Groundwork

Pets · Metro area · Kansas

Pet businesses in the Lawrence, KS metro area

How the Lawrence, KS metro area compares with other metro areas and the U.S. for pet businesses: competitors, household spending, official counts and growth.

Groundwork market score · out of 100

Score 41 out of 100: Lower middle

Ranked #264 of 387 scored metro areas
#1 of 4 scored metro areas based in Kansas

Listings
52
10 chain locations (19%)
Official establishments
35
+12.9% since 2019
Household spending a year
$42.5M
On pets · $844 a household
Spending per listing
$818K
7% below the U.S.
Listings per 10k households
10.3
In line with the U.S.
Population, 2025
120,920
+1.8% since 2020

See the pet businesses around any address in the Lawrence metro 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 Lawrence metro area. 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

As of September 2026, map listings count 52 pet businesses in the Lawrence metro area. Chain locations make up 19% of them, against 17% across the U.S. Per 10,000 households, that is 10.3, in line with the U.S. rate of 10.4.

Household spending on pets in the Lawrence metro area comes to about $42.5M a year: $844 per household, 7% below the U.S. average. That is about $818K of household spending for each business on map listings, 7% below the U.S. figure of $878K.

In 2023, official counts showed 35 businesses with payroll in the Lawrence metro area classed as pet care, veterinarians and pet stores, up 12.9% from 2019. That is one for every 1,440 households, against one for every 1,852 across the U.S. Official counts also show 52 one-person businesses without payroll. Since fiscal 2022, 1 SBA-backed loan worth $2.2M has gone to businesses classed as pet care, veterinarians and pet stores in the Lawrence metro area.

Population estimates put the population change in the Lawrence metro area from 2020 to 2025 at +1.8%, slower than the U.S. (+3.1%). The Groundwork market score for pet businesses in the Lawrence metro area is 41 (lower middle), #264 of 387 scored metro areas and #1 of 4 scored metro areas based in Kansas.

How the Lawrence metro 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.

Pet businesses in Lawrence, KS metro area compared with Kansas and the U.S.
MeasureLawrence metro areaKansasU.S.
Listings per 10k households10.312.010.4
Spending per listing$818K$710K$878K
Households per official establishment1,4401,4981,852
Official establishment growth, 2019–2023+12.9%+8.7%+11.4%
Population growth, 2020–2025+1.8%+1.3%+3.1%
Spending per household on pets$844$851$909
Median household income$69,746$74,275$80,734
Groundwork market score4128

Official counts and lending

Businesses

Official establishments, 2019 to 2023
35+12.9% over the period
Employees, 2023
416
Annual payroll, 2023
$12.9M
One-person businesses, 2023
52Businesses with no payroll
Map listings, September 2026
5210 chain locations
Listings at the U.S. rate for this spending
48The U.S. ratio of listings to household spending, applied here

SBA-backed loans since fiscal 2022

Loans
1
Amount
$2.2M

SBA-backed loans to businesses classed as pet care, veterinarians and pet stores in the Lawrence metro 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 Lawrence metro area

Population, 2025 estimate
120,920+1.8% since 2020
Households
50,406
Median age
35.2
Homes lived in by their owners
50%
Vehicles per household
1.8
Land area
456 sq. mi.
People per square mile
264
Median household income
$69,746+17.4% vs. 2015–2019, before inflation
Average household income
$96,109
Median home value
$309,400
Jobs located here
51,342
Daytime population
115,968Residents who don’t work, plus everyone whose job is here

Looking at a specific site in the Lawrence metro area?

These figures cover the whole metro area. 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 Lawrence metro area. 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 Kansas

Every Kansas market ranked →

The highest-scoring metro areas in Kansas for pet businesses, numbered among those based in Kansas (a market based in another state is listed without a number), with the Lawrence metro area marked.

Top metro areas in Kansas

Metro areas in Kansas ranked for pet businesses by Groundwork market score
MarketScoreListingsPer 10k householdsSpending per listingPopulation growthU.S. rank
Kansas City, MO-KS6191710.2$892K+3.4%#106 of 387
1Lawrence, KS415210.3$818K+1.8%#264 of 387
2Wichita, KS3528411.1$732K+2.4%#303 of 387
St. Joseph, MO-KS325912.6$604K−2.0%#328 of 387
3Topeka, KS3011311.6$690K+0.1%#334 of 387
Joplin, MO-KS2911514.5$508K+3.9%#346 of 387
4Manhattan, KS186913.5$578K+1.4%#373 of 387

Other business types in the Lawrence metro area

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

Questions

How many pet businesses are in the Lawrence, KS metro area?

The Lawrence metro area has 52 pet businesses on map listings as of September 2026. 10 of them (19%) are chain locations. The listings count vets, groomers, boarding and pet stores. Official counts show 35 businesses with payroll classed as pet care, veterinarians and pet stores in 2023, up 12.9% from 2019. Another 52 one-person businesses have no payroll, by official counts.

How much do households in the Lawrence, KS metro area spend on pets?

About $42.5M a year, or $844 per household. That is 7% below the U.S. average (an index of 93, where 100 is the U.S. average). Spread across the 52 pet businesses on map listings, it comes to $818K per business. It is estimated from the incomes of the 50,406 households in the Lawrence metro area and national spending patterns by income.

How does the Lawrence, KS metro area compare with the U.S. for pet businesses?

The Lawrence metro area has 10.3 pet businesses per 10,000 households, in line with the U.S. rate of 10.4. Spending per business is $818K, 7% below the U.S. figure of $878K. At the national ratio of pet businesses to household spending, the Lawrence metro area would have about 48, against 52 on map listings. There is one business with payroll in the industry for every 1,440 households, against one for every 1,852 across the U.S. The official count rose 12.9% from 2019 to 2023, against +11.4% for the U.S.

How fast is the Lawrence, KS metro area growing?

Population estimates put the Lawrence metro area at 120,920 people in 2025, up 1.8% since 2020, slower than the U.S. (+3.1%). It has 50,406 households. The median household income in the Lawrence metro area is $69,746 a year, 14% below the U.S. median of $80,734. That rose 17.4% 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. 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 Lawrence metro area scores 41 for pet businesses (lower middle), #264 of 387 scored metro areas.

How can I see the market around a specific site?

Run a Groundwork site report on an address in the Lawrence metro 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 Lawrence metro area

Screening a site or an acquisition in the Lawrence metro 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 Lawrence metro 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.