Groundwork

Pets · Small-town market · Michigan

Pet businesses in the Iron Mountain, MI-WI area

The pet businesses in the Iron Mountain, MI-WI area, the household spending behind them and how the market ranks against other small-town markets.

Groundwork market score · out of 100

Score 49 out of 100: Lower middle

Ranked #294 of 527 scored small-town markets
#4 of 18 scored small-town markets based in Michigan

Listings
19
2 chain locations (11%)
Official establishments
4
Businesses with payroll, 2023
Household spending a year
$10.6M
On pets · $750 a household
Spending per listing
$557K
37% below the U.S.
Listings per 10k households
13.5
30% above the U.S.
Population, 2025
30,575
+0.4% since 2020

See the pet businesses around any address in the Iron Mountain 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 Iron Mountain 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

Household spending on pets in the Iron Mountain area comes to about $10.6M a year: $750 per household, 18% below the U.S. average. That works out to $557K per business, 37% below the U.S. figure of $878K.

The Iron Mountain area has 19 pet businesses on map listings as of September 2026. 2 of them (11%) are chain locations, against 17% across the U.S. That comes to 13.5 for every 10,000 households, 30% above the U.S. rate of 10.4.

In 2023, official counts showed 4 businesses with payroll in the Iron Mountain area classed as pet care, veterinarians and pet stores. That is one for every 3,526 households, against one for every 1,852 across the U.S. Another 14 one-person businesses have no payroll, by official counts.

Population estimates show the Iron Mountain area grew 0.4% from 2020 to 2025, slower than the U.S. (+3.1%). The Iron Mountain area scores 49 (lower middle) on the Groundwork market score for pet businesses, ranking #294 of 527 scored small-town markets and #4 of 18 scored small-town markets based in Michigan.

How the Iron Mountain area compares

The same measures for Michigan 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 Iron Mountain, MI-WI area compared with Michigan and the U.S.
MeasureIron Mountain areaMichiganU.S.
Listings per 10k households13.510.410.4
Spending per listing$557K$814K$878K
Households per official establishment3,5262,0451,852
Official establishment growth, 2019–2023n/a+13.8%+11.4%
Population growth, 2020–2025+0.4%+0.6%+3.1%
Spending per household on pets$750$843$909
Median household income$64,552$72,875$80,734
Groundwork market score4950

Official counts and lending

Businesses

Official establishments, 2019 to 2023
4
Employees, 2023
12
Annual payroll, 2023
$234K
One-person businesses, 2023
14Businesses with no payroll
Map listings, September 2026
192 chain locations
Listings at the U.S. rate for this spending
12The 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 Iron Mountain 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 Iron Mountain area

Population, 2025 estimate
30,575+0.4% since 2020
Households
14,102
Median age
47.9
Homes lived in by their owners
84%
Vehicles per household
1.8
Land area
1,249 sq. mi.
People per square mile
24
Median household income
$64,552+24.8% vs. 2015–2019, before inflation
Average household income
$81,223
Median home value
$157,300
Jobs located here
15,062
Daytime population
33,133Residents who don’t work, plus everyone whose job is here

Looking at a specific site in the Iron Mountain 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 Iron Mountain 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 Michigan

Every Michigan market ranked →

The highest-scoring small-town markets in Michigan for pet businesses, numbered among those based in Michigan, with the Iron Mountain area marked.

Top small-town markets in Michigan

Small-town markets in Michigan ranked for pet businesses by Groundwork market score
MarketScoreListingsPer 10k householdsSpending per listingPopulation growthU.S. rank
1Coldwater, MI74158.9$835K+2.5%#36 of 527
2Houghton, MI63159.7$774K+1.8%#109 of 527
3Sturgis, MI562912.3$609K+0.1%#201 of 527
4Iron Mountain, MI-WI491913.5$557K+0.4%#294 of 527
5Big Rapids, MI492313.8$517K+4.7%#296 of 527
6Ludington, MI481612.5$618K0.0%#305 of 527
7Cadillac, MI483216.3$452K+2.0%#312 of 527
8Petoskey, MI462315.1$584K−1.0%#326 of 527
9Mount Pleasant, MI422911.6$608K+0.3%#362 of 527
10Marquette, MI423612.7$592K+2.3%#363 of 527

Other business types in the Iron Mountain area

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

Questions

How many pet businesses are in the Iron Mountain, MI-WI area?

Map listings as of September 2026 show 19 pet businesses in the Iron Mountain area. 2 of them (11%) 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 list 14 one-person businesses without payroll.

How much do households in the Iron Mountain, MI-WI area spend on pets?

About $10.6M a year, or $750 per household. That is 18% below the U.S. average (an index of 82, where 100 is the U.S. average). Spread across the 19 pet businesses on map listings, it comes to $557K per business. It is estimated from the incomes of the 14,102 households in the Iron Mountain area and national spending patterns by income.

How does the Iron Mountain, MI-WI area compare with the U.S. for pet businesses?

The Iron Mountain area has 13.5 pet businesses per 10,000 households, 30% above the U.S. rate of 10.4. Spending per business is $557K, 37% below the U.S. figure of $878K. At the U.S. ratio of pet businesses to household spending, the Iron Mountain area would have about 12, against 19 on map listings. There is one business with payroll in the industry for every 3,526 households, against one for every 1,852 across the U.S.

How fast is the Iron Mountain, MI-WI area growing?

Population estimates put the Iron Mountain area at 30,575 people in 2025, up 0.4% since 2020, slower than the U.S. (+3.1%). It has 14,102 households. Median household income in the Iron Mountain area is $64,552, 20% below the U.S. median of $80,734. Against the 2015–2019 survey, the median rose 24.8%, 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 Iron Mountain area scores 49 for pet businesses (lower middle), #294 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 Iron Mountain 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 Iron Mountain area

Screening a site or an acquisition in the Iron Mountain 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 Iron Mountain 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.