Groundwork

Pets · Metro area · Missouri

Pet businesses in the Kansas City, MO-KS metro area

How the Kansas City, MO-KS 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 61 out of 100: Upper middle

Ranked #106 of 387 scored metro areas
#1 of 8 scored metro areas based in Missouri

Listings
917
167 chain locations (18%)
Official establishments
508
+8.5% since 2019
Household spending a year
$818.4M
On pets · $914 a household
Spending per listing
$892K
2% above the U.S.
Listings per 10k households
10.2
2% below the U.S.
Population, 2025
2,270,682
+3.4% since 2020

See the pet businesses around any address in the Kansas City 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 Kansas City 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 Kansas City metro area spend about $818.4M a year on pets, or $914 per household, in line with the U.S. average. That is about $892K of household spending for each business on map listings, 2% above the U.S. figure of $878K.

There are 917 pet businesses on map listings in the Kansas City metro area as of September 2026. Chain locations make up 18% of them, against 17% across the U.S. That is 10.2 per 10,000 households, 2% below the U.S. rate of 10.4.

In 2023, official counts showed 508 businesses with payroll in the Kansas City metro area classed as pet care, veterinarians and pet stores, up 8.5% from 2019. That is one for every 1,763 households, against one for every 1,852 across the U.S. Another 970 one-person businesses have no payroll, by official counts. Since fiscal 2022, 43 SBA-backed loans worth $41.7M have gone to businesses classed as pet care, veterinarians and pet stores in the Kansas City metro area.

Population estimates put the population change in the Kansas City metro area from 2020 to 2025 at +3.4%, in step with the U.S. (+3.1%). For pet businesses, the Kansas City metro area has a Groundwork market score of 61 (upper middle): #106 of 387 scored metro areas and #1 of 8 scored metro areas based in Missouri.

How the Kansas City metro area 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 Kansas City, MO-KS metro area compared with Missouri and the U.S.
MeasureKansas City metro areaMissouriU.S.
Listings per 10k households10.211.310.4
Spending per listing$892K$728K$878K
Households per official establishment1,7631,8331,852
Official establishment growth, 2019–2023+8.5%+6.5%+11.4%
Population growth, 2020–2025+3.4%+1.9%+3.1%
Spending per household on pets$914$825$909
Median household income$83,460$70,702$80,734
Groundwork market score6136

Official counts and lending

Businesses

Official establishments, 2019 to 2023
508+8.5% over the period
Employees, 2023
6,660
Annual payroll, 2023
$251.8M
One-person businesses, 2023
970Businesses with no payroll
Map listings, September 2026
917167 chain locations
Listings at the U.S. rate for this spending
932The U.S. ratio of listings to household spending, applied here

SBA-backed loans since fiscal 2022

Loans
43
Amount
$41.7M

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

Population, 2025 estimate
2,270,682+3.4% since 2020
Households
895,368
Median age
39.1
Homes lived in by their owners
66%
Vehicles per household
1.8
Land area
7,257 sq. mi.
People per square mile
306
Median household income
$83,460+25.3% vs. 2015–2019, before inflation
Average household income
$111,261
Median home value
$287,300
Jobs located here
1,123,972
Daytime population
2,247,861Residents who don’t work, plus everyone whose job is here

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

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Pet businesses across Missouri

Every Missouri market ranked →

The highest-scoring metro areas in Missouri for pet businesses, numbered among those based in Missouri, with the Kansas City metro area marked.

Top metro areas in Missouri

Metro areas in Missouri ranked for pet businesses by Groundwork market score
MarketScoreListingsPer 10k householdsSpending per listingPopulation growthU.S. rank
1Kansas City, MO-KS6191710.2$892K+3.4%#106 of 387
2St. Louis, MO-IL561,1239.7$928K−0.2%#148 of 387
3Columbia, MO4110412.0$694K+3.9%#268 of 387
4Cape Girardeau, MO-IL344812.5$616K+1.7%#313 of 387
5St. Joseph, MO-KS325912.6$604K−2.0%#328 of 387
6Jefferson City, MO307312.5$657K+2.2%#335 of 387
7Joplin, MO-KS2911514.5$508K+3.9%#346 of 387
8Springfield, MO2827613.9$555K+5.1%#349 of 387

Other business types in the Kansas City metro area

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

Questions

How many pet businesses are in the Kansas City, MO-KS metro area?

As of September 2026, map listings count 917 pet businesses in the Kansas City metro area. 167 of them (18%) are chain locations. The listings count vets, groomers, boarding and pet stores. Official counts show 508 businesses with payroll classed as pet care, veterinarians and pet stores in 2023, up 8.5% from 2019. Official counts list 970 one-person businesses without payroll.

How much do households in the Kansas City, MO-KS metro area spend on pets?

About $818.4M a year, or $914 per household. That is in line with the U.S. average (an index of 101, where 100 is the U.S. average). Spread across the 917 pet businesses on map listings, it comes to $892K per business. It is estimated from the incomes of the 895,368 households in the Kansas City metro area and national spending patterns by income.

How does the Kansas City, MO-KS metro area compare with the U.S. for pet businesses?

The Kansas City metro area has 10.2 pet businesses per 10,000 households, 2% below the U.S. rate of 10.4. Spending per business is $892K, 2% above the U.S. figure of $878K. At the U.S. ratio of pet businesses to household spending, the Kansas City metro area would have about 932, against 917 on map listings. There is one business with payroll in the industry for every 1,763 households, against one for every 1,852 across the U.S. The official count rose 8.5% from 2019 to 2023, against +11.4% for the U.S.

How fast is the Kansas City, MO-KS metro area growing?

Population estimates put the Kansas City metro area at 2,270,682 people in 2025, up 3.4% since 2020, in step with the U.S. (+3.1%). It has 895,368 households. Median household income in the Kansas City metro area is $83,460, 3% above the U.S. median of $80,734. Against the 2015–2019 survey, the median rose 25.3%, 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 Kansas City metro area scores 61 for pet businesses (upper middle), #106 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 Kansas City 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 Kansas City metro area

Screening a site or an acquisition in the Kansas City 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 Kansas City 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.