Pets · Small-town market · Iowa
Pet businesses in the Carroll, IA area
How the Carroll, IA area compares with other small-town markets and the U.S. for pet businesses: competitors, household spending, official counts and growth.
Groundwork market score · out of 100
Score 45 out of 100: Lower middle
Ranked #333 of 527 scored small-town markets
#7 of 15 scored small-town markets based in Iowa
- Listings
- 12
- 2 chain locations (17%)
- Official establishments
- 4
- Businesses with payroll, 2023
- Household spending a year
- $7.1M
- On pets · $808 a household
- Spending per listing
- $593K
- 32% below the U.S.
- Listings per 10k households
- 13.6
- 31% above the U.S.
- Population, 2025
- 20,303
- −2.0% since 2020
See the pet businesses around any address in the Carroll 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 Carroll 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
Map listings as of September 2026 show 12 pet businesses in the Carroll area. Chain locations make up 17% of them, against 17% across the U.S. That is 13.6 per 10,000 households, 31% above the U.S. rate of 10.4.
Household spending on pets in the Carroll area comes to about $7.1M a year: $808 per household, 11% below the U.S. average. Spread across 12 pet businesses, that is $593K per business, 32% below the U.S. figure of $878K.
In 2023, official counts showed 4 businesses with payroll in the Carroll area classed as pet care, veterinarians and pet stores. That is one for every 2,200 households, against one for every 1,852 across the U.S. Official counts list 8 one-person businesses without payroll. Since fiscal 2022, 1 SBA-backed loan worth $118K has gone to businesses classed as pet care, veterinarians and pet stores in the Carroll area.
Population estimates show the Carroll area declined 2.0% from 2020 to 2025, against +3.1% for the U.S. For pet businesses, the Carroll area has a Groundwork market score of 45 (lower middle): #333 of 527 scored small-town markets and #7 of 15 scored small-town markets based in Iowa.
How the Carroll area 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.
| Measure | Carroll area | Iowa | U.S. |
|---|---|---|---|
| Listings per 10k households | 13.6 | 12.9 | 10.4 |
| Spending per listing | $593K | $654K | $878K |
| Households per official establishment | 2,200 | 1,542 | 1,852 |
| Official establishment growth, 2019–2023 | n/a | +13.4% | +11.4% |
| Population growth, 2020–2025 | −2.0% | +1.5% | +3.1% |
| Spending per household on pets | $808 | $843 | $909 |
| Median household income | $72,930 | $75,059 | $80,734 |
| Groundwork market score | 45 | 26 |
Official counts and lending
Businesses
- Official establishments, 2019 to 2023
- 4
- Employees, 2023
- 35
- Annual payroll, 2023
- $1.6M
- One-person businesses, 2023
- 8Businesses with no payroll
- Map listings, September 2026
- 122 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
- 1
- Amount
- $118K
SBA-backed loans to businesses classed as pet care, veterinarians and pet stores in the Carroll 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 Carroll area
- Population, 2025 estimate
- 20,303−2.0% since 2020
- Households
- 8,801
- Median age
- 41.6
- Homes lived in by their owners
- 77%
- Vehicles per household
- 1.9
- Land area
- 570 sq. mi.
- People per square mile
- 36
- Median household income
- $72,930+23.2% vs. 2015–2019, before inflation
- Average household income
- $93,964
- Median home value
- $176,000
- Jobs located here
- 10,716
- Daytime population
- 20,571Residents who don’t work, plus everyone whose job is here
Looking at a specific site in the Carroll area?
These figures cover the whole small-town market. 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 Carroll 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 Iowa
Every Iowa market ranked →The highest-scoring small-town markets in Iowa for pet businesses, numbered among those based in Iowa, with the Carroll area marked.
Top small-town markets in Iowa
| Market | Score | Listings | Per 10k households | Spending per listing | Population growth | U.S. rank |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| 1Storm Lake, IA | 67 | 6 | 8.0 | $1M | −1.7% | #79 of 527 |
| 2Le Mars, IA | 58 | 11 | 10.7 | $818K | 0.0% | #160 of 527 |
| 3Marshalltown, IA | 57 | 18 | 11.6 | $674K | −0.5% | #179 of 527 |
| 4Ottumwa, IA | 52 | 18 | 12.9 | $583K | −0.3% | #258 of 527 |
| 5Spirit Lake, IA | 51 | 12 | 13.6 | $641K | +1.7% | #272 of 527 |
| 6Clinton, IA | 50 | 25 | 12.8 | $620K | −0.9% | #279 of 527 |
| 7Carroll, IA | 45 | 12 | 13.6 | $593K | −2.0% | #333 of 527 |
| 8Pella, IA | 45 | 20 | 15.0 | $570K | +2.3% | #336 of 527 |
| 9Spencer, IA | 43 | 10 | 13.7 | $561K | −0.8% | #354 of 527 |
| 10Muscatine, IA | 42 | 21 | 12.1 | $648K | −3.0% | #359 of 527 |
Other business types in the Carroll 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 businesses45
- Veterinarians23
- Pet grooming and boarding
- Pet stores
Child care
Clothing and laundry
Home services
Real estate
Funeral services
Questions
How many pet businesses are in the Carroll, IA area?
There are 12 pet businesses on map listings in the Carroll area as of September 2026. 2 of them (17%) are chain locations. The listings count vets, groomers, boarding and pet stores. Official counts show 4 businesses with payroll classed as pet care, veterinarians and pet stores in 2023. Official counts also show 8 one-person businesses without payroll.
How much do households in the Carroll, IA area spend on pets?
About $7.1M a year, or $808 per household. That is 11% below the U.S. average (an index of 89, where 100 is the U.S. average). Spread across the 12 pet businesses on map listings, it comes to $593K per business. It is estimated from the incomes of the 8,801 households in the Carroll area and national spending patterns by income.
How does the Carroll, IA area compare with the U.S. for pet businesses?
The Carroll area has 13.6 pet businesses per 10,000 households, 31% above the U.S. rate of 10.4. Spending per business is $593K, 32% below the U.S. figure of $878K. At the national ratio of pet businesses to household spending, the Carroll area would have about 8, against 12 on map listings. There is one business with payroll in the industry for every 2,200 households, against one for every 1,852 across the U.S.
How fast is the Carroll, IA area growing?
Population estimates put the Carroll area at 20,303 people in 2025, down 2.0% since 2020, against +3.1% for the U.S. It has 8,801 households. The median household income in the Carroll area is $72,930 a year, 10% below the U.S. median of $80,734. That rose 23.2% 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. A small-town market is a town of 10,000 to 50,000 people and the county or counties tied to it by commuting. 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 Carroll area scores 45 for pet businesses (lower middle), #333 of 527 scored small-town markets.
How can I see the market around a specific site?
Run a Groundwork site report on an address in the Carroll 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 Carroll area
Screening a site or an acquisition in the Carroll 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 Carroll 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.