Pets · Metro area · Delaware
Pet businesses in the Dover, DE metro area
How the Dover, DE 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 58 out of 100: Upper middle
Ranked #136 of 387 scored metro areas
The only scored metro area based in Delaware
- Listings
- 79
- 17 chain locations (22%)
- Official establishments
- 39
- +11.4% since 2019
- Household spending a year
- $62.9M
- On pets · $881 a household
- Spending per listing
- $796K
- 9% below the U.S.
- Listings per 10k households
- 11.1
- 7% above the U.S.
- Population, 2025
- 194,786
- +6.8% since 2020
See the pet businesses around any address in the Dover 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 Dover 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
Household spending on pets in the Dover metro area comes to about $62.9M a year: $881 per household, 3% below the U.S. average. That is about $796K of household spending for each business on map listings, 9% below the U.S. figure of $878K.
There are 79 pet businesses on map listings in the Dover metro area as of September 2026. 17 of them (22%) are chain locations, against 17% across the U.S. That comes to 11.1 for every 10,000 households, 7% above the U.S. rate of 10.4.
In 2023, official counts showed 39 businesses with payroll in the Dover metro area classed as pet care, veterinarians and pet stores, up 11.4% from 2019. That is one for every 1,831 households, against one for every 1,852 across the U.S. Official counts list 89 one-person businesses without payroll. Since fiscal 2022, 1 SBA-backed loan worth $2.8M has gone to businesses classed as pet care, veterinarians and pet stores in the Dover metro area.
Between 2020 and 2025, the population of the Dover metro area grew 6.8%, faster than the U.S. (+3.1%). The Dover metro area scores 58 (upper middle) on the Groundwork market score for pet businesses, ranking #136 of 387 scored metro areas and the only scored metro area based in Delaware.
How the Dover metro area compares
The same measures for Delaware 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 | Dover metro area | Delaware | U.S. |
|---|---|---|---|
| Listings per 10k households | 11.1 | 9.6 | 10.4 |
| Spending per listing | $796K | $1M | $878K |
| Households per official establishment | 1,831 | 2,062 | 1,852 |
| Official establishment growth, 2019–2023 | +11.4% | +3.2% | +11.4% |
| Population growth, 2020–2025 | +6.8% | +6.9% | +3.1% |
| Spending per household on pets | $881 | $980 | $909 |
| Median household income | $74,477 | $84,954 | $80,734 |
| Groundwork market score | 58 | 83 |
Official counts and lending
Businesses
- Official establishments, 2019 to 2023
- 39+11.4% over the period
- Employees, 2023
- 496
- Annual payroll, 2023
- $20.1M
- One-person businesses, 2023
- 89Businesses with no payroll
- Map listings, September 2026
- 7917 chain locations
- Listings at the U.S. rate for this spending
- 72The U.S. ratio of listings to household spending, applied here
SBA-backed loans since fiscal 2022
- Loans
- 1
- Amount
- $2.8M
SBA-backed loans to businesses classed as pet care, veterinarians and pet stores in the Dover 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 Dover metro area
- Population, 2025 estimate
- 194,786+6.8% since 2020
- Households
- 71,424
- Median age
- 39.6
- Homes lived in by their owners
- 73%
- Vehicles per household
- 1.9
- Land area
- 586 sq. mi.
- People per square mile
- 320
- Median household income
- $74,477+22.3% vs. 2015–2019, before inflation
- Average household income
- $92,801
- Median home value
- $316,600
- Jobs located here
- 66,799
- Daytime population
- 177,320Residents who don’t work, plus everyone whose job is here
Looking at a specific site in the Dover 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 Dover 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 Delaware
Every Delaware market ranked →The highest-scoring metro areas in Delaware for pet businesses, numbered among those based in Delaware (a market based in another state is listed without a number), with the Dover metro area marked.
Top metro areas in Delaware
| Market | Score | Listings | Per 10k households | Spending per listing | Population growth | U.S. rank |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| 1Dover, DE | 58 | 79 | 11.1 | $796K | +6.8% | #136 of 387 |
| Philadelphia-Camden-Wilmington, PA-NJ-DE-MD | 48 | 2,176 | 8.8 | $851K | +1.4% | #207 of 387 |
Other business types in the Dover 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 businesses58
- Veterinarians76
- Pet grooming and boarding50
- Pet stores38
Child care
Clothing and laundry
Home services
Real estate
Funeral services
Questions
How many pet businesses are in the Dover, DE metro area?
As of September 2026, map listings count 79 pet businesses in the Dover metro area. 17 of them (22%) are chain locations. The listings count vets, groomers, boarding and pet stores. Official counts show 39 businesses with payroll classed as pet care, veterinarians and pet stores in 2023, up 11.4% from 2019. Official counts also show 89 one-person businesses without payroll.
How much do households in the Dover, DE metro area spend on pets?
About $62.9M a year, or $881 per household. That is 3% below the U.S. average (an index of 97, where 100 is the U.S. average). Spread across the 79 pet businesses on map listings, it comes to $796K per business. It is estimated from the incomes of the 71,424 households in the Dover metro area and national spending patterns by income.
How does the Dover, DE metro area compare with the U.S. for pet businesses?
The Dover metro area has 11.1 pet businesses per 10,000 households, 7% above the U.S. rate of 10.4. Spending per business is $796K, 9% below the U.S. figure of $878K. At the U.S. ratio of pet businesses to household spending, the Dover metro area would have about 72, against 79 on map listings. There is one business with payroll in the industry for every 1,831 households, against one for every 1,852 across the U.S. The official count rose 11.4% from 2019 to 2023, against +11.4% for the U.S.
How fast is the Dover, DE metro area growing?
Population estimates put the Dover metro area at 194,786 people in 2025, up 6.8% since 2020, faster than the U.S. (+3.1%). It has 71,424 households. Median household income in the Dover metro area is $74,477, 8% below the U.S. median of $80,734. Against the 2015–2019 survey, the median rose 22.3%, 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 Dover metro area scores 58 for pet businesses (upper middle), #136 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 Dover 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 Dover metro area
Screening a site or an acquisition in the Dover 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 Dover 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.