The short version
- 68 reviews is the typical (median) count for plumbers in the top 3, compared with 14 for those in positions 4 to 20.
- 46% of top-3 spots went to businesses with fewer than 50 reviews. In 7 of 10 cities, a business with no reviews at all made the top 3 somewhere.
- Move 4 km and the top 3 changes. In a typical city, 24 different businesses shared the 26 top-3 spots across our 9 search points. Where the customer is standing matters.
- “Plumber” was the most common primary category in the top 3.
- 23% of top-3 spots went to businesses that hide their address (service-area businesses).
- 22% of top-3 spots went to businesses with the service and city in their name. Some will be genuine names; some break Google’s naming rules.
Plumbing is one of the most competitive categories on Google Maps, and one of the most targeted by spam listings.
City by city
| City | Median reviews, top 3 | Fewest in top 3 | Median rating, top 3 | Median reviews, 4–20 | Top 3 with <50 reviews |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| Sydney | 82 | 0 | 4.9 | 30 | 33% |
| Melbourne | 41 | 1 | 5.0 | 12 | 52% |
| Brisbane | 124 | 1 | 5.0 | 19 | 30% |
| Perth | 137 | 0 | 4.8 | 16 | 33% |
| Adelaide | 75 | 0 | 4.9 | 13 | 33% |
| Gold Coast | 73 | 0 | 4.9 | 17 | 41% |
| Newcastle | 13 | 0 | 4.9 | 9 | 69% |
| Canberra | 64 | 2 | 4.9 | 8 | 50% |
| Sunshine Coast | 36 | 0 | 5.0 | 10 | 71% |
| Wollongong | 24 | 0 | 5.0 | 19 | 59% |
Toughest market by reviews: Perth. Easiest: Newcastle. Each city was checked from 9 points 4 km apart around the city centre; points over water returned no results and are left out.
City reports: plumbers in Perth, Sydney, Melbourne and Brisbane
Go deeper in the four biggest cities: what customers search for, what those clicks cost, and what it takes to reach the top 3 in nine suburbs across each city. Spring 2026, with a free PDF.
What this means for your business
- Set a realistic review target. Aim for around 68 genuine reviews to sit alongside the typical top 3 in a big city, fewer in smaller markets. Our reviews calculator shows how many 5-star reviews it takes to reach your rating goal.
- Reviews aren’t everything. Businesses with very few reviews still made the top 3, usually by being close to the searcher with the right category. Distance and relevance matter as much as prominence.
- Check your own area, not the city average. The top 3 changed across town. Run a free rank check to see your position at 25 spots around your business.
Tips for plumbers
- Use “Plumber” as your primary category and add secondary categories only for work you really do, like gasfitting or hot water.
- Emergency and blocked-drain jobs are review gold: ask while the customer is still relieved.
- Keep your business name exactly as registered. Plumbing is a high-spam category, so keyword-stuffed names get checked and suspended.
How we got these numbers
On 25 September 2026 we searched Google Maps for “plumber” using DataForSEO, from a 3 × 3 grid of points 4 km apart around the centre of Sydney, Melbourne, Brisbane, Perth, Adelaide, the Gold Coast, Newcastle, Canberra, the Sunshine Coast and Wollongong. Each search used a street-level map view, as a customer would see on their phone. We recorded the top 20 businesses at each point and took medians so a few huge businesses don’t skew the picture. Rankings change daily and differ in suburbs further out, so treat these as a guide, not a guarantee.