81.7% of US local businesses with fewer than 10 Google reviews have not replied to any of them, against 20.5% of businesses with 200 or more, and 53% of all local businesses leave their 20 newest reviews unanswered. The businesses that do reply are quick about it: 3.9 days on average, and 86.1% of replies arrive within a week.
Analysis of 130,269 Google reviews of 10,039 local businesses in 18 categories, including 9,150 owner replies · Google reviews, September 2026
Key Findings
- 1.81.7% of local businesses with fewer than 10 Google reviews never reply to them, against 20.5% of businesses with 200 or more.
- 2.53% of US local businesses have not replied to any of their 20 newest Google reviews.
- 3.40.6% of Google reviews of local businesses carry an owner reply, and 12% of local businesses reply to every one of their recent reviews.
- 4.76.2% of law firms never reply to their recent Google reviews, the highest rate of 18 local business categories, against 36.5% of pest control companies.
- 5.Local businesses rated below 4 stars on Google never reply 73.4% of the time, against 42.9% for businesses rated 4.5 to 4.7.
- 6.Local businesses that reply take 3.9 days on average to answer a Google review, the median reply comes after 2.9 days, and 86.1% of replies arrive within a week.
- 7.Replies to one- and two-star Google reviews come after 4.1 days on average, against 3.9 days for all other reviews.
Summary
Someone deciding between two dentists reads the latest Google reviews on each. One practice has thanked every reviewer and answered a complaint about a billing mix-up with a calm explanation two days after it was posted. The other has left twenty reviews without a word. Both may do good work, but only one looks like someone is listening.
A reply to a Google review is public, free and permanent, and Google shows when both the review and the reply were posted. It shows every future customer how the business treats people and how quickly it responds, and it is one of the few signals on a Google listing that an owner controls completely, today, without waiting for new customers.
More than half of local businesses do not use it. 53% have not replied to any of their 20 newest Google reviews, and among businesses with fewer than 10 reviews that rises to 81.7%. Silence is most common where it hurts most: among businesses with few reviews, where every review carries more weight, and among businesses with low ratings, where the complaints go unanswered. The businesses that do reply show it is not hard: they answer in 3.9 days on average, and complaints get answered almost as fast as praise.
What we measured
On September 23, 2026 we analysed the 20 newest Google reviews of 10,039 US local businesses with at least one review, across 18 categories from lawyers and dentists to movers and pest control companies: 130,269 reviews in all. For each review we recorded whether the business owner had posted a reply. For the reviews posted in the previous 30 days that had an owner reply, 9,150 replies from 1,660 businesses, we also measured the time between the review and the reply.
A business "never replies" when none of its 20 newest reviews has an owner reply; a business with fewer than 20 reviews is judged on all the reviews it has. Lifetime reviews are the total number of Google reviews a business has ever received. Reply time is the number of days between the review and the owner's reply; the median is the middle reply, with half faster and half slower, and "within about a day" means within a day and a half. Negative reviews are one- and two-star reviews.
Most businesses with few reviews never reply
The more reviews a business has, the more likely it is to reply. 47.2% of businesses with 10 to 49 reviews never reply, 28.9% of those with 50 to 199, and 20.5% of those with 200 or more. A business that collects reviews steadily usually has someone watching its profile; one with a handful often does not check at all. Across all local businesses, 53% have not replied to any of their 20 newest reviews.
Source: Suff Digital analysis of 130,269 Google reviews of 10,039 local businesses in 18 categories, including 9,150 owner replies · Google reviews, September 2026
That makes silence most costly for the businesses least able to afford it. On a profile with a handful of reviews, each one is a large part of what a customer reads, and an unanswered complaint can dominate the page. Even among businesses with at least 10 recent reviews, 35.2% never reply.
Replies reach four in ten Google reviews
Across all reviews, 40.6% carry an owner reply. That is close to the 47% of businesses that reply at all, because the businesses that do reply tend to reply often and to have the most reviews. Only 12% of local businesses reply to every one of their 20 newest reviews.
So local businesses fall into two groups. A minority treats replies as routine and answers most reviews. A majority never replies. For a business in the second group, starting a reply habit is enough to look more attentive than most competitors on the same Google Maps search.
Businesses that reply do it within days
The businesses that reply take 3.9 days on average and 2.9 days at the median. 36.8% of replies come within about a day, and about half within three days. Another 35.5% arrive between three days and a week, 10.7% in the second week, and 3.1% after more than two weeks.
Source: Suff Digital analysis of 130,269 Google reviews of 10,039 local businesses in 18 categories, including 9,150 owner replies · Google reviews, September 2026
Complaints are answered at almost the same pace as praise. Replies to one- and two-star reviews come after 4.1 days on average, with a median of 3.2 days, against 3.9 days on average and 2.9 at the median for all other reviews. And 58.1% of Google reviews posted in the last 30 days already have an owner reply, so for businesses that reply, the newest reviews a customer reads first usually carry an answer. For these businesses answering reviews is a routine, and speed follows from the routine; the real divide is whether a business replies at all.
Lawyers reply least and slowest, pest control and cleaning lead
76.2% of law firms never reply to their recent Google reviews, and only 23.6% of reviews of law firms have a reply. The law firms that do reply are also the slowest, at 5.1 days on average. At the other end, pest control companies (36.5%) and cleaning services (37.1%) are the least likely to stay silent, and they reply fast: cleaning services in 3.2 days on average, the quickest of 18 categories, and pest control companies in 3.4.
Source: Suff Digital analysis of 130,269 Google reviews of 10,039 local businesses in 18 categories, including 9,150 owner replies · Google reviews, September 2026
| Category | Never reply | Reviews with a reply | Average days to reply | Last-30-day reviews with a reply |
|---|---|---|---|---|
| Lawyers | 76.2% | 23.6% | 5.1 | 37.8% |
| Electricians | 64.8% | 38% | 3.3 | 67.7% |
| Plumbers | 57.9% | 42.1% | 3.9 | 71% |
| Dentists | 57.1% | 37.5% | 3.8 | 50.6% |
| Restaurants | 50.3% | 28.4% | 4.2 | 33.1% |
| Veterinarians | 48.2% | 39.9% | 4.1 | 52% |
| HVAC companies | 43.8% | 50.4% | 3.4 | 70.2% |
| Movers | 42.8% | 53.1% | 4.9 | 58.7% |
| Gyms | 41.8% | 42.3% | 4.3 | 62.4% |
| Cleaning services | 37.1% | 60.8% | 3.2 | 67% |
| Pest control companies | 36.5% | 58.4% | 3.4 | 72.2% |
Home service businesses that win work through repeat visits and word of mouth, such as cleaners, pest control companies and HVAC companies, lead on both reply rate and speed. Professional services, where owners often worry about confidentiality, reply the least: after lawyers, about two thirds of landscapers (64.7%) and chiropractors (63.1%) never reply, and 60% of daycares. Restaurants are a different case: about half reply at least sometimes, but only 28.4% of their reviews get an answer, because the volume of reviews makes it hard to keep up.
Businesses rated below 4 stars reply least
Businesses rated 4.5 to 4.7 have the lowest never-reply rate, at 42.9%, and those rated 4.8 or higher sit at 50.7%. The businesses with the most complaints on their profile are the ones least likely to answer them.
A low rating with no replies tells a reader that the problems were never addressed. The same low rating with calm, specific replies tells them the business takes problems seriously, which is often what decides whether they call.
What this means for local business owners
Set a simple rule: reply to every review within two or three days. That puts you in the faster half of businesses that reply at all, and ahead of the 53% that never reply. A short, specific thank-you to a five-star review takes a minute. Turn on review notifications in your Google Business Profile so new reviews reach whoever is responsible the same day.
Answer negative reviews first. A complaint sits on your profile unanswered until you respond, and every day it waits, more customers read it without your side. Acknowledge the problem, explain what changed and offer to follow up by phone or email. If your rating is below 4 stars, start there: the businesses in that group are the least likely to reply, so a reply habit sets you apart immediately.
If you are a lawyer, dentist or other professional worried about confidentiality, you can still reply without discussing the case: thank the reviewer, say nothing about the matter, and invite them to contact the office. In a category where three in four competitors stay silent, even that basic habit stands out. Our reputation management services monitor and answer Google reviews for local businesses to a same-week standard.
Need help with this? See our local SEO services.
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<p style="font:14px/1.5 system-ui,sans-serif">Source: <a href="https://www.suffdigital.com/resources/data-studies/google-review-reply-rates">81.7% of Local Businesses With Under 10 Google Reviews Never Reply vs 20.5% With 200+ - Suff Digital</a></p>
Cite this study
Suff Digital. (2026). 81.7% of Local Businesses With Under 10 Google Reviews Never Reply vs 20.5% With 200+. https://www.suffdigital.com/resources/data-studies/google-review-reply-rates
81.7% of Local Businesses With Under 10 Google Reviews Never Reply vs 20.5% With 200+ - Suff Digital - https://www.suffdigital.com/resources/data-studies/google-review-reply-rates
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