Groundwork

Pets · County · Maryland

Pet businesses in Worcester County, MD

How Worcester County, MD compares with other counties and the U.S. for pet businesses: competitors, household spending, official counts and growth.

Groundwork market score · out of 100

Score 56 out of 100: Upper middle

Ranked #839 of 2,200 scored counties
#18 of 23 scored counties in Maryland

Listings
36
10 chain locations (28%)
Official establishments
14
Businesses with payroll, 2023
Household spending a year
$23.5M
On pets · $973 a household
Spending per listing
$652K
26% below the U.S.
Listings per 10k households
14.9
43% above the U.S.
Population, 2025
54,459
+3.7% since 2020

See the pet businesses around any address in Worcester County

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 Worcester County. 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 36 pet businesses in Worcester County. Chain locations make up 28% of them, against 17% across the U.S. That comes to 14.9 for every 10,000 households, 43% above the U.S. rate of 10.4.

Households in Worcester County spend about $23.5M a year on pets, or $973 per household, 7% above the U.S. average. Spread across 36 pet businesses, that is $652K per business, 26% below the U.S. figure of $878K.

In 2023, official counts showed 14 businesses with payroll in Worcester County classed as pet care, veterinarians and pet stores. That is one for every 1,724 households, against one for every 1,852 across the U.S. Official counts also show 32 one-person businesses without payroll.

Between 2020 and 2025, the population of Worcester County grew 3.7%, faster than the U.S. (+3.1%). The Groundwork market score for pet businesses in Worcester County is 56 (upper middle), #839 of 2,200 scored counties and #18 of 23 scored counties in Maryland.

How Worcester County compares

The same measures for Maryland 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 Worcester County, MD compared with Maryland and the U.S.
MeasureWorcester CountyMarylandU.S.
Listings per 10k households14.98.610.4
Spending per listing$652K$1.3M$878K
Households per official establishment1,7242,0951,852
Official establishment growth, 2019–2023n/a+1.0%+11.4%
Population growth, 2020–2025+3.7%+1.4%+3.1%
Spending per household on pets$973$1,117$909
Median household income$81,745$103,678$80,734
Groundwork market score5680

Official counts and lending

Businesses

Official establishments, 2019 to 2023
14 → 14
Employees, 2023
116
Annual payroll, 2023
$4.8M
One-person businesses, 2023
32Businesses with no payroll
Map listings, September 2026
3610 chain locations
Listings at the U.S. rate for this spending
27The 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 Worcester County, 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 Worcester County

Population, 2025 estimate
54,459+3.7% since 2020
Households
24,136
Median age
50.1
Homes lived in by their owners
78%
Vehicles per household
1.9
Land area
468 sq. mi.
People per square mile
115
Median household income
$81,745+28.7% vs. 2015–2019, before inflation
Average household income
$117,610
Median home value
$374,700
Jobs located here
22,476
Daytime population
52,245Residents who don’t work, plus everyone whose job is here

Looking at a specific site in Worcester County?

These figures cover the whole county. 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 Worcester County. 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 Maryland

Every Maryland market ranked →

The highest-scoring counties in Maryland for pet businesses, numbered among those based in Maryland, with Worcester County marked.

Top counties in Maryland

Counties in Maryland ranked for pet businesses by Groundwork market score
MarketScoreListingsPer 10k householdsSpending per listingPopulation growthU.S. rank
1Charles County, MD88559.0$1.3M+5.9%#10 of 2,200
2Prince George’s County, MD851333.8$2.8M+0.5%#21 of 2,200
3Dorchester County, MD8475.2$1.6M+3.4%#35 of 2,200
4Cecil County, MD774912.1$837K+3.2%#124 of 2,200
5Montgomery County, MD763087.9$1.6M+1.3%#133 of 2,200
6Baltimore city, MD741194.7$1.8M−2.3%#170 of 2,200
7Baltimore County, MD722607.8$1.3M−0.7%#211 of 2,200
8Frederick County, MD7213312.7$969K+11.0%#226 of 2,200
9St. Mary’s County, MD715212.3$982K+2.4%#247 of 2,200
10Calvert County, MD703811.4$1.1M+1.7%#271 of 2,200
18Worcester County, MD563614.9$652K+3.7%#839 of 2,200

Other business types in Worcester County

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

Questions

How many pet businesses are in Worcester County, MD?

Worcester County has 36 pet businesses on map listings as of September 2026. 10 of them (28%) are chain locations. The listings count vets, groomers, boarding and pet stores. Official counts show 14 businesses with payroll classed as pet care, veterinarians and pet stores in 2023. Another 32 one-person businesses have no payroll, by official counts.

How much do households in Worcester County, MD spend on pets?

About $23.5M a year, or $973 per household. That is 7% above the U.S. average (an index of 107, where 100 is the U.S. average). Spread across the 36 pet businesses on map listings, it comes to $652K per business. It is estimated from the incomes of the 24,136 households in Worcester County and national spending patterns by income.

How does Worcester County, MD compare with the U.S. for pet businesses?

Worcester County has 14.9 pet businesses per 10,000 households, 43% above the U.S. rate of 10.4. Spending per business is $652K, 26% below the U.S. figure of $878K. At the national ratio of pet businesses to household spending, Worcester County would have about 27, against 36 on map listings. There is one business with payroll in the industry for every 1,724 households, against one for every 1,852 across the U.S.

How fast is Worcester County, MD growing?

Population estimates put Worcester County at 54,459 people in 2025, up 3.7% since 2020, faster than the U.S. (+3.1%). It has 24,136 households. The median household income in Worcester County is $81,745 a year, in line with the U.S. median of $80,734. That rose 28.7% 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. Worcester County scores 56 for pet businesses (upper middle), #839 of 2,200 scored counties.

How can I see the market around a specific site?

Run a Groundwork site report on an address in Worcester County. 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 Worcester County

Screening a site or an acquisition in Worcester County?

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 Worcester County. 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.