How we rank

Every business on MyLocalZip is scored the same way in every ZIP code — on merit, never on money. This page explains exactly what we measure, the standard a page has to meet before we publish it, where our data comes from, and how we verify licenses.

Listings cannot be bought. No business pays to appear on MyLocalZip, and no business can pay to rank higher. Ranking position is never for sale.

1. What we measure

Each business earns a single composite score, and the same method is applied identically to every business on every page — so a plumber in one ZIP is judged the same way as a plumber in the next. We describe the factors plainly; we don't publish a formula you could reverse-engineer and game. Today, because our sources don't yet carry review data, two factors set the order of a ranking:

• Proximity. How close the business actually is to the ZIP you're searching. Closer pros rank higher, because local work is easier to schedule and stand behind.
• Category fit. Whether the service is the business's primary trade or a secondary one. A dedicated roofer ranks ahead of a general contractor who also does roofs.

Alongside the ranking, we verify each licensed contractor against the public CSLB roster and show the license on the listing. It's a trust signal you can check yourself — and one no business can pay to change — but it isn't a lever on rank position; see How we verify licenses below.

Two more factors are built into the method and will shape the order as the data arrives: rating quality and review volume. We would rather show nothing than an unverifiable rating, so until a compliant reviews provider is layered in neither yet moves a position. As first-party reviews accrue, a strong rating earned across many reviews will count for more than a perfect score from a handful — smoothed toward a neutral baseline, with diminishing returns — so a few five-star reviews can't leapfrog a long, consistent track record.

2. Our coverage standard

We publish a "top pros" page for a ZIP and category only when at least 3 qualifying businesses actually serve that area. Thin or empty pages — the kind that pad a directory with places you can't really hire — are never generated. If we don't have real coverage, we don't publish the page.

3. Where our data comes from

Our business listings are real, and every record keeps its source so it can be audited:

• OpenStreetMap — business names, addresses, coordinates, phone numbers and hours, used under the Open Database License (ODbL) with attribution.
• California Contractors State License Board (CSLB) — the public license roster for San Diego County, which is how we confirm a contractor's license, classification, bond and workers'-compensation coverage. These are public records.

We do not yet show star ratings: our current sources carry no review data, so until a compliant reviews provider is layered in, the order of a ranking is set by proximity and category fit. We would rather show no rating than an unverifiable one.

4. How we verify licenses

For every licensed contractor, we publish the CSLB license number on that business's profile, alongside its status, classification and bond details as pulled from the public roster. You never have to take our word for it — you can confirm any license, including its current status, classifications, bond and workers'-comp coverage, directly at cslb.ca.gov.

5. How often we update

We rebuild the dataset from its sources on a regular cadence and recompute every ranking each time, so positions reflect the latest data rather than a frozen snapshot. Ratings, where shown, are point-in-time snapshots, not live. This directory was last updated in July 2026.

6. Corrections are free

Own one of these businesses? Claiming and correcting your listing is free and always will be. Paid services, if you choose them, never affect your ranking. See our about page for who we are, or contact us to fix a listing.