Current Google review data for 7 industries across 20 cities in Ontario's Golden Horseshoe. Find your gap and your opportunity. This guide covers everything Canadian service businesses need to know, with practical steps you can act on today.
This benchmark draws on 2026 Google Maps data across 20 cities in Ontario's Golden Horseshoe — from Windsor and London in the west through Hamilton, Burlington, Toronto, and Mississauga, to Barrie, Oshawa, and Kingston in the east.
For each city and industry combination, we track: the average review count for businesses in the Map Pack, the market leader review count, and the resulting gap. This gives Canadian service businesses a realistic picture of what it takes to be competitive in their specific market.
HVAC and plumbing are emergency services. When a furnace fails or a pipe bursts, the decision is made in under a minute. Review count and rating are the deciding factors.
Hamilton HVAC: Average 12, Leader 340, Gap 328. Toronto HVAC: Average 18, Leader 412, Gap 394. Mississauga HVAC: Average 16, Leader 378, Gap 362. Kitchener HVAC: Average 11, Leader 267, Gap 256. Ottawa HVAC: Average 14, Leader 312, Gap 298.
Plumbing shows similar gaps. Hamilton Plumbing: Average 9, Leader 287. Toronto Plumbing: Average 14, Leader 356.
In both categories, the average business has 10–25 reviews while market leaders have 250–400+. The gap represents the difference between being in the Map Pack and being invisible.
Dental patients choose a clinic based on trust more than any other single factor. Review count and quality of reviews are the primary trust signals for new patients who have no personal referral.
Hamilton Dental: Average 22, Leader 187, Gap 165. Toronto Dental: Average 34, Leader 287, Gap 253. Mississauga Dental: Average 29, Leader 241, Gap 212. Burlington Dental: Average 27, Leader 198, Gap 171. Ottawa Dental: Average 25, Leader 214, Gap 189.
Dental is an area where growing from 20 to 100+ reviews in 6 months is achievable for a moderately busy clinic — 15–25 patients per day, asking at checkout with a CAN-TAP stand, collecting 1–3 reviews daily.
Restaurant review counts are structurally higher than trade categories — customers dine out more frequently than they call a plumber, and review-writing behaviour is stronger in social dining contexts.
Niagara Falls Restaurants: Average 45, Leader 387. (Tourist market inflates the leader count significantly.) Hamilton Restaurants: Average 48, Leader 412. Toronto Restaurants: Average 72, Leader 623. St. Catharines Restaurants: Average 31, Leader 234. Guelph Restaurants: Average 39, Leader 298.
For restaurants outside major tourist zones, reaching 100–200 reviews in 12 months is achievable with consistent in-person NFC collection at tables and the payment terminal.
Salons represent an interesting opportunity — appointment-based, high-frequency visits, loyal customer base. The gap between average and leader is substantial but more achievable to close than in HVAC or dental.
Hamilton Salons: Average 28, Leader 203. Burlington Salons: Average 31, Leader 198. Toronto Salons: Average 38, Leader 312.
Contractors (general) show the lowest absolute review counts across all categories — and also the lowest average counts — suggesting a significant untapped opportunity for any contractor who builds a systematic review collection practice.
Hamilton Contractors: Average 8, Leader 142. Toronto Contractors: Average 11, Leader 198. Mississauga Contractors: Average 10, Leader 172.
A contractor who reaches 50+ reviews in their city is often in the top 5% of their category for review profile strength.
CAN-TAP NFC cards make it effortless for customers to review you in 10 seconds. Pre-programmed to your Google Business Profile. Ships anywhere in Canada in 2 days.
Close Your Review Gap Today →Review counts and ratings were gathered from Google Maps searches across each city and industry combination in February 2026. Market leader counts represent the highest-review business appearing in Map Pack results for the primary category keyword.
We update the Golden Horseshoe benchmark twice annually: in March and September.
Gap is the difference between the market leader review count and the average business review count in the same city and category. It represents the review deficit the average business would need to close to reach market leadership.
Toronto and Niagara Falls (for restaurants specifically) have the most competitive review landscapes. Smaller cities like Barrie, St. Catharines, and Sudbury offer lower barriers to Map Pack leadership.
Yes — the interactive Fear Tool on the homepage lets you select your city and industry to see estimated current average vs. market leader counts and the estimated monthly revenue impact of the gap.