State of Cannabis · San Diego County · 2026

State of Cannabis: San Diego County

We scored every licensed dispensary in San Diego County on how easily customers find it on Google Maps, Google search and ChatGPT. The average graded store scores 69.6 out of 100, and 71% of stores with a website have no menu pages in Google at all.

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What we found

Most San Diego County dispensaries are hard to find online

Summary: As of 2026-10-20, the average licensed dispensary in San Diego County scores 69.6 out of 100 on the Heady Findability Score. 71% of stores with a website have no menu pages in Google, 32% have no location page, and 20% don't rank in Google's top 10 for their own name.

  • 71%54 of 76 stores

    dispensaries with a website have zero menu product pages in Google's index.

    Most menus live on Weedmaps, Dutchie, Meadow and similar platforms, so Google credits the platform, not the store.

    Site checks · San Diego County

  • 32%24 of 76 stores

    have no page with that location's address and hours on their own website.

    That's the page Google and ChatGPT look for when someone asks where to shop nearby.

    Site checks · San Diego County

  • 20%15 of 76 stores

    don't appear in Google's top 10 for their own name, searched as “[store] dispensary [city]”.

    Median of three searches per store. Directories and marketplaces take those spots.

    Google search · San Diego County

  • 14%11 of 80 stores

    were never named by ChatGPT in 15 answers about dispensaries in their own neighborhood.

    20 stores were named in all 15. AI answers are already picking winners.

    ChatGPT · San Diego County

  • 5%4 of 80 stores

    have no website of their own, only a marketplace listing or nothing at all.

    These stores get no grade. We score their Maps and profile results only.

    Google Maps · San Diego County

  • 20%16 of 80 stores

    are not #1 on Google Maps at their own front door for at least two of three core searches.

    Searched at the store's address and four points half a mile out.

    Google Maps · San Diego County

Base: 80 stores matched and scored (76 with their own website; website checks use those). Maps grids collected n/a; Google search, ChatGPT and site checks 2026-10-20. Licences: CA DCC list refreshed 2026-10-19. Scoring: Heady statewide score v2.0.

Grade spread

8 stores earn an A

Most stores sit in the middle: 22 land in the C range (55 to 69 points) and 11 in the D range. Brighter means more findable; an F is a store that's barely lit up online.

Show as a table
Grade distribution, 80 San Diego County dispensaries
GradeScore rangeStoresShare
A85 to 100810%
B70 to 843443%
C55 to 692228%
D40 to 541114%
FUnder 4011%
No websiteNot graded45%
Stores by grade. Stores with no website are scored on Maps and profile only and get no grade.

By neighborhood

Mission Valley leads. La Mesa trails.

Each circle is a neighborhood with three or more scored stores. Size shows how many stores; brightness shows the average score of stores with a website. The headline only names neighborhoods with five or more graded stores.

A 85+B 70 to 84C 55 to 69D 40 to 54F under 40A-grade store
12 San Diego County neighborhoods with three or more scored stores. Percentages use stores with their own website. Small neighborhoods swing a lot: one store moves a three-store average by a third.
3B 82.9233%67%0
3B 78050%100%1
3B 77.4033%67%0
4B 73.9050%75%1
6B 7310%83%1
3B 71.9033%67%1
3C 69.8133%67%1
4C 69.7025%75%0
7C 68.4129%71%1
10C 63.5120%50%2
4C 62.3025%75%0
13C 55.800%75%6

The A list

San Diego County's 7 most findable dispensaries

These stores scored 85 or higher on the Heady Findability Score.

  1. Cookies (Mission Valley)

    Mission Valley · 7850 Mission Center Ct

    A 91.7

  2. Wellgreens (Pacific Beach)

    Pacific Beach · 4645 De Soto St

    A 90

  3. HiKei (Downtown / Airport)

    Midway-Pacific Highway · 1215 W Nutmeg St

    A 89

  4. HiKei (City Heights)

    City Heights · 3940 Home Ave

    A 88.8

  5. Off The Charts (Vista)

    Vista · 1745 Vista Way E, Suite 7 - 10

    A 86.7

  6. Klover

    Midway-Pacific Highway · 3500 Estudillo St

    A 86

  7. March and Ash (Sabre Springs)

    Sabre Springs · 13510 Sabre Springs Pkwy

    A 86

A-grade stores get an embeddable badge that links back to this report. Is this your store? Claim your badge.

Methodology

How the Heady Findability Score works

Every licensed storefront is scored the same way, out of 100. We only count licensed rivals, so spam listings, unlicensed shops and delivery services don't distort the map results.

Scorer v2.0, locked Oct 9, 2026. Read the full methodology.

GradesA 85+, B 70 to 84, C 55 to 69, D 40 to 54, F under 40.
Hard capA site that's down, or that Google can't see, is capped at 39.
No websiteScored on Maps and profile only. Labeled, not graded.
Points by section (100 total)
SectionPointsWhat it measures
Local43Wins Google Maps at its own front door (23) and across a 5x5 grid around the store against licensed rivals only (20).
Profile5Review count, rating, and whether the Google profile links to the store's own website.
Search27Ranks for its own name (12), has 10+ menu product pages Google can index (10), has a store page with address, hours and schema (5).
AIO15How many of 15 ChatGPT answers about the store's neighborhood name this specific location (5 unbranded prompts, 3 runs each).
Web10Menu link in the main navigation, order path of two clicks or fewer, working XML sitemap, correct canonical tags.

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FAQ

Questions about the report

What is the Heady Findability Score?

It's a 100-point score for how easily customers can find a licensed dispensary on Google Maps, Google search and ChatGPT. Local visibility is worth 43 points, search 27, AI answers 15, website basics 10 and the Google profile 5. Grades run from A (85 and up) to F (under 40).

Which dispensaries are included?

Every retail storefront and microbusiness licence on the California DCC list, scored city by city. Each city report states its exact scope and data dates. Cities appear on the map as their scans finish.

Does a high score mean it's a better dispensary?

No. The score measures how findable a store is online. It says nothing about products, prices, service or compliance.

Why don't you publish every store's score?

We name the stores that earned an A. Every other store's full report goes only to its owner, so the findings help that store fix them instead of handing them to competitors.

How do I get my store's full report?

Search for your store above. We send the full report to the email on your state licence, which proves ownership in one click. If that inbox isn't yours anymore, use your own email and our team will verify you.

I'm a brand, operator or investor. What can I get?

The California report: statewide findings, every live city's tables and the methodology, plus an update each time a new city goes live.

What if your data about my store is wrong?

Every report has a request-a-correction button. We re-check the store and update the report if we got it wrong.

How often is this updated?

We plan to re-scan quarterly and publish the biggest climbers. Every number shows the date its data was collected.

Want to be on the A list?

We'll walk you through your store's report and the fixes that move your score most. Multi-store operators get every location in one view.

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