Groundwork

Pets · County · Missouri

Pet businesses in Dent County, MO

How Dent County, MO 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 19 out of 100: Low

Ranked #2,128 of 2,200 scored counties
#71 of 76 scored counties in Missouri

Listings
9
0 chain locations (0%)
Official establishments
4
Businesses with payroll, 2023
Household spending a year
$3.8M
On pets · $680 a household
Spending per listing
$424K
52% below the U.S.
Listings per 10k households
16.0
54% above the U.S.
Population, 2025
14,584
+1.3% since 2020

See the pet businesses around any address in Dent 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 Dent 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

Dent County scores 19 (low) on the Groundwork market score for pet businesses, ranking #2,128 of 2,200 scored counties and #71 of 76 scored counties in Missouri. That puts it in the bottom quarter of counties.

At $680 per household (25% below the U.S. average), households in Dent County spend about $3.8M a year on pets. That works out to $424K per business, 52% below the U.S. figure of $878K.

There are 9 pet businesses on map listings in Dent County as of September 2026. None of them are chain locations, against 17% across the U.S. Per 10,000 households, that is 16.0, 54% above the U.S. rate of 10.4.

The official count of businesses with payroll classed as pet care, veterinarians and pet stores in Dent County was 4 in 2023. That is one for every 1,405 households, against one for every 1,852 across the U.S. Population estimates show Dent County grew 1.3% from 2020 to 2025, slower than the U.S. (+3.1%).

How Dent County compares

The same measures for Missouri 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 Dent County, MO compared with Missouri and the U.S.
MeasureDent CountyMissouriU.S.
Listings per 10k households16.011.310.4
Spending per listing$424K$728K$878K
Households per official establishment1,4051,8331,852
Official establishment growth, 2019–2023n/a+6.5%+11.4%
Population growth, 2020–2025+1.3%+1.9%+3.1%
Spending per household on pets$680$825$909
Median household income$56,312$70,702$80,734
Groundwork market score1936

Official counts and lending

Businesses

Official establishments, 2019 to 2023
4
Employees, 2023
12
Annual payroll, 2023
$290K
One-person businesses, 2023
6Businesses with no payroll
Map listings, September 2026
90 chain locations
Listings at the U.S. rate for this spending
4The 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 Dent 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 Dent County

Population, 2025 estimate
14,584+1.3% since 2020
Households
5,618
Median age
44.5
Homes lived in by their owners
76%
Vehicles per household
2.0
Land area
753 sq. mi.
People per square mile
19
Median household income
$56,312+33.8% vs. 2015–2019, before inflation
Average household income
$73,407
Median home value
$167,500
Jobs located here
4,361
Daytime population
13,097Residents who don’t work, plus everyone whose job is here

Looking at a specific site in Dent 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 Dent 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 Missouri

Every Missouri market ranked →

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

Top counties in Missouri

Counties in Missouri ranked for pet businesses by Groundwork market score
MarketScoreListingsPer 10k householdsSpending per listingPopulation growthU.S. rank
1Lincoln County, MO732410.5$832K+11.4%#203 of 2,200
2Warren County, MO731611.6$758K+9.2%#207 of 2,200
3Jackson County, MO692468.0$1M+2.1%#312 of 2,200
4Osage County, MO6859.5$878K+2.7%#355 of 2,200
5Platte County, MO675111.6$858K+6.7%#392 of 2,200
6Clay County, MO6410910.7$861K+4.3%#508 of 2,200
7St. Charles County, MO6420112.5$830K+4.9%#511 of 2,200
8Stone County, MO64139.6$773K+4.1%#520 of 2,200
9St. Louis County, MO623688.9$1.1M−1.2%#570 of 2,200
10Ste. Genevieve County, MO6179.8$824K+1.1%#618 of 2,200
71Dent County, MO19916.0$424K+1.3%#2,128 of 2,200

Other business types in Dent County

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

Questions

How many pet businesses are in Dent County, MO?

As of September 2026, map listings count 9 pet businesses in Dent County. None of them 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 also show 6 one-person businesses without payroll.

How much do households in Dent County, MO spend on pets?

About $3.8M a year, or $680 per household. That is 25% below the U.S. average (an index of 75, where 100 is the U.S. average). Spread across the 9 pet businesses on map listings, it comes to $424K per business. It is estimated from the incomes of the 5,618 households in Dent County and national spending patterns by income.

How does Dent County, MO compare with the U.S. for pet businesses?

Dent County has 16.0 pet businesses per 10,000 households, 54% above the U.S. rate of 10.4. Spending per business is $424K, 52% below the U.S. figure of $878K. At the U.S. ratio of pet businesses to household spending, Dent County would have about 4, against 9 on map listings. There is one business with payroll in the industry for every 1,405 households, against one for every 1,852 across the U.S.

How fast is Dent County, MO growing?

Population estimates put Dent County at 14,584 people in 2025, up 1.3% since 2020, slower than the U.S. (+3.1%). It has 5,618 households. Median household income in Dent County is $56,312, 30% below the U.S. median of $80,734. Against the 2015–2019 survey, the median rose 33.8%, 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. 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. Dent County scores 19 for pet businesses (low), #2,128 of 2,200 scored counties.

How can I see the market around a specific site?

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

Screening a site or an acquisition in Dent 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 Dent 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.