Groundwork

Pets · Small-town market · Minnesota

Pet businesses in the Bemidji, MN area

How the Bemidji, MN 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 62 out of 100: Upper middle

Ranked #126 of 527 scored small-town markets
#8 of 18 scored small-town markets based in Minnesota

Listings
19
2 chain locations (11%)
Official establishments
9
Businesses with payroll, 2023
Household spending a year
$14.5M
On pets · $799 a household
Spending per listing
$764K
13% below the U.S.
Listings per 10k households
10.5
In line with the U.S.
Population, 2025
47,055
+1.8% since 2020

See the pet businesses around any address in the Bemidji 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 Bemidji area. Signed out, you see a blurred preview; on an account, each report is one action.

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Survey estimates 2020–2024 · population estimates 2025 · official business counts 2023 · map listings September 2026 · Data credits · How we measure

What this means

Map listings as of September 2026 show 19 pet businesses in the Bemidji area. Of those, 2 are chain locations, or 11%, against 17% across the U.S. That comes to 10.5 for every 10,000 households, in line with the U.S. rate of 10.4.

Household spending on pets in the Bemidji area comes to about $14.5M a year: $799 per household, 12% below the U.S. average. Spread across 19 pet businesses, that is $764K per business, 13% below the U.S. figure of $878K.

Official counts show 9 businesses with payroll classed as pet care, veterinarians and pet stores in the Bemidji area in 2023. That is one for every 2,019 households, against one for every 1,852 across the U.S. Official counts list 16 one-person businesses without payroll. Since fiscal 2022, 1 SBA-backed loan worth $50K has gone to businesses classed as pet care, veterinarians and pet stores in the Bemidji area.

Population estimates put the population change in the Bemidji area from 2020 to 2025 at +1.8%, slower than the U.S. (+3.1%). The Bemidji area scores 62 (upper middle) on the Groundwork market score for pet businesses, ranking #126 of 527 scored small-town markets and #8 of 18 scored small-town markets based in Minnesota. That puts it in the top quarter of small-town markets.

How the Bemidji area compares

The same measures for Minnesota 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 Bemidji, MN area compared with Minnesota and the U.S.
MeasureBemidji areaMinnesotaU.S.
Listings per 10k households10.510.710.4
Spending per listing$764K$888K$878K
Households per official establishment2,0191,8021,852
Official establishment growth, 2019–2023n/a+9.1%+11.4%
Population growth, 2020–2025+1.8%+2.1%+3.1%
Spending per household on pets$799$951$909
Median household income$68,975$89,062$80,734
Groundwork market score6257

Official counts and lending

Businesses

Official establishments, 2019 to 2023
9
Employees, 2023
84
Annual payroll, 2023
$3.5M
One-person businesses, 2023
16Businesses with no payroll
Map listings, September 2026
192 chain locations
Listings at the U.S. rate for this spending
17The U.S. ratio of listings to household spending, applied here

SBA-backed loans since fiscal 2022

Loans
1
Amount
$50K

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

Population, 2025 estimate
47,055+1.8% since 2020
Households
18,172
Median age
37.0
Homes lived in by their owners
70%
Vehicles per household
2.0
Land area
2,505 sq. mi.
People per square mile
19
Median household income
$68,975+40.3% vs. 2015–2019, before inflation
Average household income
$89,694
Median home value
$237,500
Jobs located here
21,323
Daytime population
47,553Residents who don’t work, plus everyone whose job is here

Looking at a specific site in the Bemidji 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 Bemidji area. Signed out, you see a blurred preview; on an account, each report is one action.

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Pet businesses across Minnesota

Every Minnesota market ranked →

The highest-scoring small-town markets in Minnesota for pet businesses, numbered among those based in Minnesota (a market based in another state is listed without a number), with the Bemidji area marked.

Top small-town markets in Minnesota

Small-town markets in Minnesota ranked for pet businesses by Groundwork market score
MarketScoreListingsPer 10k householdsSpending per listingPopulation growthU.S. rank
1Alexandria, MN79169.1$934K+2.6%#17 of 527
2Willmar, MN752212.5$671K+2.3%#32 of 527
3Albert Lea, MN70118.6$928K−1.5%#56 of 527
4Worthington, MN6979.1$870K+0.6%#61 of 527
Wahpeton, ND-MN651010.5$788K0.0%#94 of 527
5New Ulm, MN641110.0$785K−1.5%#103 of 527
6Austin, MN631710.8$752K+2.3%#110 of 527
7Fergus Falls, MN62259.9$823K+1.6%#122 of 527
8Bemidji, MN621910.5$764K+1.8%#126 of 527
9Winona, MN602210.9$747K+1.8%#148 of 527

Other business types in the Bemidji area

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

Questions

How many pet businesses are in the Bemidji, MN area?

There are 19 pet businesses on map listings in the Bemidji area as of September 2026. 2 of them (11%) are chain locations. The listings count vets, groomers, boarding and pet stores. Official counts show 9 businesses with payroll classed as pet care, veterinarians and pet stores in 2023. Official counts also show 16 one-person businesses without payroll.

How much do households in the Bemidji, MN area spend on pets?

About $14.5M a year, or $799 per household. That is 12% below the U.S. average (an index of 88, where 100 is the U.S. average). Spread across the 19 pet businesses on map listings, it comes to $764K per business. It is estimated from the incomes of the 18,172 households in the Bemidji area and national spending patterns by income.

How does the Bemidji, MN area compare with the U.S. for pet businesses?

The Bemidji area has 10.5 pet businesses per 10,000 households, in line with the U.S. rate of 10.4. Spending per business is $764K, 13% below the U.S. figure of $878K. At the national ratio of pet businesses to household spending, the Bemidji area would have about 17, against 19 on map listings. There is one business with payroll in the industry for every 2,019 households, against one for every 1,852 across the U.S.

How fast is the Bemidji, MN area growing?

Population estimates put the Bemidji area at 47,055 people in 2025, up 1.8% since 2020, slower than the U.S. (+3.1%). It has 18,172 households. The median household income in the Bemidji area is $68,975 a year, 15% below the U.S. median of $80,734. That rose 40.3% 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. 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 Bemidji area scores 62 for pet businesses (upper middle), #126 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 Bemidji 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 Bemidji area

Screening a site or an acquisition in the Bemidji 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 Bemidji 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.