Pets · Small-town market · Kentucky
Pet businesses in the Mount Sterling, KY area
How the Mount Sterling, KY 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 59 out of 100: Upper middle
Ranked #156 of 527 scored small-town markets
#5 of 15 scored small-town markets based in Kentucky
- Listings
- 22
- 6 chain locations (27%)
- Official establishments
- 5
- Businesses with payroll, 2023
- Household spending a year
- $13.4M
- On pets · $738 a household
- Spending per listing
- $610K
- 31% below the U.S.
- Listings per 10k households
- 12.1
- 16% above the U.S.
- Population, 2025
- 48,428
- +3.1% since 2020
See the pet businesses around any address in the Mount Sterling 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 Mount Sterling 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
Households in the Mount Sterling area spend about $13.4M a year on pets, or $738 per household, 19% below the U.S. average. That works out to $610K per business, 31% below the U.S. figure of $878K.
The Mount Sterling area has 22 pet businesses on map listings as of September 2026. Chain locations make up 27% of them, against 17% across the U.S. That comes to 12.1 for every 10,000 households, 16% above the U.S. rate of 10.4.
In 2023, official counts showed 5 businesses with payroll in the Mount Sterling area classed as pet care, veterinarians and pet stores. That is one for every 3,636 households, against one for every 1,852 across the U.S. Official counts also show 15 one-person businesses without payroll.
Population estimates put the population change in the Mount Sterling area from 2020 to 2025 at +3.1%, in step with the U.S. (+3.1%). For pet businesses, the Mount Sterling area has a Groundwork market score of 59 (upper middle): #156 of 527 scored small-town markets and #5 of 15 scored small-town markets based in Kentucky.
How the Mount Sterling area compares
The same measures for Kentucky 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 | Mount Sterling area | Kentucky | U.S. |
|---|---|---|---|
| Listings per 10k households | 12.1 | 11.5 | 10.4 |
| Spending per listing | $610K | $719K | $878K |
| Households per official establishment | 3,636 | 1,916 | 1,852 |
| Official establishment growth, 2019–2023 | n/a | +13.0% | +11.4% |
| Population growth, 2020–2025 | +3.1% | +2.2% | +3.1% |
| Spending per household on pets | $738 | $824 | $909 |
| Median household income | $55,208 | $63,726 | $80,734 |
| Groundwork market score | 59 | 38 |
Official counts and lending
Businesses
- Official establishments, 2019 to 2023
- 5
- Employees, 2023
- 37
- Annual payroll, 2023
- $2.1M
- One-person businesses, 2023
- 15Businesses with no payroll
- Map listings, September 2026
- 226 chain locations
- Listings at the U.S. rate for this spending
- 15The 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 Mount Sterling 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 Mount Sterling area
- Population, 2025 estimate
- 48,428+3.1% since 2020
- Households
- 18,181
- Median age
- 40.5
- Homes lived in by their owners
- 71%
- Vehicles per household
- 2.0
- Land area
- 679 sq. mi.
- People per square mile
- 70
- Median household income
- $55,208+23.5% vs. 2015–2019, before inflation
- Average household income
- $75,334
- Median home value
- $151,900
- Jobs located here
- 13,375
- Daytime population
- 41,916Residents who don’t work, plus everyone whose job is here
Looking at a specific site in the Mount Sterling 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 Mount Sterling 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 Kentucky
Every Kentucky market ranked →The highest-scoring small-town markets in Kentucky for pet businesses, numbered among those based in Kentucky, with the Mount Sterling area marked.
Top small-town markets in Kentucky
| Market | Score | Listings | Per 10k households | Spending per listing | Population growth | U.S. rank |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| 1Madisonville, KY | 70 | 13 | 7.1 | $1M | −0.5% | #55 of 527 |
| 2Henderson, KY | 67 | 21 | 9.0 | $855K | −0.9% | #80 of 527 |
| 3Frankfort, KY | 66 | 41 | 12.7 | $662K | +3.1% | #88 of 527 |
| 4Franklin, KY | 61 | 10 | 12.5 | $620K | +5.9% | #140 of 527 |
| 5Mount Sterling, KY | 59 | 22 | 12.1 | $610K | +3.1% | #156 of 527 |
| 6Campbellsville, KY | 57 | 14 | 9.5 | $774K | +3.4% | #172 of 527 |
| 7Mayfield, KY | 53 | 19 | 13.4 | $547K | +1.4% | #242 of 527 |
| 8Richmond-Berea, KY | 50 | 68 | 13.7 | $572K | +7.0% | #281 of 527 |
| 9Pikeville, KY | 49 | 33 | 8.5 | $792K | −5.4% | #286 of 527 |
| 10Corbin, KY | 49 | 62 | 11.0 | $622K | +0.1% | #292 of 527 |
Other business types in the Mount Sterling 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 businesses59
- Veterinarians50
- Pet grooming and boarding44
- Pet stores
Child care
Clothing and laundry
Home services
Real estate
Funeral services
Questions
How many pet businesses are in the Mount Sterling, KY area?
Map listings as of September 2026 show 22 pet businesses in the Mount Sterling area. 6 of them (27%) 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. Another 15 one-person businesses have no payroll, by official counts.
How much do households in the Mount Sterling, KY area spend on pets?
About $13.4M a year, or $738 per household. That is 19% below the U.S. average (an index of 81, where 100 is the U.S. average). Spread across the 22 pet businesses on map listings, it comes to $610K per business. It is estimated from the incomes of the 18,181 households in the Mount Sterling area and national spending patterns by income.
How does the Mount Sterling, KY area compare with the U.S. for pet businesses?
The Mount Sterling area has 12.1 pet businesses per 10,000 households, 16% above the U.S. rate of 10.4. Spending per business is $610K, 31% below the U.S. figure of $878K. At the U.S. ratio of pet businesses to household spending, the Mount Sterling area would have about 15, against 22 on map listings. There is one business with payroll in the industry for every 3,636 households, against one for every 1,852 across the U.S.
How fast is the Mount Sterling, KY area growing?
Population estimates put the Mount Sterling area at 48,428 people in 2025, up 3.1% since 2020, in step with the U.S. (+3.1%). It has 18,181 households. Median household income in the Mount Sterling area is $55,208, 32% below the U.S. median of $80,734. Against the 2015–2019 survey, the median rose 23.5%, 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 Mount Sterling area scores 59 for pet businesses (upper middle), #156 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 Mount Sterling 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 Mount Sterling area
Screening a site or an acquisition in the Mount Sterling 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 Mount Sterling 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.