Is 20 Google reviews good for a medical practice?
Twenty Google reviews is a reasonable start in some specialties and a weak spot in others. 58.3% of US hair restoration clinics and 53.8% of medical weight loss clinics have fewer than 50 reviews, but only 9.1% of dental practices do, and the median dental practice has 319.5. Based on 9,452 US practices, September 2026.
- Across 9,452 practices, 28.7% have fewer than 50 Google reviews (practice-weighted).
- In 2 specialties (hair restoration, medical weight loss) at least half of practices are under 50.
- In dental, 20 reviews puts you in the bottom 9.1%; the median practice has 319.5.
- Better target: your specialty's median in your own metro.
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Where 20 reviews sits in each specialty
"Good" only makes sense against the practices a patient is comparing you with. Our US Healthcare Google Benchmarks 2026 measured 9,452 practices in nine specialties, and the review-count distributions could hardly be more different. The chart shows the share of practices in each specialty with fewer than 50 Google reviews. A practice with 20 reviews is somewhere inside that red bar.
Share of practices with fewer than 50 Google reviews, and the median review count, national figures. Source: US Healthcare Google Benchmarks 2026, September 2026.
Three different answers to the same question
Where 20 is close to normal
In hair restoration (median 33), medical weight loss (median 42) and IV therapy and wellness (median 52), a large share of practices are still building their profiles. Twenty reviews will not stand out, but it will not look unusual either. Here, getting to 50 quickly puts you ahead of roughly half the market.
Where 20 is behind
Chiropractic, physical therapy, dermatology and plastic surgery all have medians between 107 and 125 reviews, and between 22% and 31.1% of practices sit under 50. A 20-review profile in these specialties is in the bottom third and will usually look thinner than the practices around it in the map results.
Where 20 is a warning sign
In dentistry only 9.1% of practices have fewer than 50 reviews and 30.9% have 500 or more. Med spas are similar: only 15.9% are under 50. For a dental practice or med spa, 20 reviews tells a patient the practice is either new or not asking. If you are an established practice, the gap is a process problem, not a reputation problem.
Your city moves the goalposts
National medians hide a lot. The table shows, for each specialty, the metro with the lowest median review count among the 20 we measured (groups of 10 or more practices only). Even in the thinnest market, most specialties are well past 20.
| Specialty | National median | Thinnest metro | Metro median | Practices in that metro |
|---|---|---|---|---|
| Hair Restoration | 33 | Seattle | 4 | 15 |
| Medical Weight Loss | 42 | San Francisco | 13 | 33 |
| IV Therapy & Wellness | 52 | Philadelphia | 23 | 89 |
| Dermatology | 125 | San Diego | 43 | 78 |
| Cosmetic & Plastic Surgery | 107 | San Diego | 20 | 36 |
| Chiropractic | 125 | Philadelphia | 54 | 59 |
| Physical Therapy | 122 | San Francisco | 79 | 34 |
| Med Spa | 148 | Las Vegas | 58.5 | 20 |
| Dental | 319.5 | Seattle | 219 | 117 |
Metro groups with fewer than 10 practices are not reported. Full city tables are in the benchmarks report.
Why the count matters, not just the stars
Google's own guidance says local ranking is based on relevance, distance and prominence, and that more reviews and positive ratings can help a business's local ranking. Patients make a similar judgment by eye: a 5.0 rating on 20 reviews looks less settled than a 4.8 on 300. A thin profile is also fragile. One 1-star review takes a 20-review, 5.0-star profile to about 4.81, while it barely moves a profile with hundreds of reviews.
What this means for your practice
- Find your specialty's median in your metro in the benchmarks or with the review benchmark checker. That is your first target, not a round number.
- Get past 50 first. Below 50, each review changes how the profile looks and how much one complaint hurts.
- Build the ask into the visit. One consistent request, by text or email with consent or a QR code at checkout, to every patient.
- Track monthly new reviews, not the total. The median practices in our samples add about 5 to 6 a month; beating that is how you climb.
- Stay inside the rules. No incentives, no review gating and no reviews from staff or family.
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Get the full Healthcare Google Reviews dataset + PDF summary
The numbers behind this page, ready for your own spreadsheet or slide deck.
- CSV, 187 rows: national figures for 9 specialties plus every metro with at least 10 practices.
- Fields: average Google rating, median review count, review-count bands, website, phone and hours listed, weekend opening, days open per week.
- PDF summary with the tables, methodology and a citation line.
Public Google Business Profile data for 9,452 US healthcare practices, September 2026. Aggregates only. Free to reuse under CC BY 4.0.
How we know: source, sample, date and limits
Source: US Healthcare Google Benchmarks 2026 (Ichelon Consulting US). Sample: public Google Business Profile data for 9,452 practices in 9 specialties, found through Google searches in 20 large US metros, collected September 2026. Measures: review count bands (under 50, 50 to 199, 200 to 499, 500+) and median review count per specialty.
- We report the share under 50 reviews, not under 20; the data does not have a 20-review cut-off, so "bottom X%" for 20 reviews is an upper bound.
- Small towns and rural practices are under-represented.
- Review counts change daily; this is a September 2026 snapshot.
Want this benchmarked for your practice?
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Common questions
Is 20 Google reviews good?
For a new practice it is a fair start, but whether it is competitive depends on specialty. The median hair restoration clinic in our data has 33 reviews and the median medical weight loss clinic 42, so 20 is not far behind. The median dental practice has 319.5 and the median med spa 148, so 20 is well below typical.
How many Google reviews should a medical practice have?
Aim for at least your specialty's median in your metro. National medians in our 2026 data run from 33 (hair restoration) to 319.5 (dental). Metro medians can be well above or below the national figure.
Does a practice with 20 reviews and a 5.0 rating beat one with 300 reviews and 4.8?
Not necessarily. Google says more reviews and positive ratings can help local ranking, and patients tend to read a high rating on a thin profile as less settled. A small profile also moves more with each review: one 1-star review takes a 20-review, 5.0 profile to about 4.81.
How fast can a practice get from 20 to 50 reviews?
At the median pace in our review samples, about 5 to 6 new reviews a month, it takes roughly five to six months. Practices with a consistent ask at checkout often move faster.
Where can I compare my exact review count?
Use the free Google review benchmark checker, or the healthcare Google benchmarks, which show average rating and median review count for 9 specialties in 20 US metros.
A note on this article: it reports aggregate research and explains marketing practice. It is not legal advice, and cost figures are planning estimates, not guarantees of results.
Find out what "enough reviews" means in your metro
A free 30-minute call with the US team. We compare your review count, rating and pace with your specialty and city.