Arizona vs California: contractor markets, side by side
Arizona has 43,106 active licensed contractors across the trades we cover; California has 222,093 — about 5× fewer licensed contractors. Counts come from the Arizona Registrar of Contractors (ROC) and the California Contractors State License Board (CSLB); market figures are U.S. Census aggregates.
| Arizona | California | |
|---|---|---|
| Active licensed contractors | 43,106 | 222,093 |
| Licenses per 10k residents | 60.1 | 54.4 |
| Residents | 7,173,962 | 40,805,409 |
| Households | 3,098,364 | 14,984,242 |
| Median household income | $76,830 | $97,970 |
| Building permits (2025) | 51,532 | 103,856 |
| Top city by licenses | Phoenix | Los Angeles |
Arizona is the denser market: 60.1 active licenses per 10k residents against 54.4 in California. Density cuts both ways — more contractors to sell to per square mile, and more competition per job for the contractors themselves.
Household income runs higher in California — $97,970 median against $76,830 in Arizona — which generally shows up in project budgets and ticket sizes.
Trade by trade
| Trade | Arizona | California |
|---|---|---|
| Electricians | 5,220 | 29,015 |
| Plumbers | 3,414 | 18,070 |
| HVAC Contractors | 4,254 | 12,176 |
| General Contractors | 15,689 | 118,454 |
| Roofing Contractors | 1,467 | 5,678 |
| Solar Contractors | — | 1,217 |
| Landscape Contractors | 2,064 | 12,644 |
| Pool Contractors | 742 | 2,967 |
| Fire-Protection Contractors | 360 | 2,275 |
| Carpenters | 2,300 | 1,086 |
| Concrete Contractors | 1,061 | 5,674 |
| Masons | 408 | 2,149 |
| Drywall Contractors | 862 | 3,342 |
| Tile Contractors | 830 | 6,487 |
| Excavating Contractors | 1,079 | 2,516 |
| Painters | 2,117 | 16,279 |
| Flooring Contractors | 1,239 | 7,147 |
Counts are active licenses only, from each state's license board. A “—” means that board doesn't issue a statewide license for the trade, not that the trade doesn't exist there.