Groundwork

Pets · County · Iowa

Pet businesses in Dickinson County, IA

How Dickinson 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 42 out of 100: Lower middle

Ranked #1,431 of 2,200 scored counties
#23 of 71 scored counties in Iowa

Listings
12
1 chain location (8%)
Official establishments
7
Businesses with payroll, 2023
Household spending a year
$7.7M
On pets · $870 a household
Spending per listing
$641K
27% below the U.S.
Listings per 10k households
13.6
31% above the U.S.
Population, 2025
18,077
+1.7% since 2020

See the pet businesses around any address in Dickinson 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 Dickinson 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

At $870 per household (4% below the U.S. average), households in Dickinson County spend about $7.7M a year on pets. That works out to $641K per business, 27% below the U.S. figure of $878K.

Dickinson County has 12 pet businesses on map listings as of September 2026. One of them (8%) is a chain location, against 17% across the U.S. That comes to 13.6 for every 10,000 households, 31% above the U.S. rate of 10.4.

In 2023, official counts showed 7 businesses with payroll in Dickinson County classed as pet care, veterinarians and pet stores. That is one for every 1,264 households, against one for every 1,852 across the U.S. Official counts also show 11 one-person businesses without payroll. Since fiscal 2022, 1 SBA-backed loan worth $184K has gone to businesses classed as pet care, veterinarians and pet stores in Dickinson County.

Population estimates show Dickinson County grew 1.7% from 2020 to 2025, slower than the U.S. (+3.1%). The Groundwork market score for pet businesses in Dickinson County is 42 (lower middle), #1,431 of 2,200 scored counties and #23 of 71 scored counties in Iowa.

How Dickinson 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 Dickinson County, IA compared with Iowa and the U.S.
MeasureDickinson CountyIowaU.S.
Listings per 10k households13.612.910.4
Spending per listing$641K$654K$878K
Households per official establishment1,2641,5421,852
Official establishment growth, 2019–2023n/a+13.4%+11.4%
Population growth, 2020–2025+1.7%+1.5%+3.1%
Spending per household on pets$870$843$909
Median household income$75,432$75,059$80,734
Groundwork market score4226

Official counts and lending

Businesses

Official establishments, 2019 to 2023
3 → 7
Employees, 2023
80
Annual payroll, 2023
$2.7M
One-person businesses, 2023
11Businesses with no payroll
Map listings, September 2026
121 chain location
Listings at the U.S. rate for this spending
9The U.S. ratio of listings to household spending, applied here

SBA-backed loans since fiscal 2022

Loans
1
Amount
$184K

SBA-backed loans to businesses classed as pet care, veterinarians and pet stores in Dickinson 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 Dickinson County

Population, 2025 estimate
18,077+1.7% since 2020
Households
8,845
Median age
48.9
Homes lived in by their owners
77%
Vehicles per household
2.0
Land area
381 sq. mi.
People per square mile
47
Median household income
$75,432+25.8% vs. 2015–2019, before inflation
Average household income
$102,164
Median home value
$270,700
Jobs located here
10,412
Daytime population
20,071Residents who don’t work, plus everyone whose job is here

Looking at a specific site in Dickinson 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 Dickinson 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 Dickinson 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
23Dickinson County, IA421213.6$641K+1.7%#1,431 of 2,200

Other business types in Dickinson County

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

Questions

How many pet businesses are in Dickinson County, IA?

Map listings as of September 2026 show 12 pet businesses in Dickinson County. One of them (8%) is a chain location. The listings count vets, groomers, boarding and pet stores. Official counts show 7 businesses with payroll classed as pet care, veterinarians and pet stores in 2023. Another 11 one-person businesses have no payroll, by official counts.

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

About $7.7M a year, or $870 per household. That is 4% below the U.S. average (an index of 96, where 100 is the U.S. average). Spread across the 12 pet businesses on map listings, it comes to $641K per business. It is estimated from the incomes of the 8,845 households in Dickinson County and national spending patterns by income.

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

Dickinson County has 13.6 pet businesses per 10,000 households, 31% above the U.S. rate of 10.4. Spending per business is $641K, 27% below the U.S. figure of $878K. At the U.S. ratio of pet businesses to household spending, Dickinson County would have about 9, against 12 on map listings. There is one business with payroll in the industry for every 1,264 households, against one for every 1,852 across the U.S.

How fast is Dickinson County, IA growing?

Population estimates put Dickinson County at 18,077 people in 2025, up 1.7% since 2020, slower than the U.S. (+3.1%). It has 8,845 households. Median household income in Dickinson County is $75,432, 7% below the U.S. median of $80,734. Against the 2015–2019 survey, the median rose 25.8%, 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. Dickinson County scores 42 for pet businesses (lower middle), #1,431 of 2,200 scored counties.

How can I see the market around a specific site?

Run a Groundwork site report on an address in Dickinson 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 Dickinson County

Screening a site or an acquisition in Dickinson 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 Dickinson 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.