Pets · Small-town market · Mississippi
Pet businesses in the Starkville, MS area
How the Starkville, MS 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 #125 of 527 scored small-town markets
#6 of 16 scored small-town markets based in Mississippi
- Listings
- 25
- 4 chain locations (16%)
- Official establishments
- 8
- Businesses with payroll, 2023
- Household spending a year
- $19.2M
- On pets · $740 a household
- Spending per listing
- $767K
- 13% below the U.S.
- Listings per 10k households
- 9.6
- 8% below the U.S.
- Population, 2025
- 62,063
- +0.8% since 2020
See the pet businesses around any address in the Starkville 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 Starkville area. Signed out, you see a blurred preview; on an account, each report is one action.
Free10 actions over 3 days, no cardSurvey 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 25 pet businesses in the Starkville area. 4 of them (16%) are chain locations, against 17% across the U.S. Per 10,000 households, that is 9.6, 8% below the U.S. rate of 10.4.
Households in the Starkville area spend about $19.2M a year on pets, or $740 per household, 19% below the U.S. average. Spread across 25 pet businesses, that is $767K per business, 13% below the U.S. figure of $878K.
The official count of businesses with payroll classed as pet care, veterinarians and pet stores in the Starkville area was 8 in 2023. That is one for every 3,239 households, against one for every 1,852 across the U.S. Official counts list 32 one-person businesses without payroll.
Population estimates put the population change in the Starkville area from 2020 to 2025 at +0.8%, slower than the U.S. (+3.1%). For pet businesses, the Starkville area has a Groundwork market score of 62 (upper middle): #125 of 527 scored small-town markets and #6 of 16 scored small-town markets based in Mississippi. That puts it in the top quarter of small-town markets.
How the Starkville area compares
The same measures for Mississippi 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.
| Measure | Starkville area | Mississippi | U.S. |
|---|---|---|---|
| Listings per 10k households | 9.6 | 8.3 | 10.4 |
| Spending per listing | $767K | $938K | $878K |
| Households per official establishment | 3,239 | 2,574 | 1,852 |
| Official establishment growth, 2019–2023 | n/a | +8.8% | +11.4% |
| Population growth, 2020–2025 | +0.8% | −0.1% | +3.1% |
| Spending per household on pets | $740 | $774 | $909 |
| Median household income | $48,750 | $56,447 | $80,734 |
| Groundwork market score | 62 | 54 |
Official counts and lending
Businesses
- Official establishments, 2019 to 2023
- 8
- Employees, 2023
- 69
- Annual payroll, 2023
- $1.9M
- One-person businesses, 2023
- 32Businesses with no payroll
- Map listings, September 2026
- 254 chain locations
- Listings at the U.S. rate for this spending
- 22The 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 Starkville 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 Starkville area
- Population, 2025 estimate
- 62,063+0.8% since 2020
- Households
- 25,913
- Median age
- 32.1
- Homes lived in by their owners
- 52%
- Vehicles per household
- 1.9
- Land area
- 879 sq. mi.
- People per square mile
- 70
- Median household income
- $48,750+18.6% vs. 2015–2019, before inflation
- Average household income
- $71,892
- Median home value
- $208,300
- Jobs located here
- 23,717
- Daytime population
- 62,501Residents who don’t work, plus everyone whose job is here
Looking at a specific site in the Starkville 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 Starkville area. Signed out, you see a blurred preview; on an account, each report is one action.
Free10 actions over 3 days, no cardPet businesses across Mississippi
Every Mississippi market ranked →The highest-scoring small-town markets in Mississippi for pet businesses, numbered among those based in Mississippi, with the Starkville area marked.
Top small-town markets in Mississippi
| Market | Score | Listings | Per 10k households | Spending per listing | Population growth | U.S. rank |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| 1Vicksburg, MS | 73 | 11 | 6.6 | $1.3M | −6.3% | #41 of 527 |
| 2Oxford, MS | 73 | 26 | 10.8 | $785K | +5.3% | #43 of 527 |
| 3Laurel, MS | 67 | 21 | 6.6 | $1.1M | −1.5% | #76 of 527 |
| 4Picayune, MS | 67 | 27 | 12.3 | $626K | +5.6% | #83 of 527 |
| 5Tupelo, MS | 66 | 46 | 8.9 | $896K | +0.8% | #85 of 527 |
| 6Starkville, MS | 62 | 25 | 9.6 | $767K | +0.8% | #125 of 527 |
| 7Greenville, MS | 61 | 7 | 4.1 | $1.6M | −9.4% | #131 of 527 |
| 8Columbus, MS | 60 | 13 | 4.8 | $1.5M | −2.7% | #141 of 527 |
| 9Brookhaven, MS | 56 | 13 | 9.9 | $759K | +0.5% | #193 of 527 |
| 10Corinth, MS | 54 | 10 | 6.9 | $1M | −0.5% | #217 of 527 |
Other business types in the Starkville area
Each with its Groundwork market score here, out of 100, where it has one.
Food and drink
Groceries and convenience
Auto
Beauty and personal care
Fitness and classes
Health care
Pets
- Pet businesses62
- Veterinarians34
- Pet grooming and boarding66
- Pet stores
Child care
Clothing and laundry
Home services
Real estate
Funeral services
Questions
How many pet businesses are in the Starkville, MS area?
The Starkville area has 25 pet businesses on map listings as of September 2026. 4 of them (16%) are chain locations. The listings count vets, groomers, boarding and pet stores. Official counts show 8 businesses with payroll classed as pet care, veterinarians and pet stores in 2023. Official counts also show 32 one-person businesses without payroll.
How much do households in the Starkville, MS area spend on pets?
About $19.2M a year, or $740 per household. That is 19% below the U.S. average (an index of 81, where 100 is the U.S. average). Spread across the 25 pet businesses on map listings, it comes to $767K per business. It is estimated from the incomes of the 25,913 households in the Starkville area and national spending patterns by income.
How does the Starkville, MS area compare with the U.S. for pet businesses?
The Starkville area has 9.6 pet businesses per 10,000 households, 8% below the U.S. rate of 10.4. Spending per business is $767K, 13% below the U.S. figure of $878K. At the national ratio of pet businesses to household spending, the Starkville area would have about 22, against 25 on map listings. There is one business with payroll in the industry for every 3,239 households, against one for every 1,852 across the U.S.
How fast is the Starkville, MS area growing?
Population estimates put the Starkville area at 62,063 people in 2025, up 0.8% since 2020, slower than the U.S. (+3.1%). It has 25,913 households. The median household income in the Starkville area is $48,750 a year, 40% below the U.S. median of $80,734. That rose 18.6% 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 Starkville area scores 62 for pet businesses (upper middle), #125 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 Starkville 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 Starkville area
Screening a site or an acquisition in the Starkville 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 Starkville 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.