Groundwork

Pets · County · Massachusetts

Pet businesses in Plymouth County, MA

How Plymouth County, MA 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 41 out of 100: Lower middle

Ranked #1,479 of 2,200 scored counties
#7 of 14 scored counties in Massachusetts

Listings
279
39 chain locations (14%)
Official establishments
148
+17.5% since 2019
Household spending a year
$164.5M
On pets · $810 a household
Spending per listing
$590K
33% below the U.S.
Listings per 10k households
13.7
32% above the U.S.
Population, 2025
546,829
+3.5% since 2020

See the pet businesses around any address in Plymouth 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 Plymouth 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

At $810 per household (11% below the U.S. average), households in Plymouth County spend about $164.5M a year on pets. Spread across 279 pet businesses, that is $590K per business, 33% below the U.S. figure of $878K.

Plymouth County has 279 pet businesses on map listings as of September 2026. 39 of them (14%) are chain locations, 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.

In 2023, official counts showed 148 businesses with payroll in Plymouth County classed as pet care, veterinarians and pet stores, up 17.5% from 2019. That is one for every 1,373 households, against one for every 1,852 across the U.S. Official counts list 358 one-person businesses without payroll. Since fiscal 2022, 8 SBA-backed loans worth $2M have gone to businesses classed as pet care, veterinarians and pet stores in Plymouth County.

Population estimates show Plymouth County grew 3.5% from 2020 to 2025, in step with the U.S. (+3.1%). Plymouth County scores 41 (lower middle) on the Groundwork market score for pet businesses, ranking #1,479 of 2,200 scored counties and #7 of 14 scored counties in Massachusetts.

How Plymouth County compares

The same measures for Massachusetts 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 Plymouth County, MA compared with Massachusetts and the U.S.
MeasurePlymouth CountyMassachusettsU.S.
Listings per 10k households13.710.210.4
Spending per listing$590K$759K$878K
Households per official establishment1,3731,7981,852
Official establishment growth, 2019–2023+17.5%+8.3%+11.4%
Population growth, 2020–2025+3.5%+2.4%+3.1%
Spending per household on pets$810$776$909
Median household income$114,201$103,960$80,734
Groundwork market score4136

Official counts and lending

Businesses

Official establishments, 2019 to 2023
126 → 148+17.5% over the period
Employees, 2023
5,130
Annual payroll, 2023
$194.3M
One-person businesses, 2023
358Businesses with no payroll
Map listings, September 2026
27939 chain locations
Listings at the U.S. rate for this spending
187The U.S. ratio of listings to household spending, applied here

SBA-backed loans since fiscal 2022

Loans
8
Amount
$2M

SBA-backed loans to businesses classed as pet care, veterinarians and pet stores in Plymouth 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 Plymouth County

Population, 2025 estimate
546,829+3.5% since 2020
Households
203,141
Median age
43.6
Homes lived in by their owners
78%
Vehicles per household
1.9
Land area
659 sq. mi.
People per square mile
813
Median household income
$114,201+27.6% vs. 2015–2019, before inflation
Average household income
$151,137
Median home value
$556,000
Jobs located here
195,609
Daytime population
454,742Residents who don’t work, plus everyone whose job is here

Looking at a specific site in Plymouth 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 Plymouth 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 Massachusetts

Every Massachusetts market ranked →

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

Top counties in Massachusetts

Counties in Massachusetts ranked for pet businesses by Groundwork market score
MarketScoreListingsPer 10k householdsSpending per listingPopulation growthU.S. rank
1Suffolk County, MA681625.0$1.5M+0.1%#336 of 2,200
2Middlesex County, MA666149.7$908K+2.8%#430 of 2,200
3Norfolk County, MA5631311.0$798K+2.2%#818 of 2,200
4Hampden County, MA501478.0$767K+0.2%#1,088 of 2,200
5Essex County, MA4632310.3$742K+2.3%#1,268 of 2,200
6Worcester County, MA4437911.3$648K+3.7%#1,360 of 2,200
7Plymouth County, MA4127913.7$590K+3.5%#1,479 of 2,200
8Bristol County, MA4025911.1$616K+2.9%#1,524 of 2,200
9Nantucket County, MA371019.0$490K+3.6%#1,653 of 2,200
10Dukes County, MA301418.5$454K+3.1%#1,876 of 2,200

Other business types in Plymouth County

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

Questions

How many pet businesses are in Plymouth County, MA?

Map listings as of September 2026 show 279 pet businesses in Plymouth County. 39 of them (14%) are chain locations. The listings count vets, groomers, boarding and pet stores. Official counts show 148 businesses with payroll classed as pet care, veterinarians and pet stores in 2023, up 17.5% from 2019. Official counts also show 358 one-person businesses without payroll.

How much do households in Plymouth County, MA spend on pets?

About $164.5M a year, or $810 per household. That is 11% below the U.S. average (an index of 89, where 100 is the U.S. average). Spread across the 279 pet businesses on map listings, it comes to $590K per business. It is estimated from the incomes of the 203,141 households in Plymouth County and national spending patterns by income.

How does Plymouth County, MA compare with the U.S. for pet businesses?

Plymouth County has 13.7 pet businesses per 10,000 households, 32% above the U.S. rate of 10.4. Spending per business is $590K, 33% below the U.S. figure of $878K. At the U.S. ratio of pet businesses to household spending, Plymouth County would have about 187, against 279 on map listings. There is one business with payroll in the industry for every 1,373 households, against one for every 1,852 across the U.S. The official count rose 17.5% from 2019 to 2023, against +11.4% for the U.S.

How fast is Plymouth County, MA growing?

Population estimates put Plymouth County at 546,829 people in 2025, up 3.5% since 2020, in step with the U.S. (+3.1%). It has 203,141 households. Median household income in Plymouth County is $114,201, 41% above the U.S. median of $80,734. Against the 2015–2019 survey, the median rose 27.6%, 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. Plymouth County scores 41 for pet businesses (lower middle), #1,479 of 2,200 scored counties.

How can I see the market around a specific site?

Run a Groundwork site report on an address in Plymouth 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 Plymouth County

Screening a site or an acquisition in Plymouth 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 Plymouth 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.