Pets · Small-town market · Kansas
Pet businesses in the Hays, KS area
Competitor counts, household spending and official business counts for pet businesses in the Hays, KS area, set against other small-town markets and the U.S.
Groundwork market score · out of 100
Score 62 out of 100: Upper middle
Ranked #124 of 527 scored small-town markets
#3 of 12 scored small-town markets based in Kansas
- Listings
- 12
- 2 chain locations (17%)
- Official establishments
- 4
- Businesses with payroll, 2023
- Household spending a year
- $9.3M
- On pets · $758 a household
- Spending per listing
- $774K
- 12% below the U.S.
- Listings per 10k households
- 9.8
- 6% below the U.S.
- Population, 2025
- 29,075
- +0.4% since 2020
See the pet businesses around any address in the Hays 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 Hays 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 Hays area. 2 of them (17%) are chain locations, against 17% across the U.S. That is 9.8 per 10,000 households, 6% below the U.S. rate of 10.4.
Household spending on pets in the Hays area comes to about $9.3M a year: $758 per household, 17% below the U.S. average. That is about $774K of household spending for each business on map listings, 12% below the U.S. figure of $878K.
In 2023, official counts showed 4 businesses with payroll in the Hays area classed as pet care, veterinarians and pet stores. That is one for every 3,063 households, against one for every 1,852 across the U.S. Official counts list 16 one-person businesses without payroll. Since fiscal 2022, 1 SBA-backed loan worth $101K has gone to businesses classed as pet care, veterinarians and pet stores in the Hays area.
Population estimates put the population change in the Hays area from 2020 to 2025 at +0.4%, slower than the U.S. (+3.1%). The Groundwork market score for pet businesses in the Hays area is 62 (upper middle), #124 of 527 scored small-town markets and #3 of 12 scored small-town markets based in Kansas. That puts it in the top quarter of small-town markets.
How the Hays area compares
The same measures for Kansas 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 | Hays area | Kansas | U.S. |
|---|---|---|---|
| Listings per 10k households | 9.8 | 12.0 | 10.4 |
| Spending per listing | $774K | $710K | $878K |
| Households per official establishment | 3,063 | 1,498 | 1,852 |
| Official establishment growth, 2019–2023 | n/a | +8.7% | +11.4% |
| Population growth, 2020–2025 | +0.4% | +1.3% | +3.1% |
| Spending per household on pets | $758 | $851 | $909 |
| Median household income | $63,084 | $74,275 | $80,734 |
| Groundwork market score | 62 | 28 |
Official counts and lending
Businesses
- Official establishments, 2019 to 2023
- 4
- Employees, 2023
- 55
- Annual payroll, 2023
- $1.3M
- One-person businesses, 2023
- 16Businesses with no payroll
- Map listings, September 2026
- 122 chain locations
- Listings at the U.S. rate for this spending
- 11The U.S. ratio of listings to household spending, applied here
SBA-backed loans since fiscal 2022
- Loans
- 1
- Amount
- $101K
SBA-backed loans to businesses classed as pet care, veterinarians and pet stores in the Hays 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 Hays area
- Population, 2025 estimate
- 29,075+0.4% since 2020
- Households
- 12,251
- Median age
- 36.5
- Homes lived in by their owners
- 63%
- Vehicles per household
- 2.1
- Land area
- 900 sq. mi.
- People per square mile
- 32
- Median household income
- $63,084+19.3% vs. 2015–2019, before inflation
- Average household income
- $89,365
- Median home value
- $216,300
- Jobs located here
- 15,340
- Daytime population
- 30,752Residents who don’t work, plus everyone whose job is here
Looking at a specific site in the Hays 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 Hays 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 Kansas
Every Kansas market ranked →The highest-scoring small-town markets in Kansas for pet businesses, numbered among those based in Kansas, with the Hays area marked.
Top small-town markets in Kansas
| Market | Score | Listings | Per 10k households | Spending per listing | Population growth | U.S. rank |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| 1Dodge City, KS | 71 | 11 | 9.3 | $857K | −0.6% | #49 of 527 |
| 2Garden City, KS | 69 | 13 | 9.8 | $837K | −2.1% | #63 of 527 |
| 3Hays, KS | 62 | 12 | 9.8 | $774K | +0.4% | #124 of 527 |
| 4Ottawa, KS | 54 | 14 | 13.4 | $599K | +1.1% | #226 of 527 |
| 5Liberal, KS | 53 | 6 | 8.3 | $910K | −3.6% | #231 of 527 |
| 6McPherson, KS | 44 | 18 | 14.8 | $562K | −0.4% | #346 of 527 |
| 7Hutchinson, KS | 35 | 31 | 12.1 | $599K | −0.6% | #429 of 527 |
| 8Salina, KS | 34 | 34 | 13.6 | $562K | −1.4% | #434 of 527 |
| 9Pittsburg, KS | 32 | 23 | 14.5 | $469K | +0.1% | #446 of 527 |
| 10Emporia, KS | 31 | 17 | 11.6 | $606K | +0.4% | #450 of 527 |
Other business types in the Hays 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 businesses62
- Veterinarians
- 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 Hays, KS area?
There are 12 pet businesses on map listings in the Hays 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 16 one-person businesses without payroll.
How much do households in the Hays, KS area spend on pets?
About $9.3M a year, or $758 per household. That is 17% below the U.S. average (an index of 83, where 100 is the U.S. average). Spread across the 12 pet businesses on map listings, it comes to $774K per business. It is estimated from the incomes of the 12,251 households in the Hays area and national spending patterns by income.
How does the Hays, KS area compare with the U.S. for pet businesses?
The Hays area has 9.8 pet businesses per 10,000 households, 6% below the U.S. rate of 10.4. Spending per business is $774K, 12% below the U.S. figure of $878K. At the national ratio of pet businesses to household spending, the Hays area would have about 11, against 12 on map listings. There is one business with payroll in the industry for every 3,063 households, against one for every 1,852 across the U.S.
How fast is the Hays, KS area growing?
Population estimates put the Hays area at 29,075 people in 2025, up 0.4% since 2020, slower than the U.S. (+3.1%). It has 12,251 households. The median household income in the Hays area is $63,084 a year, 22% below the U.S. median of $80,734. That rose 19.3% 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 Hays area scores 62 for pet businesses (upper middle), #124 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 Hays 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 Hays area
Screening a site or an acquisition in the Hays 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 Hays 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.