How we rank contractors

Data sources

Licenses: California Contractors State License Board (CSLB) public data portal, downloaded Nov 9, 2026; 64,142 current licenses in classes B, B-2, C-6, C-8, C-10, C-20, C-33, C-36, C-39 and C-54 for businesses within 150 miles of Sacramento.

Building permits issued Jan 1, 2025 – Nov 8, 2026: City of Sacramento (37,713), City of Elk Grove (13,226), San Francisco DBI (42,865), Marin County (8,215), San Jose (11,982), West Sacramento (9,462).

Ranking

Contractors are ranked by the number of permits for the type of work you pick, then by total permits, then by years licensed. Nobody can pay to move up; paid listings, when they exist, are always labeled Sponsored.

Linking

Permits are linked to a license by the license number when the city publishes it (San Francisco, part of Marin County), otherwise by the business name; a few links may be wrong. Cities that publish no usable permit data are marked “check with the city”.