Groundwork

Pets · Metro area · Arizona

Pet businesses in the Tucson, AZ metro area

How the Tucson, AZ metro area compares with other metro areas and the U.S. for pet businesses: competitors, household spending, official counts and growth.

Groundwork market score · out of 100

Score 65 out of 100: Upper middle

Ranked #82 of 387 scored metro areas
#4 of 7 scored metro areas based in Arizona

Listings
427
92 chain locations (22%)
Official establishments
232
+11.5% since 2019
Household spending a year
$403.1M
On pets · $921 a household
Spending per listing
$944K
7% above the U.S.
Listings per 10k households
9.8
6% below the U.S.
Population, 2025
1,074,685
+2.8% since 2020

See the pet businesses around any address in the Tucson metro area

The site report maps the pet businesses on map listings near the address, by name and distance, and sizes the households and spending around it. Or open the report at the center of the Tucson metro area. Signed out, you see a blurred preview; on an account, each report is one action.

Free10 actions over 3 days, no card

Survey estimates 2020–2024 · population estimates 2025 · official business counts 2023 · map listings September 2026 · Data credits · How we measure

What this means

As of September 2026, map listings count 427 pet businesses in the Tucson metro area. Of those, 92 are chain locations, or 22%, against 17% across the U.S. That comes to 9.8 for every 10,000 households, 6% below the U.S. rate of 10.4.

Household spending on pets in the Tucson metro area comes to about $403.1M a year: $921 per household, in line with the U.S. average. That works out to $944K per business, 7% above the U.S. figure of $878K.

Official counts show 232 businesses with payroll classed as pet care, veterinarians and pet stores in the Tucson metro area in 2023, up 11.5% from 2019. That is one for every 1,887 households, against one for every 1,852 across the U.S. Another 635 one-person businesses have no payroll, by official counts. Since fiscal 2022, 14 SBA-backed loans worth $5.1M have gone to businesses classed as pet care, veterinarians and pet stores in the Tucson metro area.

Between 2020 and 2025, the population of the Tucson metro area grew 2.8%, in step with the U.S. (+3.1%). The Tucson metro area scores 65 (upper middle) on the Groundwork market score for pet businesses, ranking #82 of 387 scored metro areas and #4 of 7 scored metro areas based in Arizona. That puts it in the top quarter of metro areas.

How the Tucson metro area compares

The same measures for Arizona and the whole U.S. Spending per listing divides a year of household spending on all pets by the pet businesses counted, so it measures the demand for each competitor, not any business’s revenue. Households per establishment does the same with the official count.

Pet businesses in Tucson, AZ metro area compared with Arizona and the U.S.
MeasureTucson metro areaArizonaU.S.
Listings per 10k households9.89.810.4
Spending per listing$944K$1M$878K
Households per official establishment1,8871,9121,852
Official establishment growth, 2019–2023+11.5%+13.9%+11.4%
Population growth, 2020–2025+2.8%+6.1%+3.1%
Spending per household on pets$921$989$909
Median household income$70,315$79,964$80,734
Groundwork market score6576

Official counts and lending

Businesses

Official establishments, 2019 to 2023
232+11.5% over the period
Employees, 2023
3,249
Annual payroll, 2023
$155.2M
One-person businesses, 2023
635Businesses with no payroll
Map listings, September 2026
42792 chain locations
Listings at the U.S. rate for this spending
459The U.S. ratio of listings to household spending, applied here

SBA-backed loans since fiscal 2022

Loans
14
Amount
$5.1M

SBA-backed loans to businesses classed as pet care, veterinarians and pet stores in the Tucson metro area, through June 2026, placed by the borrower’s ZIP code. Official establishments are businesses with payroll; the official counts leave out places with fewer than 3.

Population and households in the Tucson metro area

Population, 2025 estimate
1,074,685+2.8% since 2020
Households
437,827
Median age
41.4
Homes lived in by their owners
65%
Vehicles per household
1.7
Land area
9,189 sq. mi.
People per square mile
115
Median household income
$70,315+31.7% vs. 2015–2019, before inflation
Average household income
$96,008
Median home value
$319,700
Jobs located here
381,409
Daytime population
1,030,631Residents who don’t work, plus everyone whose job is here

Looking at a specific site in the Tucson metro area?

These figures cover the whole metro area. A site report draws rings around one address and counts what’s inside them: households, spending, jobs, and the pet businesses on map listings by name and distance.

Or open the report at the center of the Tucson metro area. Signed out, you see a blurred preview; on an account, each report is one action.

Free10 actions over 3 days, no card

Pet businesses across Arizona

Every Arizona market ranked →

The highest-scoring metro areas in Arizona for pet businesses, numbered among those based in Arizona, with the Tucson metro area marked.

Top metro areas in Arizona

Metro areas in Arizona ranked for pet businesses by Groundwork market score
MarketScoreListingsPer 10k householdsSpending per listingPopulation growthU.S. rank
1Yuma, AZ83526.6$1.3M+9.2%#9 of 387
2Phoenix-Mesa-Chandler, AZ771,8379.7$1.1M+7.3%#21 of 387
3Flagstaff, AZ68468.3$1.1M−0.6%#58 of 387
4Tucson, AZ654279.8$944K+2.8%#82 of 387
5Lake Havasu City-Kingman, AZ5910910.7$751K+6.5%#130 of 387
6Prescott Valley-Prescott, AZ4016014.4$626K+6.5%#278 of 387
7Sierra Vista-Douglas, AZ306011.8$694K+0.6%#333 of 387

Other business types in the Tucson metro area

Each with its Groundwork market score here, out of 100, where it has one.

Questions

How many pet businesses are in the Tucson, AZ metro area?

The Tucson metro area has 427 pet businesses on map listings as of September 2026. 92 of them (22%) are chain locations. The listings count vets, groomers, boarding and pet stores. Official counts show 232 businesses with payroll classed as pet care, veterinarians and pet stores in 2023, up 11.5% from 2019. Official counts list 635 one-person businesses without payroll.

How much do households in the Tucson, AZ metro area spend on pets?

About $403.1M a year, or $921 per household. That is in line with the U.S. average (an index of 101, where 100 is the U.S. average). Spread across the 427 pet businesses on map listings, it comes to $944K per business. It is estimated from the incomes of the 437,827 households in the Tucson metro area and national spending patterns by income.

How does the Tucson, AZ metro area compare with the U.S. for pet businesses?

The Tucson metro area has 9.8 pet businesses per 10,000 households, 6% below the U.S. rate of 10.4. Spending per business is $944K, 7% above the U.S. figure of $878K. At the national ratio of pet businesses to household spending, the Tucson metro area would have about 459, against 427 on map listings. There is one business with payroll in the industry for every 1,887 households, against one for every 1,852 across the U.S. The official count rose 11.5% from 2019 to 2023, against +11.4% for the U.S.

How fast is the Tucson, AZ metro area growing?

Population estimates put the Tucson metro area at 1,074,685 people in 2025, up 2.8% since 2020, in step with the U.S. (+3.1%). It has 437,827 households. The median household income in the Tucson metro area is $70,315 a year, 13% below the U.S. median of $80,734. That rose 31.7% from the 2015–2019 survey, before inflation.

What is the Groundwork market score?

The Groundwork market score runs from 0 to 100 and compares a market with others of its kind for one business type: states with states, metro areas with metro areas, small-town markets and counties with their own. It weighs household spending per competitor (35%), households per business with payroll (25%), population growth (20%) and spending power (20%), each ranked against those peers. A higher score means that, taken together, the market has more household spending and more households for each business already there, faster population growth and more spending per household than similar markets. It describes a market, not any one site or deal. The Tucson metro area scores 65 for pet businesses (upper middle), #82 of 387 scored metro areas.

How can I see the market around a specific site?

Run a Groundwork site report on an address in the Tucson metro area. It maps the pet businesses on map listings near the site and sizes the households and spending within the distance you choose. New accounts get 10 actions over 3 days, no card.

How the score works · Top markets for pet businesses · All 56 business types in the Tucson metro area

Screening a site or an acquisition in the Tucson metro area?

A site report maps the competitors on map listings near an address and sizes the households and spending around it.

The button opens the report at the center of the Tucson metro area. Signed out, you see a blurred preview; on an account, each report is one action.

This product uses the Census Bureau Data API but is not endorsed or certified by the Census Bureau.

Figures are estimates for research only. Not investment or real estate advice.