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Catering Google Ads cost per click

Across the US, a typical catering campaign on Google Ads pays about $2.20 a click. That ranks 137 of the 146 kinds of business measured here, where the one in the middle pays $5.40.

$2.20

Cost per click, US

410,000

Searches a month, US

$1.50 to $7.20

Google's top-of-page bids for the same searches

Work out your budget

By service

Clicks for private chefs cost the most at $2.50, 16% more than those for catering at $2.10. A campaign that takes every service pays somewhere between, set by which ones people search for most where it runs.

Catering Google Ads cost per click by service, US
ServiceCost per clickSearches a month
Private chefs$2.5058,000
Catering$2.10350,000

By state

A click costs the most in District of Columbia at $3.30, 3.1 times one in West Virginia at $1.10. The same searches cost more where more businesses bid on them and each customer is worth more. 6 states are left out, with fewer than 1,000 searches a month to price.

Where people search most

Catering Google Ads cost per click in the ten states with the most searches
StateCost per clickSearches a month
California$2.9059,000
Texas$2.4034,000
New York$2.6029,000
Florida$1.9029,000
Pennsylvania$1.8020,000
Ohio$1.6019,000
Illinois$2.2019,000
New Jersey$2.1016,000
Michigan$1.6013,000
North Carolina$1.7013,000

Dearest and cheapest

Catering Google Ads cost per click, the dearest and cheapest states
StateCost per click
District of Columbia$3.30
California$2.90
Colorado$2.70
New York$2.60
Texas$2.40
Nebraska$1.40
Iowa$1.30
Maine$1.20
Hawaii$1.20
West Virginia$1.10
Every state with enough searches (45)
Catering Google Ads cost per click by state, dearest first
StateCost per clickSearches a month
District of Columbia$3.301,700
California$2.9059,000
Colorado$2.707,500
New York$2.6029,000
Texas$2.4034,000
Utah$2.304,300
Arizona$2.308,400
Washington$2.309,400
Maryland$2.208,600
Illinois$2.2019,000
Virginia$2.2012,000
Nevada$2.203,400
Oregon$2.104,600
New Jersey$2.1016,000
Georgia$2.1012,000
Massachusetts$2.1011,000
Idaho$2.001,600
Arkansas$2.002,300
Florida$1.9029,000
Delaware$1.901,500
Louisiana$1.904,100
Connecticut$1.805,200
Pennsylvania$1.8020,000
New Hampshire$1.801,900
Missouri$1.706,300
Tennessee$1.707,700
North Carolina$1.7013,000
Indiana$1.707,200
South Carolina$1.705,600
Oklahoma$1.602,800
Rhode Island$1.601,600
Kansas$1.604,000
Wisconsin$1.606,400
Michigan$1.6013,000
Mississippi$1.602,300
Ohio$1.6019,000
Alabama$1.604,100
New Mexico$1.501,500
Kentucky$1.503,800
Minnesota$1.405,400
Nebraska$1.401,900
Iowa$1.302,600
Maine$1.201,400
Hawaii$1.202,200
West Virginia$1.101,700

Against Google's own bids

Keyword Planner puts the top-of-page bids for these searches at $1.50 to $7.20: what advertisers bid to show above the results. A typical campaign pays $2.20, inside that range, because Google charges what it takes to beat the ad below and not the bid itself. Planning a budget on the top-of-page bid overstates what clicks will cost.

No published study measures this business on its own, so its price level is the median for its industry in LocaliQ's studies, moved a third of the way toward Google's prices scaled to what campaigns paid. Google's prices set how its services and the states compare.

Searches peak in October, at 40% above February, the slowest month. A budget sized for the slow months runs out sooner in the busy ones.

Priced near catering

Just above and below in the ranking

All 146 businesses, ranked

Where the figures come from

Google's own search counts and click prices for the year to August 2026 (Keyword Planner, through DataForSEO), scaled to what campaigns paid in LocaliQ's published studies, rounded to ten cents. They are medians: half of campaigns pay more. The full method is on the benchmark page, and the budget calculator runs on the same data for any ZIP code.

Written by Grant Epley. Last reviewed October 11, 2026. Search data to August 2026.