The Australian Reputation Index
The largest independent dataset on Australian business reputation — average Google ratings, the best- and worst-reviewed industries, and the highest-rated cities, across 381,412 businesses.
Key findings
- The average Australian business holds a 4.66★ Google rating across 26.6 million reviews from 269,550 rated businesses.
- Celebrants are Australia's best-reviewed industry at 4.96★ — while Pharmacies rank lowest at 4.05★.
- Queensland has the highest-rated businesses of any state (4.71★), and Sunshine Coast tops the city ranking at 4.81★.
- The typical rated business carries 99 Google reviews, and 78.6% of businesses sit at 4.5★ or higher — so a rating under 4.0★ already places a business below most of its peers.
- Only 77% of rated Australian businesses link a website on their Google profile — a major discoverability gap.
How Australian businesses are rated
Share of 269,550 rated businesses by Google star rating.
What counts as good? Because 78.6% of Australian businesses already sit at 4.5★ or above, a 4.5★ rating is roughly average — not exceptional. Only 1.8% fall below 3.0★, so a low rating stands out sharply to anyone comparing options.
Best-rated industries
Highest average Google rating (min 300 businesses).
Lowest-rated industries
Where reputation is hardest to win — and easiest to stand out.
Most-reviewed industries
Total Google reviews tracked per industry — where customers are most vocal.
States ranked by reputation
Average business rating by state and territory.
Top-rated cities
Highest average rating (min 400 rated businesses).
For media & researchers
All figures are free to cite and reproduce with attribution to the Starworks Australian Reputation Index. The headline numbers are collected here for quick reference.
Key numbers at a glance
- National average Google rating
- 4.66 ★
- Australian businesses tracked
- 381,412
- Businesses with a Google rating
- 269,550
- Total Google reviews analysed
- 26,570,772
- Average reviews per rated business
- 99
- Rated 4.5★ or higher
- 78.6%
- Rated under 3.0★
- 1.8%
- Hold a perfect 5.0★
- 45.2%
- Link a website on Google
- 77%
- Best-rated industry
- Celebrants (4.96★)
- Lowest-rated industry
- Pharmacies (4.05★)
- Top-rated state
- Queensland (4.71★)
- Top-rated city
- Sunshine Coast (4.81★)
Cite this report
Media enquiries, custom cuts of the data, or interview requests: ben@starworks.com.au
Methodology
The Starworks Australian Reputation Index is built from the public Google star rating and review count of every business in the Starworks directory — 381,412 Australian businesses, of which 269,550 have at least one Google rating.
Industry and location averages are weighted by the number of rated businesses in each group (not a simple average of averages), so larger groups carry proportional weight. Only industries with at least 300 rated businesses and cities with at least 400 are ranked, so small samples can't skew the leaderboards. Ratings reflect public Google data and are refreshed regularly as the directory updates.
This is an observational dataset of businesses Starworks tracks, not a census of every Australian business. Figures may shift between updates as new reviews are published.
Frequently asked questions
What is the average Google rating for an Australian business?
Across 269,550 Australian businesses tracked by Starworks, the average Google star rating is 4.66 out of 5, based on 26.6 million reviews.
Which industries have the best reviews in Australia?
Celebrants currently have the highest average reputation in Australia at 4.96★ across 1,577 businesses. The full ranking of the best- and worst-rated industries is on the Starworks Reputation Index.
Which industries have the worst reviews in Australia?
Among industries with a meaningful sample size, Pharmacies have the lowest average Google rating at 4.05★, based on 1,792 businesses. See the Starworks Reputation Index for the full ranking.
Which Australian state has the best-rated businesses?
Based on Starworks data, Queensland (QLD) has the highest average business rating at 4.71★ across 17,406 rated businesses.
How is the Starworks Reputation Index calculated?
The Index aggregates the public Google star rating and review count of every business in the Starworks directory (381,412 Australian businesses). Averages are weighted by the number of rated businesses in each group, and only industries and cities with a meaningful sample size are ranked. The data is refreshed regularly.
How does your business rank?
Check your free reputation score against local competitors in seconds — no signup required.