Pets · Small-town market · Iowa
Pet businesses in the Marshalltown, IA area
How the Marshalltown, 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 57 out of 100: Upper middle
Ranked #179 of 527 scored small-town markets
#3 of 15 scored small-town markets based in Iowa
- Listings
- 18
- 3 chain locations (17%)
- Official establishments
- 5
- Businesses with payroll, 2023
- Household spending a year
- $12.1M
- On pets · $783 a household
- Spending per listing
- $674K
- 23% below the U.S.
- Listings per 10k households
- 11.6
- 12% above the U.S.
- Population, 2025
- 39,890
- −0.5% since 2020
See the pet businesses around any address in the Marshalltown 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 Marshalltown 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
At $783 per household (14% below the U.S. average), households in the Marshalltown area spend about $12.1M a year on pets. Spread across 18 pet businesses, that is $674K per business, 23% below the U.S. figure of $878K.
The Marshalltown area has 18 pet businesses on map listings as of September 2026. Of those, 3 are chain locations, or 17%, against 17% across the U.S. Per 10,000 households, that is 11.6, 12% above the U.S. rate of 10.4.
The official count of businesses with payroll classed as pet care, veterinarians and pet stores in the Marshalltown area was 5 in 2023. That is one for every 3,099 households, against one for every 1,852 across the U.S. Official counts list 13 one-person businesses without payroll.
Between 2020 and 2025, the population of the Marshalltown area declined 0.5%, against +3.1% for the U.S. For pet businesses, the Marshalltown area has a Groundwork market score of 57 (upper middle): #179 of 527 scored small-town markets and #3 of 15 scored small-town markets based in Iowa.
How the Marshalltown 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 | Marshalltown area | Iowa | U.S. |
|---|---|---|---|
| Listings per 10k households | 11.6 | 12.9 | 10.4 |
| Spending per listing | $674K | $654K | $878K |
| Households per official establishment | 3,099 | 1,542 | 1,852 |
| Official establishment growth, 2019–2023 | n/a | +13.4% | +11.4% |
| Population growth, 2020–2025 | −0.5% | +1.5% | +3.1% |
| Spending per household on pets | $783 | $843 | $909 |
| Median household income | $73,315 | $75,059 | $80,734 |
| Groundwork market score | 57 | 26 |
Official counts and lending
Businesses
- Official establishments, 2019 to 2023
- 5
- Employees, 2023
- 55
- Annual payroll, 2023
- $2.1M
- One-person businesses, 2023
- 13Businesses with no payroll
- Map listings, September 2026
- 183 chain locations
- Listings at the U.S. rate for this spending
- 14The 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 the Marshalltown 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 Marshalltown area
- Population, 2025 estimate
- 39,890−0.5% since 2020
- Households
- 15,496
- Median age
- 39.9
- Homes lived in by their owners
- 75%
- Vehicles per household
- 2.1
- Land area
- 573 sq. mi.
- People per square mile
- 70
- Median household income
- $73,315+29.9% vs. 2015–2019, before inflation
- Average household income
- $85,510
- Median home value
- $145,500
- Jobs located here
- 15,779
- Daytime population
- 36,753Residents who don’t work, plus everyone whose job is here
Looking at a specific site in the Marshalltown 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 Marshalltown 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 Marshalltown 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 Marshalltown 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 businesses57
- Veterinarians36
- 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 Marshalltown, IA area?
Map listings as of September 2026 show 18 pet businesses in the Marshalltown area. 3 of them (17%) are chain locations. The listings count vets, groomers, boarding and pet stores. Official counts show 5 businesses with payroll classed as pet care, veterinarians and pet stores in 2023. Official counts also show 13 one-person businesses without payroll.
How much do households in the Marshalltown, IA area spend on pets?
About $12.1M a year, or $783 per household. That is 14% below the U.S. average (an index of 86, where 100 is the U.S. average). Spread across the 18 pet businesses on map listings, it comes to $674K per business. It is estimated from the incomes of the 15,496 households in the Marshalltown area and national spending patterns by income.
How does the Marshalltown, IA area compare with the U.S. for pet businesses?
The Marshalltown area has 11.6 pet businesses per 10,000 households, 12% above the U.S. rate of 10.4. Spending per business is $674K, 23% below the U.S. figure of $878K. At the U.S. ratio of pet businesses to household spending, the Marshalltown area would have about 14, against 18 on map listings. There is one business with payroll in the industry for every 3,099 households, against one for every 1,852 across the U.S.
How fast is the Marshalltown, IA area growing?
Population estimates put the Marshalltown area at 39,890 people in 2025, down 0.5% since 2020, against +3.1% for the U.S. It has 15,496 households. Median household income in the Marshalltown area is $73,315, 9% below the U.S. median of $80,734. Against the 2015–2019 survey, the median rose 29.9%, 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 Marshalltown area scores 57 for pet businesses (upper middle), #179 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 Marshalltown 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 Marshalltown area
Screening a site or an acquisition in the Marshalltown 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 Marshalltown 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.