Pest Control per Home Varies Sevenfold Across California Counties
Key result: California structural pest control businesses reported 1.27 applications per housing unit in 2023. Among large counties the rate ranged from 2.77 in Fresno and 2.43 in Riverside to 0.40 in San Francisco. Applications rose 32.8 percent statewide from 2016 to 2023, and fell in Sonoma, San Francisco and Stanislaus.
Putting a denominator on the county record
Our analysis of structural pesticide use ranked counties by raw pounds and noted that the ranking mostly restated where people live. This report adds a denominator. We divided each county’s 2023 structural pest control applications, from California’s pesticide use reports, by the Census Bureau’s estimate of its housing units on 1 July 2023, and compared each county’s applications with 2016.
Housing units are a yardstick, not the customer base: structural applications also treat restaurants, warehouses, offices and other commercial buildings.
Applications per housing unit
| County | Applications, 2023 | Per housing unit, 2023 | Applications, 2016 | Change since 2016 |
|---|---|---|---|---|
| Los Angeles | 3,986,035 | 1.08 | 2,681,514 | +48.6% |
| San Diego | 2,221,707 | 1.76 | 1,671,032 | +33.0% |
| Riverside | 2,132,243 | 2.43 | 1,381,183 | +54.4% |
| Orange | 1,671,537 | 1.45 | 1,644,547 | +1.6% |
| San Bernardino | 1,082,262 | 1.44 | 785,600 | +37.8% |
| Fresno | 962,237 | 2.77 | 635,986 | +51.3% |
| Sacramento | 653,834 | 1.08 | 321,756 | +103.2% |
| Santa Clara | 561,576 | 0.8 | 540,136 | +4.0% |
| Kern | 483,225 | 1.56 | 400,836 | +20.6% |
| Ventura | 422,440 | 1.42 | 197,215 | +114.2% |
| Alameda | 412,580 | 0.64 | 393,670 | +4.8% |
| San Francisco | 167,303 | 0.4 | 176,675 | -5.3% |
Sources: California Department of Pesticide Regulation, Pesticide Use Reports 2016 and 2023, site code 10, application count field; US Census Bureau, Annual Estimates of Housing Units for Counties in California (CO-EST2023-HU-06). Twelve largest counties by 2023 applications. Author calculation. All 58 counties are in the CSV.
What it means. Fresno and Riverside report by far the most pest control work per housing unit, 2.77 and 2.43, followed by San Diego 1.76, Placer 1.67 and Tulare 1.57. The Bay Area reports the least: San Francisco 0.40, Sonoma 0.49, Alameda 0.64, San Mateo 0.71 and Santa Clara 0.80. Los Angeles, with 3,986,035 applications, the most of any county, is below the state rate at 1.08.
What limits it. County rates are sensitive to individual businesses. In Fresno the single largest licence number reported 38.5 percent of the county’s 2023 applications; without it Fresno’s rate would be 1.70. In Solano, San Mateo and Placer the largest licence reported more than a quarter. Businesses also differ in how they count applications, a point our licence concentration census covers.
Where the work grew
What it means. Statewide, applications rose from 14,172,516 in 2016 to 18,815,415 in 2023, 32.8 percent. Ventura and Sacramento roughly doubled. Los Angeles rose 48.6 percent and Riverside 54.4 percent. Orange County, the fourth largest, was nearly flat at plus 1.6 percent, and three large counties fell: Stanislaus, San Francisco and Sonoma. From 2020 to 2023, applications rose 20.0 percent while the state’s housing stock grew 2.4 percent; in 18 of the 21 counties with at least 150,000 housing units, applications grew faster than housing.
What limits it. Growth is the net of large movements by individual businesses. Comparing licence numbers, 2,124 reported more applications in 2023 than in 2016 and 2,293 reported fewer or stopped reporting; their gains, 11.4 million applications, and losses, 6.8 million, were each larger than the net change. Licence numbers also change with acquisitions and re-licensing, so a county’s change can reflect one business moving its work to a new number.
Checks
1. Reconciliation
Result. County applications sum to the statewide totals in all three years examined: 14,172,516 in 2016, 15,680,060 in 2020 and 18,815,415 in 2023.
2. Counting
Method. Applications are counted once per report, from the application count field, so a report listing several active ingredients is counted once.
Download the data
The tables in this report are published as CSV files under a Creative Commons Attribution 4.0 licence. You may republish, remix and build on them, including commercially, with attribution to The Pest Control Brief and a link to this page.
How to cite this report
The Pest Control Brief, “Pest Control Treatments per Housing Unit Vary Sevenfold Across California Counties, From 2.8 in Fresno to 0.4 in San Francisco”, 2 October 2026. https://thepestcontrolbrief.com/california-pest-control-by-county/
References
- California Department of Pesticide Regulation. Pesticide Use Report annual archives, 2016, 2020 and 2023. files.cdpr.ca.gov/pub/outgoing/pur_archives/. Accessed 5 October 2026.
- US Census Bureau, Population Division. Annual Estimates of Housing Units for Counties in California: April 1, 2020 to July 1, 2023 (CO-EST2023-HU-06), released May 2024. census.gov housing unit estimates. Accessed 4 October 2026.
Construction of the county measures
Applications. Structural pest control (site code 10) applications by county of use.
Denominator. Census Bureau housing unit estimates for 1 July 2023; 1 July 2020 for the 2020 to 2023 comparison.
Limitations. Housing units do not measure commercial buildings; county figures are sensitive to large businesses and to how they count applications; 2016 housing estimates on the 2020 Census base are not available in this table, so per-unit rates are given for 2023 only.
Last reviewed: 5 October 2026.
For local reporters
Most quotable statistics
- California pest control businesses reported 1.27 structural applications per housing unit in 2023.
- Fresno County had the highest rate among large counties, 2.77; San Francisco the lowest, 0.40.
- Statewide structural applications rose 32.8 percent from 2016 to 2023.
- Ventura and Sacramento counties roughly doubled their applications.
Press summary
How much pest control work California counties get varies sevenfold relative to their housing, according to an analysis of state pesticide use reports by The Pest Control Brief. Fresno County reported 2.77 structural pest control applications per housing unit in 2023 and Riverside 2.43, against 0.40 in San Francisco and 0.64 in Alameda. Statewide applications rose a third from 2016 to 2023, far faster than housing, with Ventura and Sacramento roughly doubling.
Headlines editors could use
- Fresno gets seven times San Francisco’s pest control work per home
- Pest control work up a third in California since 2016
- Where California’s exterminators are busiest
Reader questions
Which California county uses the most pest control?
Los Angeles, with 3,986,035 structural applications in 2023. Relative to housing, Fresno, with 2.77 applications per housing unit.
Is pest control growing in California?
Reported structural applications rose 32.8 percent from 2016 to 2023, and 20.0 percent from 2020 to 2023 while housing grew 2.4 percent.
Why does San Francisco have so little?
The data do not say. San Francisco reported 0.40 applications per housing unit in 2023, the lowest of the large counties, and fewer applications than in 2016.
Does this count homes only?
No. Structural applications include commercial buildings; housing units are used only as a yardstick.
Where can I get my county’s figures?
All 58 counties are in the CSV above.
