes). Los Angeles County (06-037). 2023 (published May 2025). Retrieved 2026-10-21. Open the public data (opens in a new tab) Counts places with paid employees. Owner-only businesses are not included.
Source: LA Department of Building and Safety, Building Permits Issued from 2020 to Present (data.lacity.org pi9x-tg5x). City of Los Angeles. Issued Oct 2025 – Sep 2026 (prior: Oct 2024 – Sep 2025). Retrieved 2026-10-21. Open the public data (opens in a new tab)
Source: City of Los Angeles RAMP, Open Bid Opportunities (data.lacity.org hf3r-utnq). LA regional bids: City departments, LA County, LAUSD, Port, LAX, DWP and others. Open or amended on 2026-10-21. Retrieved 2026-10-21. Open the public data (opens in a new tab)
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