Pets · Metro area · California
Pet businesses in the El Centro, CA metro area
The pet businesses in the El Centro, CA metro area, the household spending behind them and how the market ranks against other metro areas.
Groundwork market score · out of 100
Score 74 out of 100: Upper middle
Ranked #31 of 387 scored metro areas
#11 of 25 scored metro areas based in California
- Listings
- 18
- 3 chain locations (17%)
- Official establishments
- 9
- Businesses with payroll, 2023
- Household spending a year
- $40.7M
- On pets · $821 a household
- Spending per listing
- $2.3M
- 2.6 times the U.S.
- Listings per 10k households
- 3.6
- 65% below the U.S.
- Population, 2025
- 181,411
- +1.1% since 2020
See the pet businesses around any address in the El Centro 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 El Centro metro area. Signed out, you see a blurred preview; on an account, each report is one action.
Free10 actions over 3 days, no cardSurvey estimates 2020–2024 · population estimates 2025 · official business counts 2023 · map listings September 2026 · Data credits · How we measure
What this means
The El Centro metro area scores 74 (upper middle) on the Groundwork market score for pet businesses, ranking #31 of 387 scored metro areas and #11 of 25 scored metro areas based in California. That puts it in the top 10% of metro areas for pet businesses.
Household spending on pets in the El Centro metro area comes to about $40.7M a year: $821 per household, 10% below the U.S. average. Spread across 18 pet businesses, that is $2.3M per business, 2.6 times the U.S. figure of $878K.
There are 18 pet businesses on map listings in the El Centro metro area as of September 2026. Of those, 3 are chain locations, or 17%, against 17% across the U.S. That is 3.6 per 10,000 households, 65% below the U.S. rate of 10.4.
Official counts show 9 businesses with payroll classed as pet care, veterinarians and pet stores in the El Centro metro area in 2023. That is one for every 5,516 households, against one for every 1,852 across the U.S. Population estimates put the population change in the El Centro metro area from 2020 to 2025 at +1.1%, slower than the U.S. (+3.1%).
How the El Centro metro area compares
The same measures for California 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.
| Measure | El Centro metro area | California | U.S. |
|---|---|---|---|
| Listings per 10k households | 3.6 | 9.3 | 10.4 |
| Spending per listing | $2.3M | $1.2M | $878K |
| Households per official establishment | 5,516 | 1,875 | 1,852 |
| Official establishment growth, 2019–2023 | n/a | +11.6% | +11.4% |
| Population growth, 2020–2025 | +1.1% | −0.4% | +3.1% |
| Spending per household on pets | $821 | $1,149 | $909 |
| Median household income | $57,681 | $99,122 | $80,734 |
| Groundwork market score | 74 | 68 |
Official counts and lending
Businesses
- Official establishments, 2019 to 2023
- 9
- Employees, 2023
- 66
- Annual payroll, 2023
- $1.6M
- One-person businesses, 2023
- 25Businesses with no payroll
- Map listings, September 2026
- 183 chain locations
- Listings at the U.S. rate for this spending
- 46The U.S. ratio of listings to household spending, applied here
SBA-backed loans since fiscal 2022
- Loans
- 0
- Amount
- $0
SBA-backed loans to businesses classed as pet care, veterinarians and pet stores in the El Centro 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 El Centro metro area
- Population, 2025 estimate
- 181,411+1.1% since 2020
- Households
- 49,644
- Median age
- 33.6
- Homes lived in by their owners
- 57%
- Vehicles per household
- 2.0
- Land area
- 4,176 sq. mi.
- People per square mile
- 43
- Median household income
- $57,681+21.1% vs. 2015–2019, before inflation
- Average household income
- $79,363
- Median home value
- $309,600
- Jobs located here
- 63,081
- Daytime population
- 165,766Residents who don’t work, plus everyone whose job is here
Looking at a specific site in the El Centro 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 El Centro metro area. Signed out, you see a blurred preview; on an account, each report is one action.
Free10 actions over 3 days, no cardPet businesses across California
Every California market ranked →The highest-scoring metro areas in California for pet businesses, numbered among those based in California, with the El Centro metro area marked.
Top metro areas in California
| Market | Score | Listings | Per 10k households | Spending per listing | Population growth | U.S. rank |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| 1Stockton-Lodi, CA | 88 | 187 | 7.6 | $1.4M | +5.5% | #2 of 387 |
| 2Fresno, CA | 84 | 259 | 7.0 | $1.4M | +3.2% | #6 of 387 |
| 3Merced, CA | 82 | 68 | 7.9 | $1.1M | +5.1% | #10 of 387 |
| 4Riverside-San Bernardino-Ontario, CA | 81 | 1,361 | 9.4 | $1.1M | +3.5% | #12 of 387 |
| 5San Jose-Sunnyvale-Santa Clara, CA | 80 | 493 | 7.3 | $2M | −0.6% | #13 of 387 |
| 6Visalia, CA | 80 | 106 | 7.4 | $1.2M | +2.4% | #15 of 387 |
| 7Bakersfield-Delano, CA | 80 | 228 | 8.0 | $1.1M | +2.3% | #16 of 387 |
| 8Hanford-Corcoran, CA | 79 | 25 | 5.7 | $1.6M | +1.0% | #17 of 387 |
| 9Yuba City, CA | 77 | 63 | 10.2 | $949K | +3.3% | #23 of 387 |
| 10Sacramento-Roseville-Folsom, CA | 76 | 838 | 9.5 | $1.2M | +3.2% | #25 of 387 |
| 11El Centro, CA | 74 | 18 | 3.6 | $2.3M | +1.1% | #31 of 387 |
Other business types in the El Centro metro area
Each with its Groundwork market score here, out of 100, where it has one.
Food and drink
Groceries and convenience
Auto
Beauty and personal care
Fitness and classes
Health care
Pets
- Pet businesses74
- Veterinarians
- Pet grooming and boarding70
- Pet stores
Child care
Clothing and laundry
Home services
Real estate
Funeral services
Questions
How many pet businesses are in the El Centro, CA metro area?
As of September 2026, map listings count 18 pet businesses in the El Centro metro area. 3 of them (17%) are chain locations. The listings count vets, groomers, boarding and pet stores. Official counts show 9 businesses with payroll classed as pet care, veterinarians and pet stores in 2023. Another 25 one-person businesses have no payroll, by official counts.
How much do households in the El Centro, CA metro area spend on pets?
About $40.7M a year, or $821 per household. That is 10% below the U.S. average (an index of 90, where 100 is the U.S. average). Spread across the 18 pet businesses on map listings, it comes to $2.3M per business. It is estimated from the incomes of the 49,644 households in the El Centro metro area and national spending patterns by income.
How does the El Centro, CA metro area compare with the U.S. for pet businesses?
The El Centro metro area has 3.6 pet businesses per 10,000 households, 65% below the U.S. rate of 10.4. Spending per business is $2.3M, 2.6 times the U.S. figure of $878K. At the U.S. ratio of pet businesses to household spending, the El Centro metro area would have about 46, against 18 on map listings. There is one business with payroll in the industry for every 5,516 households, against one for every 1,852 across the U.S.
How fast is the El Centro, CA metro area growing?
Population estimates put the El Centro metro area at 181,411 people in 2025, up 1.1% since 2020, slower than the U.S. (+3.1%). It has 49,644 households. Median household income in the El Centro metro area is $57,681, 29% below the U.S. median of $80,734. Against the 2015–2019 survey, the median rose 21.1%, 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 El Centro metro area scores 74 for pet businesses (upper middle), #31 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 El Centro 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 El Centro metro area
Screening a site or an acquisition in the El Centro 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 El Centro 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.