Pets · Small-town market · Iowa
Pet businesses in the Spencer, IA area
How the Spencer, 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 43 out of 100: Lower middle
Ranked #354 of 527 scored small-town markets
#9 of 15 scored small-town markets based in Iowa
- Listings
- 10
- 1 chain location (10%)
- Official establishments
- 3
- Businesses with payroll, 2023
- Household spending a year
- $5.6M
- On pets · $770 a household
- Spending per listing
- $561K
- 36% below the U.S.
- Listings per 10k households
- 13.7
- 32% above the U.S.
- Population, 2025
- 16,202
- −0.8% since 2020
See the pet businesses around any address in the Spencer 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 Spencer 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
As of September 2026, map listings count 10 pet businesses in the Spencer area. One of them (10%) is a chain location, against 17% across the U.S. That comes to 13.7 for every 10,000 households, 32% above the U.S. rate of 10.4.
Households in the Spencer area spend about $5.6M a year on pets, or $770 per household, 15% below the U.S. average. Spread across 10 pet businesses, that is $561K per business, 36% below the U.S. figure of $878K.
In 2023, official counts showed 3 businesses with payroll in the Spencer area classed as pet care, veterinarians and pet stores. That is one for every 2,427 households, against one for every 1,852 across the U.S. Official counts list 8 one-person businesses without payroll.
Population estimates show the Spencer area declined 0.8% from 2020 to 2025, against +3.1% for the U.S. For pet businesses, the Spencer area has a Groundwork market score of 43 (lower middle): #354 of 527 scored small-town markets and #9 of 15 scored small-town markets based in Iowa.
How the Spencer 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 | Spencer area | Iowa | U.S. |
|---|---|---|---|
| Listings per 10k households | 13.7 | 12.9 | 10.4 |
| Spending per listing | $561K | $654K | $878K |
| Households per official establishment | 2,427 | 1,542 | 1,852 |
| Official establishment growth, 2019–2023 | n/a | +13.4% | +11.4% |
| Population growth, 2020–2025 | −0.8% | +1.5% | +3.1% |
| Spending per household on pets | $770 | $843 | $909 |
| Median household income | $65,428 | $75,059 | $80,734 |
| Groundwork market score | 43 | 26 |
Official counts and lending
Businesses
- Official establishments, 2019 to 2023
- 3
- Employees, 2023
- 22
- Annual payroll, 2023
- $475K
- One-person businesses, 2023
- 8Businesses with no payroll
- Map listings, September 2026
- 101 chain location
- Listings at the U.S. rate for this spending
- 6The 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 Spencer 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 Spencer area
- Population, 2025 estimate
- 16,202−0.8% since 2020
- Households
- 7,282
- Median age
- 43.1
- Homes lived in by their owners
- 73%
- Vehicles per household
- 1.9
- Land area
- 567 sq. mi.
- People per square mile
- 29
- Median household income
- $65,428+29.5% vs. 2015–2019, before inflation
- Average household income
- $83,614
- Median home value
- $178,600
- Jobs located here
- 8,325
- Daytime population
- 16,701Residents who don’t work, plus everyone whose job is here
Looking at a specific site in the Spencer 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 Spencer 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 Spencer 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 Spencer 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 businesses43
- Veterinarians
- Pet grooming and boarding21
- Pet stores
Child care
Clothing and laundry
Home services
Real estate
Funeral services
Questions
How many pet businesses are in the Spencer, IA area?
The Spencer area has 10 pet businesses on map listings as of September 2026. One of them (10%) is a chain location. The listings count vets, groomers, boarding and pet stores. Official counts show 3 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 Spencer, IA area spend on pets?
About $5.6M a year, or $770 per household. That is 15% below the U.S. average (an index of 85, where 100 is the U.S. average). Spread across the 10 pet businesses on map listings, it comes to $561K per business. It is estimated from the incomes of the 7,282 households in the Spencer area and national spending patterns by income.
How does the Spencer, IA area compare with the U.S. for pet businesses?
The Spencer area has 13.7 pet businesses per 10,000 households, 32% above the U.S. rate of 10.4. Spending per business is $561K, 36% below the U.S. figure of $878K. At the national ratio of pet businesses to household spending, the Spencer area would have about 6, against 10 on map listings. There is one business with payroll in the industry for every 2,427 households, against one for every 1,852 across the U.S.
How fast is the Spencer, IA area growing?
Population estimates put the Spencer area at 16,202 people in 2025, down 0.8% since 2020, against +3.1% for the U.S. It has 7,282 households. The median household income in the Spencer area is $65,428 a year, 19% below the U.S. median of $80,734. That rose 29.5% 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. 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 Spencer area scores 43 for pet businesses (lower middle), #354 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 Spencer 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 Spencer area
Screening a site or an acquisition in the Spencer 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 Spencer 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.