Pets · Metro area · Montana
Pet businesses in the Missoula, MT metro area
How the Missoula, MT 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 53 out of 100: Upper middle
Ranked #173 of 387 scored metro areas
#2 of 5 scored metro areas based in Montana
- Listings
- 65
- 7 chain locations (11%)
- Official establishments
- 35
- 0.0% since 2019
- Household spending a year
- $51.8M
- On pets · $945 a household
- Spending per listing
- $797K
- 9% below the U.S.
- Listings per 10k households
- 11.9
- 14% above the U.S.
- Population, 2025
- 128,698
- +4.7% since 2020
See the pet businesses around any address in the Missoula 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 Missoula metro 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
Household spending on pets in the Missoula metro area comes to about $51.8M a year: $945 per household, 4% above the U.S. average. That is about $797K of household spending for each business on map listings, 9% below the U.S. figure of $878K.
There are 65 pet businesses on map listings in the Missoula metro area as of September 2026. 7 of them (11%) are chain locations, against 17% across the U.S. That comes to 11.9 for every 10,000 households, 14% above the U.S. rate of 10.4.
In 2023, official counts showed 35 businesses with payroll in the Missoula metro area classed as pet care, veterinarians and pet stores, unchanged from 2019. That is one for every 1,567 households, against one for every 1,852 across the U.S. Another 118 one-person businesses have no payroll, by official counts. Since fiscal 2022, 2 SBA-backed loans worth $464K have gone to businesses classed as pet care, veterinarians and pet stores in the Missoula metro area.
Between 2020 and 2025, the population of the Missoula metro area grew 4.7%, faster than the U.S. (+3.1%). The Groundwork market score for pet businesses in the Missoula metro area is 53 (upper middle), #173 of 387 scored metro areas and #2 of 5 scored metro areas based in Montana.
How the Missoula metro area compares
The same measures for Montana 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 | Missoula metro area | Montana | U.S. |
|---|---|---|---|
| Listings per 10k households | 11.9 | 15.6 | 10.4 |
| Spending per listing | $797K | $592K | $878K |
| Households per official establishment | 1,567 | 1,174 | 1,852 |
| Official establishment growth, 2019–2023 | 0.0% | +11.7% | +11.4% |
| Population growth, 2020–2025 | +4.7% | +5.3% | +3.1% |
| Spending per household on pets | $945 | $926 | $909 |
| Median household income | $74,989 | $72,509 | $80,734 |
| Groundwork market score | 53 | 30 |
Official counts and lending
Businesses
- Official establishments, 2019 to 2023
- 350.0% over the period
- Employees, 2023
- 327
- Annual payroll, 2023
- $14.1M
- One-person businesses, 2023
- 118Businesses with no payroll
- Map listings, September 2026
- 657 chain locations
- Listings at the U.S. rate for this spending
- 59The U.S. ratio of listings to household spending, applied here
SBA-backed loans since fiscal 2022
- Loans
- 2
- Amount
- $464K
SBA-backed loans to businesses classed as pet care, veterinarians and pet stores in the Missoula 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 Missoula metro area
- Population, 2025 estimate
- 128,698+4.7% since 2020
- Households
- 54,829
- Median age
- 39.1
- Homes lived in by their owners
- 60%
- Vehicles per household
- 1.9
- Land area
- 3,813 sq. mi.
- People per square mile
- 33
- Median household income
- $74,989
- Average household income
- $102,725
- Median home value
- $466,400
- Jobs located here
- 67,485
- Daytime population
- 132,972Residents who don’t work, plus everyone whose job is here
Looking at a specific site in the Missoula 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 Missoula metro 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 Montana
Every Montana market ranked →The highest-scoring metro areas in Montana for pet businesses, numbered among those based in Montana, with the Missoula metro area marked.
Top metro areas in Montana
| Market | Score | Listings | Per 10k households | Spending per listing | Population growth | U.S. rank |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| 1Helena, MT | 57 | 57 | 14.6 | $676K | +7.7% | #143 of 387 |
| 2Missoula, MT | 53 | 65 | 11.9 | $797K | +4.7% | #173 of 387 |
| 3Billings, MT | 40 | 114 | 14.5 | $664K | +4.8% | #276 of 387 |
| 4Bozeman, MT | 40 | 92 | 18.0 | $607K | +7.7% | #280 of 387 |
| 5Great Falls, MT | 24 | 60 | 16.8 | $521K | +0.7% | #362 of 387 |
Other business types in the Missoula metro 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 businesses53
- Veterinarians44
- Pet grooming and boarding64
- Pet stores65
Child care
Clothing and laundry
Home services
Real estate
Funeral services
Questions
How many pet businesses are in the Missoula, MT metro area?
As of September 2026, map listings count 65 pet businesses in the Missoula metro area. 7 of them (11%) are chain locations. The listings count vets, groomers, boarding and pet stores. Official counts show 35 businesses with payroll classed as pet care, veterinarians and pet stores in 2023, unchanged from 2019. Official counts list 118 one-person businesses without payroll.
How much do households in the Missoula, MT metro area spend on pets?
About $51.8M a year, or $945 per household. That is 4% above the U.S. average (an index of 104, where 100 is the U.S. average). Spread across the 65 pet businesses on map listings, it comes to $797K per business. It is estimated from the incomes of the 54,829 households in the Missoula metro area and national spending patterns by income.
How does the Missoula, MT metro area compare with the U.S. for pet businesses?
The Missoula metro area has 11.9 pet businesses per 10,000 households, 14% above the U.S. rate of 10.4. Spending per business is $797K, 9% below the U.S. figure of $878K. At the U.S. ratio of pet businesses to household spending, the Missoula metro area would have about 59, against 65 on map listings. There is one business with payroll in the industry for every 1,567 households, against one for every 1,852 across the U.S. The official count held level from 2019 to 2023, against +11.4% for the U.S.
How fast is the Missoula, MT metro area growing?
Population estimates put the Missoula metro area at 128,698 people in 2025, up 4.7% since 2020, faster than the U.S. (+3.1%). It has 54,829 households. Median household income in the Missoula metro area is $74,989, 7% below the U.S. median of $80,734.
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 Missoula metro area scores 53 for pet businesses (upper middle), #173 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 Missoula 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 Missoula metro area
Screening a site or an acquisition in the Missoula 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 Missoula 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.