Debut Trades Index · BC Construction · 2026
Digital State of BC Construction Companies 2026: 99 Companies Scored on Google
We scored 99 construction companies across 20 BC markets on the Google profile a homeowner or developer sees first. One 100-point framework, the same for every company, with every table and the method below.
Five findings from the 2026 BC construction sample
- The median company has 28 Google reviews. The middle half sits between 14.5 and 45. Only 21.2% have 50 or more, and 7.1% have 100 or more.
- Commercial contractors average a D. Their mean rating is 4.38 against 4.86 for residential firms, and 13 of 26 are rated below 4.5.
- More than half of commercial listings show a complaint up front. 53.8% of commercial and civil listings have a critical review among the excerpts Google displays, against 8.5% of residential listings. 34.6% show complaints about driving, noise, traffic or site mess.
- Homeowners review timelines and budgets. 63.6% of listings have review excerpts that mention the timeline and 53.5% mention budget or price. 74.7% mention at least one.
- Named people and more reviews go together. 79.8% of listings have excerpts naming a staff member. Those listings have a median of 35 reviews, against 11 where no one is named.
On September 29, 2026 we searched Google for "construction company [city] BC" in 20 BC markets and scored every company Google showed us: 99 in total. Each one got the same 100-point score, built only from what a homeowner or a developer sees on the Google profile: how many reviews there are, the star rating, what the reviews say, and whether the profile is set up properly.
After more than five years running ads for contractors, I've learned that the Google profile decides a lot of jobs before anyone clicks an ad. So we measured it, the same way for every company, and published the method so anyone can check the numbers.
Two findings have their own articles: Neighbours are writing commercial contractors' Google reviews and How many Google reviews does a BC construction company need?. Everything here is aggregate. No company is named or ranked.
BC construction averages a C, with a sharp split underneath
The 99 companies averaged 76.63 out of 100, a C on the usual school scale. The median company scored 80, just inside a B. 27 companies earned an A and 13 earned an F.
The split runs between residential and commercial work. Residential builders and renovators average 83.0, a B. Commercial and civil contractors average 60.7, a D, and 21 of those 26 companies scored a D or an F. The reason is in the reviews: a commercial firm's Google page is written largely by neighbours, drivers and subtrades, not by the people who hired it.
- Google reviews at the median company
- 28
- median star rating
- 4.9
- have reviews that name a staff member
- 80%
- post real opening hours
- 92%
Where the top quarter pulls ahead
We compared the 25 highest-scoring companies with the 25 lowest. What the reviews say opens the widest gap: whether they name staff, the timeline and the price. The number of reviews and the star rating come close behind. Hours and business name barely separate anyone, because almost every company gets them right.
| Category | Bottom 25 | Top 25 |
|---|---|---|
| Number of reviews | 19.2 / 40 | 35.6 / 40 |
| Star rating | 17.52 / 30 | 29.68 / 30 |
| Reviews naming staff, timeline and price | 4 / 15 | 14.2 / 15 |
| Correct hours and business name | 14.2 / 15 | 14.6 / 15 |
Commercial and civil contractors make up 20 of the bottom 25 (80%). In the top 25, there is one (4%).
The full numbers
Every measure and every split we published. Each number traces back to a Google record or a coded review excerpt.
How the Debut Profile Score works
The score is 100 points across four categories, weighted by how much each one shapes a buyer's decision on Google. Letter grades use school thresholds: A is 90 or more, B 80 to 89, C 70 to 79, D 60 to 69 and F under 60.
| Category | Points | How it's scored |
|---|---|---|
| Number of reviews | 40 | 50+ reviews: 40. 25 to 49: 30. 10 to 24: 20. Under 10: 10. |
| Star rating | 30 | 4.8 or higher: 30. 4.5 to 4.79: 22. 4.0 to 4.49: 14. Under 4.0: 6. |
| Reviews naming staff, timeline and price | 15 | 5 points each when the review excerpts name a staff member, mention the timeline, and mention the budget. |
| Correct hours and business name | 15 | 10 for realistic posted hours (not 24/7, not missing). 5 for a clean business name, with no city or service keywords added. |
| Total | 100 |
Sample: 99 companies, 45 in Metro Vancouver and 54 in the rest of BC. By the work their reviews describe, 59 are residential, 26 commercial and civil, and 14 mixed. What the score leaves out: websites, ad spend, how fast a company replies, licensing, workmanship and revenue.
Grades and the shape of the scores
Show the numbers as a table
| Grade | Companies |
|---|---|
| A | 27 |
| B | 26 |
| C | 19 |
| D | 14 |
| F | 13 |
Show the numbers as a table
| Score range | Companies |
|---|---|
| 30s | 2 |
| 40s | 6 |
| 50s | 5 |
| 60s | 14 |
| 70s | 19 |
| 80s | 26 |
| 90s | 18 |
| 100 | 9 |
| Statistic | Value |
|---|---|
| Sample size | 99 |
| Mean | 76.63 |
| Median | 80 |
| Standard deviation | 15.85 |
| Minimum | 31 |
| Maximum | 100 |
| 25th / 75th percentile | 68 / 90 |
| 10th / 90th percentile | 53.6 / 95 |
The four categories, ranked
Companies do best on the parts they fully control (hours and name) and worst on the parts that depend on clients: how many reviews they leave and what they write.
| Category | Mean | Median | Min | Max | Share of max | Top vs bottom gap |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| Correct hours and business name | 13.99 / 15 | 15 | 0 | 15 | 93.3% | 0.4 pts (2.7%) |
| Star rating | 25.72 / 30 | 30 | 6 | 30 | 85.7% | 12.16 pts (40.5%) |
| Number of reviews | 27.07 / 40 | 30 | 10 | 40 | 67.7% | 16.4 pts (41.0%) |
| Reviews naming staff, timeline and price | 9.85 / 15 | 10 | 0 | 15 | 65.7% | 10.2 pts (68.0%) |
How many reviews BC construction companies have
Show the numbers as a table
| Reviews | Companies |
|---|---|
| Under 10 | 8 |
| 10 to 24 | 34 |
| 25 to 49 | 36 |
| 50 to 99 | 14 |
| 100+ | 7 |
The median is 28 reviews and the mean 36.9. A quarter of companies have 14.5 or fewer, a quarter have 45 or more, and one in ten has more than 77. The largest listing has 153. The top 10% of companies hold 31.4% of all the reviews in the sample.
Star ratings
The mean rating is 4.74 and the median 4.9. 68.7% of companies are rated 4.8 or higher, 16.2% are below 4.5, and 6.1% are below 4.0. Small review counts are the most exposed: companies with fewer than 10 reviews average 4.45, because one bad review moves a small average a long way.
| Reviews | Companies | Mean rating | Perfect 5.0 |
|---|---|---|---|
| Under 10 | 8 | 4.45 | 25.0% |
| 10 to 24 | 34 | 4.69 | 44.1% |
| 25 to 49 | 36 | 4.83 | 47.2% |
| 50 to 99 | 14 | 4.80 | 35.7% |
| 100+ | 7 | 4.71 | 57.1% |
Residential vs commercial
The same score, split by the kind of work the reviews describe. Commercial and civil (26 companies) sits below the 30-company floor we use for firm conclusions, so read it as directional.
| Measure | Residential (n=59) | Mixed (n=14) | Commercial and civil (n=26) |
|---|---|---|---|
| Mean Debut Profile Score | 83.0 (B) | 79.2 (C) | 60.7 (D) |
| Graded D or F | 4 | 2 | 21 |
| Median reviews | 35 | 28 | 19 |
| Mean rating | 4.86 | 4.88 | 4.38 |
| Rated below 4.5 | 5.1% | 0% | 50.0% |
| A complaint among the reviews Google shows | 8.5% | 7.1% | 53.8% |
| A complaint about driving, noise, traffic or mess | 1.7% | 7.1% | 34.6% |
| Measure | Residential | Commercial and civil |
|---|---|---|
| Rated below 4.5 | 5.1% | 50.0% |
| A complaint among the reviews shown | 8.5% | 53.8% |
| A complaint about conduct | 1.7% | 34.6% |
The full breakdown is in Neighbours are writing commercial contractors' Google reviews.
What the reviews say
We coded the review excerpts Google displays on each listing (up to five per company). Across all 99, 79.8% name a staff member, 63.6% mention the timeline, 53.5% mention budget or price, and 74.7% mention at least one of timeline or budget. The most-reviewed companies look very different from the least-reviewed:
| Signal in the reviews | Most-reviewed 25 | Least-reviewed 25 |
|---|---|---|
| Names a staff member | 96.0% | 52.0% |
| Mentions the timeline | 80.0% | 48.0% |
| Mentions budget or price | 56.0% | 20.0% |
| Shows a complaint | 8.0% | 24.0% |
Listings where the reviews name someone have a median of 35 reviews. Listings where nobody is named have 11. That's a correlation, not proof that naming people causes reviews, but it points the same way as everything else here: companies that ask for reviews in person get more of them, and better ones. How many Google reviews does a BC construction company need? turns this into targets.
Hours and business name
| Signal | Share of companies |
|---|---|
| Posts "Open 24 hours" | 5.1% |
| No hours posted | 3.0% |
| Open Sundays | 15.2% |
| City name in the business name | 3.0% |
| Keywords added after a dash or bar | 3.0% |
Hours and business name are the strongest category: companies earn 93.3% of the points on average. Almost every company posts real hours and uses its real business name, so it barely separates leaders from the rest.
Metro Vancouver vs the rest of BC
| Region | Companies | Median reviews | 75th percentile | 90th percentile | Mean rating | Mean score |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| Metro Vancouver | 45 | 29 | 54 | 98 | 4.77 | 79.8 |
| Rest of BC | 54 | 25 | 38 | 55 | 4.71 | 74.0 |
Questions contractors ask
How many Google reviews does the average BC construction company have?
The median is 28 reviews, across 99 companies in 20 BC markets. Only 21.2% have 50 or more, and 7.1% have 100 or more.
What is the average Google rating for a BC construction company?
The mean is 4.74 stars and the median 4.9. 43.4% of companies show a perfect 5.0, and 16.2% are rated below 4.5.
Why do commercial contractors have lower Google ratings?
Much of their review traffic comes from neighbours and the public rather than clients. 34.6% of commercial and civil listings show complaints about driving, noise, traffic or site mess, and their mean rating is 4.38 against 4.86 for residential firms.
What do homeowners mention most in construction reviews?
The person who ran the job (named in 79.8% of listings), the timeline (63.6%) and the budget or price (53.5%).
Where in BC do construction companies have the most reviews?
Metro Vancouver, with a median of 29 reviews against 25 in the rest of BC. The gap widens further up: 54 reviews at the 75th percentile in Metro Vancouver against 38 elsewhere.
How was this measured?
Google Places data for 20 searches ("construction company [city] BC"), collected on September 29, 2026 and scored on the 100-point Debut Profile Score. The method section has the details.
Glossary
- Debut Profile Score
- A 100-point score of a company's Google presence: number of reviews (40), star rating (30), reviews naming staff, timeline and price (15), and correct hours and business name (15), graded A to F on school thresholds.
- Reviews naming staff, timeline and price
- Whether the review excerpts Google displays name a staff member, mention the timeline, and mention budget or price.
- Review excerpt
- One of the up to 5 reviews Google shows on a listing before you open the full review list.
- Critical excerpt
- A complaint among the review excerpts Google displays.
- Conduct complaint
- A complaint from a neighbour or member of the public about driving, noise, traffic, site mess or safety.
- Segment
- Residential, commercial and civil, or mixed, coded from the work the review excerpts describe.
- Directional
- A figure based on fewer than 30 companies. It shows which way things lean, not a firm result.
Methodology
- Companies scored
- 99 in 20 BC markets
- Mean Debut Profile Score
- 76.63 / 100 (median 80)
- Score range
- 31 to 100
- Data collected
- September 29, 2026
- Method
- Debut Profile Score, Google Places data
- Report ID
- DTI-Construction-2026-v1
About the Debut Trades Index. The Trades Index is our ongoing study of how BC trade businesses show up on Google. Each report uses one method for every company, publishes its sample size and collection date, and reports results only in aggregate.
What we searched. "construction company [city] BC" in 20 markets: Vancouver, Surrey, Burnaby, Richmond, Coquitlam, North Vancouver, Delta, Langley and Maple Ridge in Metro Vancouver, and Abbotsford, Chilliwack, Squamish, Victoria, Nanaimo, Courtenay, Kelowna, Vernon, Penticton, Kamloops and Prince George in the rest of BC. Google Places data, collected on September 29, 2026 in one session. Google returned 4 or 5 listings per search, 99 unique companies after removing duplicates by place ID. Google chose which companies appeared; we didn't add or remove any.
What we recorded for each listing. Star rating, review count, posted hours, phone number, business name, and the up to 5 review excerpts Google displays.
How we coded the reviews. Segment comes from the work the excerpts describe: residential (renovation, custom homes, restoration; 59 companies), commercial and civil (tenant improvements, multi-family, institutional, road and site work; 26) and mixed (14). A staff member is "named" when a first name appears in any excerpt. "Timeline" means on time, on schedule, ahead of schedule, a timeframe or late. "Budget" means on budget, quote, price or cost. A "complaint" is any critical excerpt; a "conduct complaint" is one about driving, noise, traffic, site mess or safety, raised by neighbours or the public.
Limits. Google's top 4 or 5 results per city lean toward prominent companies, so a typical BC construction company has fewer reviews than shown here. City figures rest on 4 or 5 companies each and are directional; only the province-wide, segment and region figures clear our 30-company floor, and commercial (26) sits just under it. Review content is coded from the excerpts Google shows, not every review. The score measures the Google profile only: not websites, ad spend, response speed or workmanship.
Using this data. The charts and aggregate tables are free to reuse under CC BY 4.0: credit Debut Marketing and link to this page. The aggregate tables are available as a CSV. For press questions or the method in more detail, email info@debutmarketing.ca.
Cite this report
Striemer, E. (2026, September 29). Digital State of BC Construction Companies 2026: 99 Companies Scored on Google. Debut Marketing. Report ID DTI-Construction-2026-v1. https://debutmarketing.ca/state-of-bc-construction-2026
This is Debut Marketing's own data. You're welcome to use the charts and figures: please credit Debut Marketing and link to this page.
Sources
- 1 Debut Marketing (2026). Debut Trades Index: Digital State of BC Construction Companies 2026. 99 BC construction companies in 20 markets, scored on their Google profiles on September 29, 2026.
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