# How to Get a List of All Businesses in Your Area or ZIP Code

URL: https://leadraft.co/blog/list-of-businesses-in-my-area
Summary: Free and paid ways to list every business in a city or ZIP code: Census counts, city license data, state filings, libraries, Google Maps, and how to check it.

[ All articles](https://leadraft.co/blog)

# How to get a list of all businesses in your area (or by ZIP code)

Free and paid ways to list every business in a city or ZIP code: Census counts, city license data, state filings, libraries, Google Maps, and how to check it.

The Leadraft teamLeadraft

Published

October 31, 2026

Read time

10 min

Category

Guide

To get a list of all businesses in your area, combine two kinds of sources: an official register (your city's business license or tax registration data, or your state's business filings) and a source of businesses that actually serve customers (Google Maps, plus directories). Many US cities publish their registrations as free open data, and the Census Bureau publishes free counts of businesses by ZIP code so you can check how complete your list is. No single source has every business, with contact details, for free.

Below: what each source contains, real examples you can download today, how to work by ZIP code, and a method for checking your list is complete.

## What does "all businesses in my area" actually mean?[#](#what-does-all-businesses-in-my-area-actually-mean)

It means different things depending on what you want the list for, so decide first. Roughly, an area's businesses fall into three groups:

1.  **Businesses with a storefront or that serve the public**: shops, restaurants, clinics, contractors. They're on Google Maps, have phones and usually a website.
2.  **Registered businesses that don't serve the public locally**: holding LLCs, landlords, consultants working from home, freelancers.
3.  **Unregistered or informal businesses**: side gigs that never filed anything.

If you're selling to local businesses, you almost always want group 1, plus the part of group 2 that matches your offer. That decides which sources are worth your time.

## How many businesses are in my ZIP code?[#](#how-many-businesses-are-in-my-zip-code)

The Census Bureau's County Business Patterns (CBP) tells you, for free. It counts **establishments with paid employees** by state, county, ZIP code and industry, and since the 2022 reference year the ZIP Code Business Patterns data is released at the same time as CBP \[1\]. You can look it up on data.census.gov by ZIP and NAICS code.

What it's good for:

-   **Sizing the market** before you build anything: "How many dental offices (NAICS 621210) are in 78704?"
-   **Checking completeness** of a list you've built (more on that below).

What it doesn't do: it gives counts, not names. It also leaves out businesses with no employees, which Census counts separately in its Nonemployer Statistics, and it lags by a couple of years.

## Where can I download a free list of businesses in my city?[#](#where-can-i-download-a-free-list-of-businesses-in-my-city)

From your city's open data portal, if it publishes business licenses or business tax registrations. Here are real examples, checked on October 31, 2026:

Scroll horizontally if needed →

| City | Dataset | What's in it | Size and freshness |
| --- | --- | --- | --- |
| Los Angeles | [Listing of Active Businesses](https://data.lacity.org/d/6rrh-rzua) (Office of Finance) | Business name, DBA, street and mailing address, NAICS code, start date | 632,799 rows; updated monthly \[2\] |
| Chicago | [Business Licenses](https://data.cityofchicago.org/d/r5kz-chrr) (Business Affairs and Consumer Protection) | Legal and DBA name, address, license type, business activity, issue and expiry dates, coordinates | Licenses from 2002 to present, about 1.2 million rows; updated as recently as October 30, 2026 \[3\] |
| New York City | [Issued Licenses](https://data.cityofnewyork.us/d/w7w3-xahh) (Department of Consumer and Worker Protection) | Business name, category, license status, address, contact phone | 72,452 rows; only the trades DCWP licenses \[4\] |

Each has quirks you need to know:

-   **Los Angeles** registers nearly everyone who does business in the city, so it's big and noisy. In ZIP 90019, for example, the dataset had 8,540 active businesses on October 31, 2026. The largest groups were lessors of real estate (953), records with no NAICS code (764), "all other personal services" (592) and independent artists, writers and performers (538). That's the register working as designed, and it shows why a raw register isn't a sales list.
-   **Chicago** records licenses, not businesses: one business can hold several, renewals appear as new rows, and not every activity needs a city license. Filter on the latest license per account and site.
-   **New York City's** DCWP list covers specific licensed categories (home improvement contractors, tobacco retailers, secondhand dealers, locksmiths, tow trucks and others), not all businesses. For those trades it's excellent: 13,385 active home improvement contractor licenses, with a contact phone column.

To find your city's version, search for "\[your city\] open data business license" or "\[your city\] active businesses". Smaller cities often post a monthly PDF of new business licenses instead.

## Can I get a list of businesses from the state?[#](#can-i-get-a-list-of-businesses-from-the-state)

Yes. Every state's Secretary of State (or equivalent) keeps a register of corporations and LLCs, and several publish it as bulk data:

-   **New York:** [Active Corporations: Beginning 1800](https://data.ny.gov/d/n9v6-gdp6), with county, entity type, filing date and, for corporations, a CEO name and address \[5\].
-   **Colorado:** [Business Entities in Colorado](https://data.colorado.gov/d/4ykn-tg5h), every entity registered since 1864, with principal address, status and formation date \[6\].
-   **Florida:** the Division of Corporations publishes free data downloads of filings on Sunbiz.
-   **Texas:** SOSDirect lets you search entities online at $1 per search \[7\].

State registers are the most complete list of _legal entities_, but that's not the same as businesses you can sell to. Many LLCs are holding companies or side projects, the address is often a registered agent's office, and sole proprietors who never formed an entity aren't there. Use state data to find businesses when they form (see [finding new businesses in your area](https://leadraft.co/blog/find-new-businesses-in-my-area)) or to look up an owner, not as your main list.

## Can I get a business list free from the library?[#](#can-i-get-a-business-list-free-from-the-library)

Often. Many public and university libraries subscribe to **Data Axle Reference Solutions** (formerly ReferenceUSA), which you can search by ZIP code, industry, employee count and more. Library guides describe it as covering tens of millions of current and historical US businesses. Two limits:

-   **Downloads are capped per search.** Library guides give different limits: 250 records per search at Boston University and Fulton County, 500 at Yale for the historical database, and 1,000 for the US business database at the University of Virginia \[8\]\[9\]. Split big lists into smaller searches by ZIP code.
-   **License terms apply.** University access is usually for academic use. Ask your library whether commercial prospecting is allowed before you use it for sales.

## Can I get a list of businesses from Google Maps?[#](#can-i-get-a-list-of-businesses-from-google-maps)

Yes, and for businesses that serve the public it's usually the most current source: owners update hours, phones and websites themselves, and new businesses appear when they open. Search a trade inside your area and you'll see name, category, address, phone, website, rating and reviews.

The catch is coverage. A single Maps search stops after a limited number of results, ranked by what Google thinks is relevant to your view, so in any busy area one search shows a fraction of the businesses. Getting a whole city or ZIP means many searches: every keyword for the trade, times every small piece of the area. We explain why in [finding every business in a city](https://leadraft.co/blog/google-maps-120-results-limit).

One search stops after a few hundred results, mostly near the middle. Searching the area tile by tile reaches the edges. Measured once: Portland coffee shops, 230 from one search vs 457 tiled (measured on one city and one keyword.)

**On the rules:** Google's Maps terms prohibit bulk downloading Maps content and using it to build business-listing databases or mailing lists for a substitute service \[10\]. Looking up businesses one at a time is ordinary use; mass extraction is a contract question as much as a technical one. Public business facts, personal data and terms of service are different things, and the rules vary by country. If your plan depends on it, get legal advice.

## Which source should I use? A comparison[#](#which-source-should-i-use-a-comparison)

Scroll horizontally if needed →

| Source | Covers | Contact details | Cost | Freshness |
| --- | --- | --- | --- | --- |
| Census CBP / ZIP Code Business Patterns | Employer establishments, counts only | None | Free | Lags about two years |
| City license / tax registration open data | Businesses registered with the city | Address; phone sometimes | Free | Monthly or better, where published |
| State business entity filings | Corporations and LLCs | Registered or principal address | Free to a few dollars | Daily to monthly |
| Library (Data Axle Reference Solutions) | Broad, with employee and sales estimates | Phone, address, some names | Free with a card, capped downloads | Vendor-maintained |
| Chamber of commerce directory | Members only | Varies | Free to view; membership for more | Member-maintained |
| Google Maps | Businesses that serve the public | Phone, website; no email | Free one at a time; tools to do it at scale | Owner-updated, often current |
| Data vendors (Data Axle, D&B, others) | Broad | Phone, address, some emails | Subscription or per record | Vendor-maintained |

For a deeper look at paid databases, see [local business databases compared](https://leadraft.co/blog/local-business-database).

## How do I get a list of businesses by ZIP code?[#](#how-do-i-get-a-list-of-businesses-by-zip-code)

Here's the process we'd use for one ZIP code and one trade:

1.  **Get the benchmark.** Look up the CBP count for your ZIP and the trade's NAICS code (say, 238220 for plumbing and HVAC contractors). This is your floor for employer businesses.
2.  **Pull the official register,** if your city or county publishes one, filtered to the ZIP and the NAICS code or license type.
3.  **Search Google Maps** for every keyword for the trade (plumber, plumbing contractor, drain cleaning, water heater repair…) within the ZIP, splitting it into smaller pieces if the ZIP is dense. Our [Google Maps keyword generator](https://leadraft.co/tools/google-maps-keyword-generator) helps with the keyword list.
4.  **Merge and deduplicate.** Match on phone number and normalized address first, name second. "Smith Plumbing LLC" and "Smith Plumbing" at the same address are one business.
5.  **Drop what's outside the ZIP** and what's the wrong trade (supply stores turn up in contractor searches).
6.  **Add contact details,** starting from each business's website. See [how to find the email of any local business](https://leadraft.co/blog/how-to-find-emails-of-local-businesses).

Remember that ZIP codes are mail routes, not neat shapes. If your real market is "within 10 miles of the office", a radius or a drawn area is more honest than a list of ZIPs.

## How do I make sure my list is complete?[#](#how-do-i-make-sure-my-list-is-complete)

Run three checks before you call it done:

-   **The Census check.** Compare your count per trade with the CBP count for the same ZIP or county and NAICS code. Your list should usually be _higher_ for trades with lots of one-person businesses, because CBP leaves out nonemployers. If it's far lower, you're missing keywords or parts of the area.
-   **The street check.** Drive or walk two or three commercial streets and note every business in your trade. Then look for each on your list. If you're missing more than one or two of every ten, keep searching.
-   **The second-source check.** Take 20 businesses from the city register that match your trade, and see how many are on your Maps-built list (and the reverse). Big gaps in either direction tell you which source to lean on.

Then keep it current. Businesses open and close every week: the Bureau of Labor Statistics counted 323,000 new establishments in the first quarter of 2026 alone \[11\]. A list is a snapshot.

## FAQ[#](#faq)

### Is there a free list of all businesses in my city?[#](#is-there-a-free-list-of-all-businesses-in-my-city)

Often, yes. Many US cities publish business license or business tax registrations as open data, such as Los Angeles's Listing of Active Businesses and Chicago's Business Licenses dataset. They're free to download, but they include home businesses and landlords and rarely include emails.

### How do I find how many businesses are in a ZIP code?[#](#how-do-i-find-how-many-businesses-are-in-a-zip-code)

Use the Census Bureau's County Business Patterns, which includes ZIP Code Business Patterns. It counts establishments with paid employees by ZIP code and industry (NAICS). It doesn't list names, and it leaves out businesses with no employees.

### Can I get a list of businesses by ZIP code from Google Maps?[#](#can-i-get-a-list-of-businesses-by-zip-code-from-google-maps)

You can search Google Maps for a trade within a ZIP code, but one search stops at a limited number of results, so you need many searches (by keyword and by smaller areas) to cover a ZIP. Google's terms also restrict bulk copying of Maps content.

### Can I get a business list from my public library?[#](#can-i-get-a-business-list-from-my-public-library)

Many public and university libraries offer Data Axle Reference Solutions (formerly ReferenceUSA) free to cardholders. You can search by ZIP and industry, but downloads are capped per search (library guides cite limits from 250 to 1,000 records) and the library's license terms apply.

### What is the most complete list of businesses in an area?[#](#what-is-the-most-complete-list-of-businesses-in-an-area)

No single source is complete. City registrations catch businesses that never show up online; Google Maps catches businesses that serve the public, with phone numbers and websites. Combining two sources and deduplicating gets you closest.

### How do I know if my business list is complete?[#](#how-do-i-know-if-my-business-list-is-complete)

Compare your count per industry against the Census ZIP or county count for the same NAICS code, and spot-check by walking or driving a few streets. If you have far fewer than Census for a trade, you're missing keywords or areas.

## Sources[#](#sources)

1.  US Census Bureau, [About County Business Patterns](https://www.census.gov/programs-surveys/cbp/about.html) (establishments with paid employees; ZIP Code Business Patterns released with CBP from the 2022 reference year).
2.  City of Los Angeles Office of Finance, [Listing of Active Businesses](https://data.lacity.org/d/6rrh-rzua) (row counts queried October 31, 2026).
3.  City of Chicago, [Business Licenses](https://data.cityofchicago.org/d/r5kz-chrr) (queried October 31, 2026).
4.  NYC Department of Consumer and Worker Protection, [Issued Licenses](https://data.cityofnewyork.us/d/w7w3-xahh) (queried October 31, 2026).
5.  New York State Department of State, [Active Corporations: Beginning 1800](https://data.ny.gov/d/n9v6-gdp6).
6.  Colorado Department of State, [Business Entities in Colorado](https://data.colorado.gov/d/4ykn-tg5h).
7.  Texas Secretary of State, [SOSDirect](https://www.sos.state.tx.us/corp/sosda/) ($1 per search).
8.  Boston University Libraries, [Data Axle: downloading company lists](https://library.bu.edu/dataaxle/downloading-company-lists) (250 per search).
9.  Yale Library, [Access to Data Axle Reference Solutions](https://library.yale.edu/eresources/access/access-data-axle-reference-solutions) (500 per search, historical database); University of Virginia Library, [Data Axle / Infogroup](https://library.virginia.edu/data/datasources/licensed/infogroup) (1,000 per search, US businesses).
10.  Google, [Google Maps / Google Earth Additional Terms of Service](https://www.google.com/help/terms_maps/), section 2.
11.  US Bureau of Labor Statistics, [Business Employment Dynamics news release](https://www.bls.gov/news.release/cewbd.nr0.htm), October 28, 2026.

## Keep reading

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    November 3, 2026Guide
    
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    Read article
    
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    October 31, 2026Guide
    
    ### Why Google Maps stops at 120 results, and how to get every business
    
    One Google Maps search stops at about 120 results and the Places API at 60. Why the cap misses businesses, and how tiling and keyword variants get the rest.
    
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-   [
    
    October 31, 2026Guide
    
    ### Google Maps business categories: the list that matters for lead generation
    
    How Google Maps categories work, how many exist, why one keyword misses businesses, and nearly 300 categories by vertical with the searches that find them.
    
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Last built: 2026-11-09