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Get results in days, not monthsResults in days, not monthsIs Davis a city or a campus? Both. The median age is 26.3, 75.2% of adults hold a bachelor's degree and 58% of households rent, numbers that put Davis at the far end of California's college towns. The University of California, Davis counted 40,850 students in 2023, and its campus lies outside the city limits, so customers often arrive on a bike from a lecture hall or a lease that ends in June.
Work on SEO in Davis starts with a Google Business Profile whose hours reflect the academic year, then adds pages for the places people name, such as downtown, Central Park and Mace Ranch. Your account manager guides a six-month plan and reviews Search Console and Analytics results with you every month. Billing is month to month, with nothing charged to start.
City at a glance
City Search Competition Index
33.5/ 100
Number 232 out of 322 California cities
Data: Census ACS 2018-2022, 2023 population estimates and County Business Patterns 2022. Bars place Davis among the 322 California cities in this guide, not against the nation. See the methodology for the formula; figures updated October 2026.
Students, renters and long-time families
The young profile shapes every number. Median age is 26.3 (typical: 37.6), under-18s are only 14.1% of residents (typical: 22.5%) and 13.3% are 65 or older (typical: 14.5%). Median household income is $83,592 (typical: $95,764) and the poverty rate is 26.3% (typical: 9.7%), but that rate largely reflects students who rent off campus, so it describes a stage of life more than a hardship. Customers who are 20 years old search on a phone, expect an answer in seconds and prefer places they can reach on a bike. Profiles that list bike parking, a student price or an online booking button speak their language.
Renting is the norm. About 58% of households rent (typical: 40.3%), median rent is $1,927 (typical: $1,970) and the median home value is $803,100 (typical: $667,400), so owners and tenants live side by side but face very different markets. Landlords, movers, cleaners, furniture shops and storage providers can count on demand that peaks when leases turn over. Searches for those services cluster before and after the academic year, so pages and profiles should be refreshed ahead of those windows rather than during them.
People who stay in Davis are well educated and often work from home: 20% of workers do so (typical: 11.8%), while only 10.5% commute 45 minutes or more (typical: 20.1%). Foreign-born residents are 21% (typical: 24.4%) and Spanish is spoken at home by 7.3% (typical: 20.5%), with other languages heard in the campus community that the Census table does not separate out. International students also search for food, services and housing before they arrive, so a profile with clear English descriptions helps.
The population has dipped slightly, with the 2023 estimate of 65,832 about 1.5% below the 2020 base, and the city covers only 9.972 square miles at 6,739 residents per square mile (typical: 4,089). That density helps small businesses: customers can walk or ride to a storefront in minutes, and a precise address and cross street often decide the visit. SEO services for Davis businesses should treat each block like its own market.
The plan in practice
Term and break hours
Cafes, bike shops and print shops near Downtown Davis adjust profile hours around the academic year and post changes before the term starts. Picnic Day and the Whole Earth Festival can draw big crowds, so confirm any special hours with organizers.
Central Park and the grid
Shops and restaurants near Central Park or on the downtown grid name the cross streets, the nearest bike parking and the farmers market schedule. A visitor who arrives by train needs to know how far the Amtrak station is.
58% renters
Movers, cleaners, storage firms and furniture sellers write pages timed to lease turnover and mention neighborhoods such as Mace Ranch and Olive Drive. Reviews should mention the month of the job.
Conferences and lodging
Caterers, hotels and printers describe how close they are to the UC Davis Arboretum and Downtown Davis and list group options. University staff and visiting researchers often book several weeks ahead.
21% foreign-born
With 21% of residents born abroad, profiles use plain English descriptions, list payment options and show photos of menus or services. International arrivals search before they land, so the details need to be complete.
Woodland and West Sacramento
Firms based in Davis can reach Woodland (8 miles) and West Sacramento (10) with separate pages that give real drive times from downtown Davis.
Six priorities fit the way students, staff and long-time residents find Davis businesses, from Central Park to Mace Ranch. Local SEO for Davis companies is measured by bookings, calls and foot traffic, with ranking reports as supporting evidence.
A university and everyone who serves it
The city's 2020 annual financial report, reproduced on Wikipedia, lists the University of California, Davis at 25,227 employees, far ahead of every other entry. Davis Joint Unified School District comes next at 1,120, followed by Sutter Health at 505, Nugget Markets at 265, Unitrans at 260, University Retirement Community at 160 and Davis Food Co-op at 117. The year on that list is 2020, so use the counts as a snapshot, but the pattern is plain: the university is the center of the weekday economy, and nearly everything else supports it.
Tallying jobs by industry among the 67,203 residents counted shows education at 10,222 jobs (31.7%), professional, scientific and technical services at 3,841 (11.9%), health care and social assistance at 3,013 (9.3%), accommodation and food services at 2,880 (8.9%), public administration at 2,327 (7.2%) and retail trade at 2,212 (6.9%). Education dwarfs every other industry. Faculty, researchers and graduate students bring a steady stream of searches for lab suppliers, caterers, printing and conference services, as well as hotels near downtown.
Competition in Yolo County is lighter than in the Sacramento suburbs. The county lists 84 real estate agents and brokers (3.8 per 10k people, 1.53 times the typical county), 82 dentists, 70 general automotive repair shops, 80 residential remodelers (up 31.1%) and 147 full-service restaurants. These are county counts, not Davis counts, but they hint that local businesses can stand out with fewer rivals than in a denser metro, if its profile and pages are well built.
The workforce behind the searches
A city's mix of jobs tells you who has money, who is busy and when they pick up the phone. Six sectors lead for employed Davis residents, according to the American Community Survey.
| Industry | Employed residents | Share of workers |
|---|---|---|
| Education | 10,222 | 31.7% |
| Professional, scientific and technical services | 3,841 | 11.9% |
| Health care and social assistance | 3,013 | 9.3% |
| Accommodation and food services | 2,880 | 8.9% |
| Public administration | 2,327 | 7.2% |
| Retail trade | 2,212 | 6.9% |
Data: American Community Survey 5-year estimates, 2018-2022, employed civilians 16 and over. Industry reflects where residents are employed, which may be outside city limits.
Rival businesses by type
Census business data is published for counties, not cities, so every row describes Yolo County as a whole, Davis included. A ratio above 1.0x means the county holds more of that business per resident than the typical U.S. county.
| Business type | Locations in Yolo County | Per 10,000 residents | Density vs. a typical U.S. county |
|---|---|---|---|
| Real estate agents and brokers | 84 | 3.8 | 1.53x |
| Dentists | 82 | 3.7 | 1.34x |
| General automotive repair | 70 | 3.2 | 1.23x |
| Residential remodelers | 80 | 3.6 | 1.2x |
| Full-service restaurants | 147 | 6.7 | 0.99x |
Census County Business Patterns, 2022 edition. Self-employed people without staff are not counted, and the figures are county totals.
Grid, parks and subdivisions
Downtown Davis is a compact grid, with residential subdivisions to the north and east and a university that sits beyond the city line. The nine below come from Wikipedia, UC Davis visitor material and local sources.
| Neighborhood or district | Role in local search |
|---|---|
| Downtown Davis | The grid of numbered and lettered streets near the railroad tracks holds cafes, shops and an Amtrak station, so listings should name the cross streets and the nearest bike rack. |
| Central Park | Home to the farmers market, which began in 1976 and runs year-round with Saturday hours from 8 a.m. to 1 p.m., so nearby businesses can mention the market day. |
| Olive Drive | A street area close to downtown, listed with Aggie Village in the downtown description, where student services and food are common searches. |
| Mace Ranch | A subdivision in East Davis south of Covell Boulevard, so family services and home projects can name it as a service area. |
| North Davis | North of Covell Boulevard are Covell Park, Senda Nueva, Northstar and North Davis Farms, which suit pages for home upgrades and tutoring. |
| South Davis | The area south of Interstate 80, including Willowbank, is a separate search area from downtown for repair and delivery services. |
| UC Davis Arboretum | A three-mile garden that can be entered from the Davis Commons shopping center, handy as a landmark for cafes and fitness studios. |
| Hattie Weber Museum | Next to Central Park in the town's first public library building, it gives nearby businesses a clear historical reference. |
| Pole Line Road | The overpass where the Toad Tunnel was built in 1995 for $14,000 is a quirky local landmark for businesses on that side of Interstate 80. |
Place names come from city, county and regional sources and are informal; searchers use whichever name feels natural to them.
Comparable markets
The eight measures behind each match are population, income, age, renting, density, home language, second homes and seniors. Every city below links to its own guide.
| City | Index | Residents | Median income | Median age | Share renting |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| Davis, CA (you are here) | 33.5 | 67,203 | $83,592 | 26.3 | 58% |
| Santa Cruz, CA | 66.4 | 61,367 | $105,491 | 29.5 | 53% |
| San Luis Obispo, CA | 58.2 | 47,529 | $65,000 | 25.2 | 62% |
| Chico, CA | 34.4 | 102,790 | $65,932 | 30.4 | 55.9% |
| Berkeley, CA | 54.3 | 121,385 | $104,716 | 32.5 | 56.7% |
| North Highlands, CA | 32.4 | 48,083 | $62,156 | 34 | 48.6% |
Data: Census ACS 2018-2022. Every city is measured the same eight ways.
Plans and fees
Billing is monthly, with no contract and no setup fee. Month one covers keyword research, an audit of your site and a six-month plan. Schedule time with our CEO to pick a plan.
Owner FAQ
Prices run month to month: RankGuarantee™ is $495, and Organic Growth is $1,495 (Silver), $2,495 (Gold) or $3,495 (Platinum). No setup fee is charged, and the Gold and Platinum plans come with a managed website. Each plan is described higher up this page; the full pricing page has the rest.
Fixes to a Google profile can show up within weeks, while new pages and reviews for a cafe near Central Park take longer. No one can promise a date, so the monthly report follows searches that mention downtown and the farmers market, and the plan shifts from there.
The profile of a bike shop in Downtown Davis names the cross streets, the type of repairs, rental options and the busiest weeks, and it shows photos of the shop. Hours should match the academic year, and replies to reviews should mention the bike type or repair so that the profile feels current.
If foot traffic in Downtown Davis really drops, yes. Update the profile before the term ends, state the new hours in the first line of the page and return to regular hours before classes resume so students do not arrive at a locked door.
Often. Students use phones, search for the cheapest or closest option and read recent reviews, while residents in Mace Ranch or North Davis compare quotes and ask about warranties. A business serving both needs pages written for each group.
With 58% of households renting, searches spike around lease changes. Movers, cleaners and storage providers should publish pages weeks before those windows, with clear service areas and booking options, and keep their profiles active during the quiet months.
Yes, if the tutor, perhaps based near Mace Ranch, builds a separate page for Woodland that gives drive time, availability and online options. Woodland is 8 miles away, which is a short trip for many families but still needs a real reason to choose Davis.
It helps as geography, for example near campus or a short bike ride from the UC Davis Arboretum. Avoid wording that implies an official relationship, and check any discount or affiliation claims for accuracy before publishing them.
Usually yes. Olive Drive customers often live in nearby student housing and search for quick services, while downtown visitors come for dining and shopping. A separate page for each area gives each audience the answers it needs.
Around Davis
Nearest first, as the crow flies between city centers:
Serving the whole of Yolo County? Start with our Yolo County guide, which treats the county as a single market.
Talk with us
Share what you sell and whether your customers are students, faculty or long-time residents and whether you sit in Downtown Davis or farther out. A written plan follows, billed month to month with nothing charged to begin. Call 610-825-4363 or email hello@getphound.com.