Pets · County · Connecticut
Pet businesses in the Lower Connecticut River Valley Planning Region, CT
How the Lower Connecticut River Valley Planning Region, CT compares with other counties and the U.S. for pet businesses: competitors, household spending, official counts and growth.
Groundwork market score · out of 100
Score 30 out of 100: Lower middle
Ranked #1,872 of 2,200 scored counties
#7 of 9 scored counties in Connecticut
- Listings
- 112
- 17 chain locations (15%)
- Official establishments
- 56
- Businesses with payroll, 2023
- Household spending a year
- $57.2M
- On pets · $773 a household
- Spending per listing
- $511K
- 42% below the U.S.
- Listings per 10k households
- 15.1
- 45% above the U.S.
- Population, 2025
- 177,311
- +2.3% since 2020
See the pet businesses around any address in the Lower Connecticut River Valley Planning Region
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 Lower Connecticut River Valley Planning Region. 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
For pet businesses, the Lower Connecticut River Valley Planning Region has a Groundwork market score of 30 (lower middle): #1,872 of 2,200 scored counties and #7 of 9 scored counties in Connecticut. That puts it in the bottom quarter of counties.
Map listings as of September 2026 show 112 pet businesses in the Lower Connecticut River Valley Planning Region. Chain locations make up 15% of them, against 17% across the U.S. That is 15.1 per 10,000 households, 45% above the U.S. rate of 10.4.
At $773 per household (15% below the U.S. average), households in the Lower Connecticut River Valley Planning Region spend about $57.2M a year on pets. That is about $511K of household spending for each business on map listings, 42% below the U.S. figure of $878K.
In 2023, official counts showed 56 businesses with payroll in the Lower Connecticut River Valley Planning Region classed as pet care, veterinarians and pet stores. That is one for every 1,323 households, against one for every 1,852 across the U.S. Since fiscal 2022, 3 SBA-backed loans worth $4.2M have gone to businesses classed as pet care, veterinarians and pet stores in the Lower Connecticut River Valley Planning Region. Population estimates put the population change in the Lower Connecticut River Valley Planning Region from 2020 to 2025 at +2.3%, slower than the U.S. (+3.1%).
How the Lower Connecticut River Valley Planning Region compares
The same measures for Connecticut 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 | Lower Connecticut River Valley Planning Region | Connecticut | U.S. |
|---|---|---|---|
| Listings per 10k households | 15.1 | 11.1 | 10.4 |
| Spending per listing | $511K | $671K | $878K |
| Households per official establishment | 1,323 | 1,660 | 1,852 |
| Official establishment growth, 2019–2023 | n/a | +5.1% | +11.4% |
| Population growth, 2020–2025 | +2.3% | +3.0% | +3.1% |
| Spending per household on pets | $773 | $742 | $909 |
| Median household income | $104,428 | $95,781 | $80,734 |
| Groundwork market score | 30 | 29 |
Official counts and lending
Businesses
- Official establishments, 2019 to 2023
- 56
- Employees, 2023
- 689
- Annual payroll, 2023
- $38M
- One-person businesses, 2023
- 146Businesses with no payroll
- Map listings, September 2026
- 11217 chain locations
- Listings at the U.S. rate for this spending
- 65The U.S. ratio of listings to household spending, applied here
SBA-backed loans since fiscal 2022
- Loans
- 3
- Amount
- $4.2M
SBA-backed loans to businesses classed as pet care, veterinarians and pet stores in the Lower Connecticut River Valley Planning Region, 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 Lower Connecticut River Valley Planning Region
- Population, 2025 estimate
- 177,311+2.3% since 2020
- Households
- 74,068
- Median age
- 45.6
- Homes lived in by their owners
- 76%
- Vehicles per household
- 1.9
- Land area
- 424 sq. mi.
- People per square mile
- 415
- Median household income
- $104,428
- Average household income
- $138,522
- Median home value
- $379,700
- Jobs located here
- 70,497
- Daytime population
- 159,861Residents who don’t work, plus everyone whose job is here
Looking at a specific site in the Lower Connecticut River Valley Planning Region?
These figures cover the whole county. 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 Lower Connecticut River Valley Planning Region. Signed out, you see a blurred preview; on an account, each report is one action.
Free10 actions over 3 days, no cardPet businesses across Connecticut
Every Connecticut market ranked →The highest-scoring counties in Connecticut for pet businesses, numbered among those based in Connecticut, with the Lower Connecticut River Valley Planning Region marked.
Top counties in Connecticut
| Market | Score | Listings | Per 10k households | Spending per listing | Population growth | U.S. rank |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| 1Greater Bridgeport Planning Region, CT | 54 | 115 | 9.6 | $763K | +4.1% | #909 of 2,200 |
| 2South Central Connecticut Planning Region, CT | 50 | 213 | 9.2 | $765K | +2.5% | #1,090 of 2,200 |
| 3Naugatuck Valley Planning Region, CT | 49 | 165 | 9.2 | $752K | +3.2% | #1,134 of 2,200 |
| 4Western Connecticut Planning Region, CT | 47 | 327 | 13.9 | $633K | +3.5% | #1,244 of 2,200 |
| 5Capitol Planning Region, CT | 45 | 393 | 10.0 | $723K | +3.1% | #1,324 of 2,200 |
| 6Southeastern Connecticut Planning Region, CT | 36 | 125 | 10.8 | $631K | +2.0% | #1,669 of 2,200 |
| 7Lower Connecticut River Valley Planning Region, CT | 30 | 112 | 15.1 | $511K | +2.3% | #1,872 of 2,200 |
| 8Northwest Hills Planning Region, CT | 26 | 68 | 14.2 | $509K | +2.2% | #1,985 of 2,200 |
| 9Northeastern Connecticut Planning Region, CT | 22 | 67 | 17.0 | $408K | +3.0% | #2,079 of 2,200 |
Other business types in the Lower Connecticut River Valley Planning Region
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 businesses30
- Veterinarians36
- Pet grooming and boarding24
- Pet stores49
Child care
Clothing and laundry
Home services
Real estate
Funeral services
Questions
How many pet businesses are in the Lower Connecticut River Valley Planning Region, CT?
There are 112 pet businesses on map listings in the Lower Connecticut River Valley Planning Region as of September 2026. 17 of them (15%) are chain locations. The listings count vets, groomers, boarding and pet stores. Official counts show 56 businesses with payroll classed as pet care, veterinarians and pet stores in 2023. Another 146 one-person businesses have no payroll, by official counts.
How much do households in the Lower Connecticut River Valley Planning Region, CT spend on pets?
About $57.2M a year, or $773 per household. That is 15% below the U.S. average (an index of 85, where 100 is the U.S. average). Spread across the 112 pet businesses on map listings, it comes to $511K per business. It is estimated from the incomes of the 74,068 households in the Lower Connecticut River Valley Planning Region and national spending patterns by income.
How does the Lower Connecticut River Valley Planning Region, CT compare with the U.S. for pet businesses?
The Lower Connecticut River Valley Planning Region has 15.1 pet businesses per 10,000 households, 45% above the U.S. rate of 10.4. Spending per business is $511K, 42% below the U.S. figure of $878K. At the national ratio of pet businesses to household spending, the Lower Connecticut River Valley Planning Region would have about 65, against 112 on map listings. There is one business with payroll in the industry for every 1,323 households, against one for every 1,852 across the U.S.
How fast is the Lower Connecticut River Valley Planning Region, CT growing?
Population estimates put the Lower Connecticut River Valley Planning Region at 177,311 people in 2025, up 2.3% since 2020, slower than the U.S. (+3.1%). It has 74,068 households. The median household income in the Lower Connecticut River Valley Planning Region is $104,428 a year, 29% above the U.S. median of $80,734.
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 Lower Connecticut River Valley Planning Region scores 30 for pet businesses (lower middle), #1,872 of 2,200 scored counties.
How can I see the market around a specific site?
Run a Groundwork site report on an address in the Lower Connecticut River Valley Planning Region. 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 Lower Connecticut River Valley Planning Region
Screening a site or an acquisition in the Lower Connecticut River Valley Planning Region?
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 Lower Connecticut River Valley Planning Region. 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.