Groundwork

Pets · County · Connecticut

Pet businesses in the Western Connecticut Planning Region, CT

Competitor counts, household spending and official business counts for pet businesses in the Western Connecticut Planning Region, CT, set against other counties and the U.S.

Groundwork market score · out of 100

Score 47 out of 100: Lower middle

Ranked #1,244 of 2,200 scored counties
#4 of 9 scored counties in Connecticut

Listings
327
63 chain locations (19%)
Official establishments
175
Businesses with payroll, 2023
Household spending a year
$207.1M
On pets · $880 a household
Spending per listing
$633K
28% below the U.S.
Listings per 10k households
13.9
34% above the U.S.
Population, 2025
640,482
+3.5% since 2020

See the pet businesses around any address in the Western Connecticut 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 Western Connecticut Planning Region. Signed out, you see a blurred preview; on an account, each report is one action.

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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 327 pet businesses in the Western Connecticut Planning Region. Chain locations make up 19% of them, against 17% across the U.S. That is 13.9 per 10,000 households, 34% above the U.S. rate of 10.4.

Household spending on pets in the Western Connecticut Planning Region comes to about $207.1M a year: $880 per household, 3% below the U.S. average. That works out to $633K per business, 28% below the U.S. figure of $878K.

Official counts show 175 businesses with payroll classed as pet care, veterinarians and pet stores in the Western Connecticut Planning Region in 2023. That is one for every 1,345 households, against one for every 1,852 across the U.S. Official counts also show 556 one-person businesses without payroll. Since fiscal 2022, 13 SBA-backed loans worth $8.9M have gone to businesses classed as pet care, veterinarians and pet stores in the Western Connecticut Planning Region.

Population estimates show the Western Connecticut Planning Region grew 3.5% from 2020 to 2025, in step with the U.S. (+3.1%). The Western Connecticut Planning Region scores 47 (lower middle) on the Groundwork market score for pet businesses, ranking #1,244 of 2,200 scored counties and #4 of 9 scored counties in Connecticut.

How the Western Connecticut 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.

Pet businesses in Western Connecticut Planning Region, CT compared with Connecticut and the U.S.
MeasureWestern Connecticut Planning RegionConnecticutU.S.
Listings per 10k households13.911.110.4
Spending per listing$633K$671K$878K
Households per official establishment1,3451,6601,852
Official establishment growth, 2019–2023n/a+5.1%+11.4%
Population growth, 2020–2025+3.5%+3.0%+3.1%
Spending per household on pets$880$742$909
Median household income$128,188$95,781$80,734
Groundwork market score4729

Official counts and lending

Businesses

Official establishments, 2019 to 2023
175
Employees, 2023
2,012
Annual payroll, 2023
$113.4M
One-person businesses, 2023
556Businesses with no payroll
Map listings, September 2026
32763 chain locations
Listings at the U.S. rate for this spending
236The U.S. ratio of listings to household spending, applied here

SBA-backed loans since fiscal 2022

Loans
13
Amount
$8.9M

SBA-backed loans to businesses classed as pet care, veterinarians and pet stores in the Western Connecticut 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 Western Connecticut Planning Region

Population, 2025 estimate
640,482+3.5% since 2020
Households
235,379
Median age
42.2
Homes lived in by their owners
66%
Vehicles per household
1.8
Land area
532 sq. mi.
People per square mile
1,178
Median household income
$128,188
Average household income
$214,675
Median home value
$652,900
Jobs located here
282,077
Daytime population
636,160Residents who don’t work, plus everyone whose job is here

Looking at a specific site in the Western Connecticut 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 Western Connecticut Planning Region. Signed out, you see a blurred preview; on an account, each report is one action.

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Pet businesses across Connecticut

Every Connecticut market ranked →

The highest-scoring counties in Connecticut for pet businesses, numbered among those based in Connecticut, with the Western Connecticut Planning Region marked.

Top counties in Connecticut

Counties in Connecticut ranked for pet businesses by Groundwork market score
MarketScoreListingsPer 10k householdsSpending per listingPopulation growthU.S. rank
1Greater Bridgeport Planning Region, CT541159.6$763K+4.1%#909 of 2,200
2South Central Connecticut Planning Region, CT502139.2$765K+2.5%#1,090 of 2,200
3Naugatuck Valley Planning Region, CT491659.2$752K+3.2%#1,134 of 2,200
4Western Connecticut Planning Region, CT4732713.9$633K+3.5%#1,244 of 2,200
5Capitol Planning Region, CT4539310.0$723K+3.1%#1,324 of 2,200
6Southeastern Connecticut Planning Region, CT3612510.8$631K+2.0%#1,669 of 2,200
7Lower Connecticut River Valley Planning Region, CT3011215.1$511K+2.3%#1,872 of 2,200
8Northwest Hills Planning Region, CT266814.2$509K+2.2%#1,985 of 2,200
9Northeastern Connecticut Planning Region, CT226717.0$408K+3.0%#2,079 of 2,200

Other business types in the Western Connecticut Planning Region

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

Funeral services

Questions

How many pet businesses are in the Western Connecticut Planning Region, CT?

The Western Connecticut Planning Region has 327 pet businesses on map listings as of September 2026. 63 of them (19%) are chain locations. The listings count vets, groomers, boarding and pet stores. Official counts show 175 businesses with payroll classed as pet care, veterinarians and pet stores in 2023. Another 556 one-person businesses have no payroll, by official counts.

How much do households in the Western Connecticut Planning Region, CT spend on pets?

About $207.1M a year, or $880 per household. That is 3% below the U.S. average (an index of 97, where 100 is the U.S. average). Spread across the 327 pet businesses on map listings, it comes to $633K per business. It is estimated from the incomes of the 235,379 households in the Western Connecticut Planning Region and national spending patterns by income.

How does the Western Connecticut Planning Region, CT compare with the U.S. for pet businesses?

The Western Connecticut Planning Region has 13.9 pet businesses per 10,000 households, 34% above the U.S. rate of 10.4. Spending per business is $633K, 28% below the U.S. figure of $878K. At the national ratio of pet businesses to household spending, the Western Connecticut Planning Region would have about 236, against 327 on map listings. There is one business with payroll in the industry for every 1,345 households, against one for every 1,852 across the U.S.

How fast is the Western Connecticut Planning Region, CT growing?

Population estimates put the Western Connecticut Planning Region at 640,482 people in 2025, up 3.5% since 2020, in step with the U.S. (+3.1%). It has 235,379 households. The median household income in the Western Connecticut Planning Region is $128,188 a year, 59% 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 Western Connecticut Planning Region scores 47 for pet businesses (lower middle), #1,244 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 Western Connecticut 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 Western Connecticut Planning Region

Screening a site or an acquisition in the Western Connecticut 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 Western Connecticut Planning Region. Signed out, you see a blurred preview; on an account, each report is one action.

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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.