Groundwork

Pets · County · Iowa

Pet businesses in Buchanan County, IA

How Buchanan County, IA 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 29 out of 100: Lower middle

Ranked #1,898 of 2,200 scored counties
#46 of 71 scored counties in Iowa

Listings
13
0 chain locations (0%)
Official establishments
8
Businesses with payroll, 2023
Household spending a year
$6.7M
On pets · $815 a household
Spending per listing
$517K
41% below the U.S.
Listings per 10k households
15.8
52% above the U.S.
Population, 2025
20,883
+1.3% since 2020

See the pet businesses around any address in Buchanan County

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 Buchanan County. Signed out, you see a blurred preview; on an account, each report is one action.

Free10 actions over 3 days, no card

Survey estimates 2020–2024 · population estimates 2025 · official business counts 2023 · map listings September 2026 · Data credits · How we measure

What this means

Buchanan County scores 29 (lower middle) on the Groundwork market score for pet businesses, ranking #1,898 of 2,200 scored counties and #46 of 71 scored counties in Iowa. That puts it in the bottom quarter of counties.

Households in Buchanan County spend about $6.7M a year on pets, or $815 per household, 10% below the U.S. average. That is about $517K of household spending for each business on map listings, 41% below the U.S. figure of $878K.

Buchanan County has 13 pet businesses on map listings as of September 2026. None of them are chain locations, against 17% across the U.S. That is 15.8 per 10,000 households, 52% above the U.S. rate of 10.4.

Official counts show 8 businesses with payroll classed as pet care, veterinarians and pet stores in Buchanan County in 2023. That is one for every 1,032 households, against one for every 1,852 across the U.S. Between 2020 and 2025, the population of Buchanan County grew 1.3%, slower than the U.S. (+3.1%).

How Buchanan County compares

The same measures for Iowa 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 Buchanan County, IA compared with Iowa and the U.S.
MeasureBuchanan CountyIowaU.S.
Listings per 10k households15.812.910.4
Spending per listing$517K$654K$878K
Households per official establishment1,0321,5421,852
Official establishment growth, 2019–2023n/a+13.4%+11.4%
Population growth, 2020–2025+1.3%+1.5%+3.1%
Spending per household on pets$815$843$909
Median household income$78,236$75,059$80,734
Groundwork market score2926

Official counts and lending

Businesses

Official establishments, 2019 to 2023
4 → 8
Employees, 2023
125
Annual payroll, 2023
$5.4M
One-person businesses, 2023
9Businesses with no payroll
Map listings, September 2026
130 chain locations
Listings at the U.S. rate for this spending
8The 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 Buchanan County, 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 Buchanan County

Population, 2025 estimate
20,883+1.3% since 2020
Households
8,252
Median age
40.9
Homes lived in by their owners
82%
Vehicles per household
2.2
Land area
571 sq. mi.
People per square mile
36
Median household income
$78,236+20.7% vs. 2015–2019, before inflation
Average household income
$89,957
Median home value
$176,000
Jobs located here
6,604
Daytime population
17,376Residents who don’t work, plus everyone whose job is here

Looking at a specific site in Buchanan County?

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 Buchanan County. Signed out, you see a blurred preview; on an account, each report is one action.

Free10 actions over 3 days, no card

Pet businesses across Iowa

Every Iowa market ranked →

The highest-scoring counties in Iowa for pet businesses, numbered among those based in Iowa, with Buchanan County marked.

Top counties in Iowa

Counties in Iowa ranked for pet businesses by Groundwork market score
MarketScoreListingsPer 10k householdsSpending per listingPopulation growthU.S. rank
1Dallas County, IA82388.9$1.2M+17.8%#47 of 2,200
2Johnson County, IA73568.8$993K+4.6%#195 of 2,200
3Benton County, IA691211.8$759K+1.8%#332 of 2,200
4Woodbury County, IA66256.1$1.3M+0.7%#415 of 2,200
5Delaware County, IA6268.1$1M+1.3%#572 of 2,200
6Polk County, IA6222310.9$841K+4.8%#577 of 2,200
7Warren County, IA622612.6$755K+9.0%#588 of 2,200
8Buena Vista County, IA6068.0$1M−1.7%#649 of 2,200
9Pottawattamie County, IA604010.6$770K−0.7%#666 of 2,200
10Tama County, IA5857.4$1M−1.5%#714 of 2,200
46Buchanan County, IA291315.8$517K+1.3%#1,898 of 2,200

Other business types in Buchanan County

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

Questions

How many pet businesses are in Buchanan County, IA?

Map listings as of September 2026 show 13 pet businesses in Buchanan County. None of them are chain locations. The listings count vets, groomers, boarding and pet stores. Official counts show 8 businesses with payroll classed as pet care, veterinarians and pet stores in 2023. Official counts list 9 one-person businesses without payroll.

How much do households in Buchanan County, IA spend on pets?

About $6.7M a year, or $815 per household. That is 10% below the U.S. average (an index of 90, where 100 is the U.S. average). Spread across the 13 pet businesses on map listings, it comes to $517K per business. It is estimated from the incomes of the 8,252 households in Buchanan County and national spending patterns by income.

How does Buchanan County, IA compare with the U.S. for pet businesses?

Buchanan County has 15.8 pet businesses per 10,000 households, 52% above the U.S. rate of 10.4. Spending per business is $517K, 41% below the U.S. figure of $878K. At the U.S. ratio of pet businesses to household spending, Buchanan County would have about 8, against 13 on map listings. There is one business with payroll in the industry for every 1,032 households, against one for every 1,852 across the U.S.

How fast is Buchanan County, IA growing?

Population estimates put Buchanan County at 20,883 people in 2025, up 1.3% since 2020, slower than the U.S. (+3.1%). It has 8,252 households. Median household income in Buchanan County is $78,236, 3% below the U.S. median of $80,734. Against the 2015–2019 survey, the median rose 20.7%, 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. Buchanan County scores 29 for pet businesses (lower middle), #1,898 of 2,200 scored counties.

How can I see the market around a specific site?

Run a Groundwork site report on an address in Buchanan County. 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 Buchanan County

Screening a site or an acquisition in Buchanan County?

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 Buchanan County. 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.