Groundwork

Pets · Metro area · Minnesota

Pet businesses in the St. Cloud, MN metro area

How the St. Cloud, MN metro area compares with other metro areas and the U.S. for pet businesses: competitors, household spending, official counts and growth.

Groundwork market score · out of 100

Score 49 out of 100: Lower middle

Ranked #198 of 387 scored metro areas
#4 of 5 scored metro areas based in Minnesota

Listings
86
11 chain locations (13%)
Official establishments
42
−6.7% since 2019
Household spending a year
$66.1M
On pets · $846 a household
Spending per listing
$768K
13% below the U.S.
Listings per 10k households
11.0
6% above the U.S.
Population, 2025
205,854
+3.0% since 2020

See the pet businesses around any address in the St. Cloud metro 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 St. Cloud metro 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

Households in the St. Cloud metro area spend about $66.1M a year on pets, or $846 per household, 7% below the U.S. average. Spread across 86 pet businesses, that is $768K per business, 13% below the U.S. figure of $878K.

The St. Cloud metro area has 86 pet businesses on map listings as of September 2026. Of those, 11 are chain locations, or 13%, against 17% across the U.S. That is 11.0 per 10,000 households, 6% above the U.S. rate of 10.4.

The official count of businesses with payroll classed as pet care, veterinarians and pet stores in the St. Cloud metro area was 42 in 2023, down 6.7% from 2019. That is one for every 1,860 households, against one for every 1,852 across the U.S. Another 56 one-person businesses have no payroll, by official counts. Since fiscal 2022, 3 SBA-backed loans worth $965K have gone to businesses classed as pet care, veterinarians and pet stores in the St. Cloud metro area.

Between 2020 and 2025, the population of the St. Cloud metro area grew 3.0%, in step with the U.S. (+3.1%). The Groundwork market score for pet businesses in the St. Cloud metro area is 49 (lower middle), #198 of 387 scored metro areas and #4 of 5 scored metro areas based in Minnesota.

How the St. Cloud metro 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 St. Cloud, MN metro area compared with Minnesota and the U.S.
MeasureSt. Cloud metro areaMinnesotaU.S.
Listings per 10k households11.010.710.4
Spending per listing$768K$888K$878K
Households per official establishment1,8601,8021,852
Official establishment growth, 2019–2023−6.7%+9.1%+11.4%
Population growth, 2020–2025+3.0%+2.1%+3.1%
Spending per household on pets$846$951$909
Median household income$76,497$89,062$80,734
Groundwork market score4957

Official counts and lending

Businesses

Official establishments, 2019 to 2023
42−6.7% over the period
Employees, 2023
414
Annual payroll, 2023
$17.7M
One-person businesses, 2023
56Businesses with no payroll
Map listings, September 2026
8611 chain locations
Listings at the U.S. rate for this spending
75The U.S. ratio of listings to household spending, applied here

SBA-backed loans since fiscal 2022

Loans
3
Amount
$965K

SBA-backed loans to businesses classed as pet care, veterinarians and pet stores in the St. Cloud metro 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 St. Cloud metro area

Population, 2025 estimate
205,854+3.0% since 2020
Households
78,122
Median age
37.2
Homes lived in by their owners
68%
Vehicles per household
2.0
Land area
1,751 sq. mi.
People per square mile
116
Median household income
$76,497+23.4% vs. 2015–2019, before inflation
Average household income
$97,113
Median home value
$272,800
Jobs located here
101,570
Daytime population
207,575Residents who don’t work, plus everyone whose job is here

Looking at a specific site in the St. Cloud metro area?

These figures cover the whole metro area. 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 St. Cloud metro 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 metro areas in Minnesota for pet businesses, numbered among those based in Minnesota (a market based in another state is listed without a number), with the St. Cloud metro area marked.

Top metro areas in Minnesota

Metro areas in Minnesota ranked for pet businesses by Groundwork market score
MarketScoreListingsPer 10k householdsSpending per listingPopulation growthU.S. rank
Sioux Falls, SD-MN701209.8$909K+9.5%#53 of 387
1Minneapolis-St. Paul-Bloomington, MN-WI671,48210.0$1M+2.6%#65 of 387
Fargo, ND-MN651059.5$907K+7.7%#83 of 387
Grand Forks, ND-MN56419.4$862K+0.8%#152 of 387
2Mankato, MN544310.6$799K+1.2%#165 of 387
3Duluth, MN-WI511149.5$863K+0.2%#185 of 387
4St. Cloud, MN498611.0$768K+3.0%#198 of 387
5Rochester, MN4411812.7$764K+2.0%#243 of 387
La Crosse-Onalaska, WI-MN348611.9$697K+0.4%#309 of 387

Other business types in the St. Cloud metro area

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

Questions

How many pet businesses are in the St. Cloud, MN metro area?

Map listings as of September 2026 show 86 pet businesses in the St. Cloud metro area. 11 of them (13%) are chain locations. The listings count vets, groomers, boarding and pet stores. Official counts show 42 businesses with payroll classed as pet care, veterinarians and pet stores in 2023, down 6.7% from 2019. Official counts list 56 one-person businesses without payroll.

How much do households in the St. Cloud, MN metro area spend on pets?

About $66.1M a year, or $846 per household. That is 7% below the U.S. average (an index of 93, where 100 is the U.S. average). Spread across the 86 pet businesses on map listings, it comes to $768K per business. It is estimated from the incomes of the 78,122 households in the St. Cloud metro area and national spending patterns by income.

How does the St. Cloud, MN metro area compare with the U.S. for pet businesses?

The St. Cloud metro area has 11.0 pet businesses per 10,000 households, 6% above the U.S. rate of 10.4. Spending per business is $768K, 13% below the U.S. figure of $878K. At the U.S. ratio of pet businesses to household spending, the St. Cloud metro area would have about 75, against 86 on map listings. There is one business with payroll in the industry for every 1,860 households, against one for every 1,852 across the U.S. The official count fell 6.7% from 2019 to 2023, against +11.4% for the U.S.

How fast is the St. Cloud, MN metro area growing?

Population estimates put the St. Cloud metro area at 205,854 people in 2025, up 3.0% since 2020, in step with the U.S. (+3.1%). It has 78,122 households. Median household income in the St. Cloud metro area is $76,497, 5% below the U.S. median of $80,734. Against the 2015–2019 survey, the median rose 23.4%, 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. The St. Cloud metro area scores 49 for pet businesses (lower middle), #198 of 387 scored metro areas.

How can I see the market around a specific site?

Run a Groundwork site report on an address in the St. Cloud metro 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 St. Cloud metro area

Screening a site or an acquisition in the St. Cloud metro 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 St. Cloud metro 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.