Groundwork

Pets · Metro area · Georgia

Pet businesses in the Gainesville, GA metro area

How the Gainesville, GA 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 75 out of 100: High

Ranked #30 of 387 scored metro areas
#2 of 14 scored metro areas based in Georgia

Listings
76
15 chain locations (20%)
Official establishments
37
+15.6% since 2019
Household spending a year
$70.1M
On pets · $953 a household
Spending per listing
$922K
5% above the U.S.
Listings per 10k households
10.3
In line with the U.S.
Population, 2025
226,568
+11.4% since 2020

See the pet businesses around any address in the Gainesville 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 Gainesville metro area. 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

The Gainesville metro area scores 75 (high) on the Groundwork market score for pet businesses, ranking #30 of 387 scored metro areas and #2 of 14 scored metro areas based in Georgia. That puts it in the top 10% of metro areas for pet businesses.

Map listings as of September 2026 show 76 pet businesses in the Gainesville metro area. Of those, 15 are chain locations, or 20%, against 17% across the U.S. That is 10.3 per 10,000 households, in line with the U.S. rate of 10.4.

Household spending on pets in the Gainesville metro area comes to about $70.1M a year: $953 per household, 5% above the U.S. average. That works out to $922K per business, 5% above the U.S. figure of $878K.

The official count of businesses with payroll classed as pet care, veterinarians and pet stores in the Gainesville metro area was 37 in 2023, up 15.6% from 2019. That is one for every 1,988 households, against one for every 1,852 across the U.S. Since fiscal 2022, 2 SBA-backed loans worth $681K have gone to businesses classed as pet care, veterinarians and pet stores in the Gainesville metro area. Population estimates show the Gainesville metro area grew 11.4% from 2020 to 2025, faster than the U.S. (+3.1%).

How the Gainesville metro area compares

The same measures for Georgia 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 Gainesville, GA metro area compared with Georgia and the U.S.
MeasureGainesville metro areaGeorgiaU.S.
Listings per 10k households10.39.810.4
Spending per listing$922K$951K$878K
Households per official establishment1,9881,9751,852
Official establishment growth, 2019–2023+15.6%+14.0%+11.4%
Population growth, 2020–2025+11.4%+5.3%+3.1%
Spending per household on pets$953$936$909
Median household income$80,901$77,353$80,734
Groundwork market score7571

Official counts and lending

Businesses

Official establishments, 2019 to 2023
37+15.6% over the period
Employees, 2023
528
Annual payroll, 2023
$22.4M
One-person businesses, 2023
113Businesses with no payroll
Map listings, September 2026
7615 chain locations
Listings at the U.S. rate for this spending
80The U.S. ratio of listings to household spending, applied here

SBA-backed loans since fiscal 2022

Loans
2
Amount
$681K

SBA-backed loans to businesses classed as pet care, veterinarians and pet stores in the Gainesville 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 Gainesville metro area

Population, 2025 estimate
226,568+11.4% since 2020
Households
73,551
Median age
39.2
Homes lived in by their owners
69%
Vehicles per household
2.1
Land area
393 sq. mi.
People per square mile
542
Median household income
$80,901+28.5% vs. 2015–2019, before inflation
Average household income
$108,166
Median home value
$350,400
Jobs located here
102,286
Daytime population
216,900Residents who don’t work, plus everyone whose job is here

Looking at a specific site in the Gainesville 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 Gainesville metro area. Signed out, you see a blurred preview; on an account, each report is one action.

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Pet businesses across Georgia

Every Georgia market ranked →

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

Top metro areas in Georgia

Metro areas in Georgia ranked for pet businesses by Groundwork market score
MarketScoreListingsPer 10k householdsSpending per listingPopulation growthU.S. rank
1Atlanta-Sandy Springs-Roswell, GA752,2439.7$1.1M+5.9%#28 of 387
2Gainesville, GA757610.3$922K+11.4%#30 of 387
3Warner Robins, GA747510.1$900K+8.2%#36 of 387
4Dalton, GA72407.7$1.1M+3.5%#46 of 387
5Valdosta, GA67447.7$978K+3.3%#67 of 387
6Augusta-Richmond County, GA-SC672078.9$972K+4.7%#68 of 387
7Hinesville, GA66289.3$816K+12.6%#79 of 387
8Macon-Bibb County, GA61819.1$879K+2.1%#107 of 387
9Savannah, GA6117610.9$839K+8.1%#109 of 387
10Brunswick-St. Simons, GA594910.4$821K+4.4%#127 of 387

Other business types in the Gainesville metro area

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

Questions

How many pet businesses are in the Gainesville, GA metro area?

There are 76 pet businesses on map listings in the Gainesville metro area as of September 2026. 15 of them (20%) are chain locations. The listings count vets, groomers, boarding and pet stores. Official counts show 37 businesses with payroll classed as pet care, veterinarians and pet stores in 2023, up 15.6% from 2019. Official counts also show 113 one-person businesses without payroll.

How much do households in the Gainesville, GA metro area spend on pets?

About $70.1M a year, or $953 per household. That is 5% above the U.S. average (an index of 105, where 100 is the U.S. average). Spread across the 76 pet businesses on map listings, it comes to $922K per business. It is estimated from the incomes of the 73,551 households in the Gainesville metro area and national spending patterns by income.

How does the Gainesville, GA metro area compare with the U.S. for pet businesses?

The Gainesville metro area has 10.3 pet businesses per 10,000 households, in line with the U.S. rate of 10.4. Spending per business is $922K, 5% above the U.S. figure of $878K. At the national ratio of pet businesses to household spending, the Gainesville metro area would have about 80, against 76 on map listings. There is one business with payroll in the industry for every 1,988 households, against one for every 1,852 across the U.S. The official count rose 15.6% from 2019 to 2023, against +11.4% for the U.S.

How fast is the Gainesville, GA metro area growing?

Population estimates put the Gainesville metro area at 226,568 people in 2025, up 11.4% since 2020, faster than the U.S. (+3.1%). It has 73,551 households. The median household income in the Gainesville metro area is $80,901 a year, in line with the U.S. median of $80,734. That rose 28.5% 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 Gainesville metro area scores 75 for pet businesses (high), #30 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 Gainesville 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 Gainesville metro area

Screening a site or an acquisition in the Gainesville 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 Gainesville 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.