Groundwork

Pets · Small-town market · New York

Pet businesses in the Auburn, NY area

How the Auburn, NY 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 11 out of 100: Low

Ranked #522 of 527 scored small-town markets
#14 of 14 scored small-town markets based in New York

Listings
48
6 chain locations (13%)
Official establishments
19
Businesses with payroll, 2023
Household spending a year
$18.1M
On pets · $575 a household
Spending per listing
$378K
57% below the U.S.
Listings per 10k households
15.2
46% above the U.S.
Population, 2025
74,365
−2.3% since 2020

See the pet businesses around any address in the Auburn 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 Auburn area. 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

The Groundwork market score for pet businesses in the Auburn area is 11 (low), #522 of 527 scored small-town markets and #14 of 14 scored small-town markets based in New York. That puts it in the bottom quarter of small-town markets.

Map listings as of September 2026 show 48 pet businesses in the Auburn area. Chain locations make up 13% of them, against 17% across the U.S. Per 10,000 households, that is 15.2, 46% above the U.S. rate of 10.4.

Households in the Auburn area spend about $18.1M a year on pets, or $575 per household, 37% below the U.S. average. That works out to $378K per business, 57% below the U.S. figure of $878K.

In 2023, official counts showed 19 businesses with payroll in the Auburn area classed as pet care, veterinarians and pet stores. That is one for every 1,659 households, against one for every 1,852 across the U.S. Since fiscal 2022, 1 SBA-backed loan worth $20K has gone to businesses classed as pet care, veterinarians and pet stores in the Auburn area. Population estimates put the population change in the Auburn area from 2020 to 2025 at −2.3%, against +3.1% for the U.S.

How the Auburn area compares

The same measures for New York 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 Auburn, NY area compared with New York and the U.S.
MeasureAuburn areaNew YorkU.S.
Listings per 10k households15.28.410.4
Spending per listing$378K$838K$878K
Households per official establishment1,6592,3051,852
Official establishment growth, 2019–2023n/a+2.7%+11.4%
Population growth, 2020–2025−2.3%−0.6%+3.1%
Spending per household on pets$575$701$909
Median household income$67,904$85,974$80,734
Groundwork market score1146

Official counts and lending

Businesses

Official establishments, 2019 to 2023
19
Employees, 2023
82
Annual payroll, 2023
$2.4M
One-person businesses, 2023
57Businesses with no payroll
Map listings, September 2026
486 chain locations
Listings at the U.S. rate for this spending
21The U.S. ratio of listings to household spending, applied here

SBA-backed loans since fiscal 2022

Loans
1
Amount
$20K

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

Population, 2025 estimate
74,365−2.3% since 2020
Households
31,524
Median age
44.5
Homes lived in by their owners
71%
Vehicles per household
1.7
Land area
692 sq. mi.
People per square mile
109
Median household income
$67,904+16.3% vs. 2015–2019, before inflation
Average household income
$86,583
Median home value
$171,000
Jobs located here
25,171
Daytime population
65,706Residents who don’t work, plus everyone whose job is here

Looking at a specific site in the Auburn 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 Auburn area. 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 New York

Every New York market ranked →

The highest-scoring small-town markets in New York for pet businesses, numbered among those based in New York, with the Auburn area marked.

Top small-town markets in New York

Small-town markets in New York ranked for pet businesses by Groundwork market score
MarketScoreListingsPer 10k householdsSpending per listingPopulation growthU.S. rank
1Monticello, NY483210.2$617K+2.7%#306 of 527
2Seneca Falls, NY47118.1$701K−1.7%#316 of 527
3Massena-Ogdensburg, NY38378.9$622K−2.5%#396 of 527
4Batavia, NY353815.3$387K+0.2%#433 of 527
5Plattsburgh, NY333610.7$549K−2.0%#441 of 527
6Gloversville, NY272611.4$493K−1.6%#478 of 527
7Amsterdam, NY262914.8$381K+1.1%#489 of 527
8Cortland, NY252111.1$522K−1.9%#491 of 527
9Oneonta, NY243716.0$366K+3.8%#495 of 527
10Corning, NY235714.5$394K−1.6%#503 of 527
14Auburn, NY114815.2$378K−2.3%#522 of 527

Other business types in the Auburn area

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

Questions

How many pet businesses are in the Auburn, NY area?

There are 48 pet businesses on map listings in the Auburn area as of September 2026. 6 of them (13%) are chain locations. The listings count vets, groomers, boarding and pet stores. Official counts show 19 businesses with payroll classed as pet care, veterinarians and pet stores in 2023. Another 57 one-person businesses have no payroll, by official counts.

How much do households in the Auburn, NY area spend on pets?

About $18.1M a year, or $575 per household. That is 37% below the U.S. average (an index of 63, where 100 is the U.S. average). Spread across the 48 pet businesses on map listings, it comes to $378K per business. It is estimated from the incomes of the 31,524 households in the Auburn area and national spending patterns by income.

How does the Auburn, NY area compare with the U.S. for pet businesses?

The Auburn area has 15.2 pet businesses per 10,000 households, 46% above the U.S. rate of 10.4. Spending per business is $378K, 57% below the U.S. figure of $878K. At the national ratio of pet businesses to household spending, the Auburn area would have about 21, against 48 on map listings. There is one business with payroll in the industry for every 1,659 households, against one for every 1,852 across the U.S.

How fast is the Auburn, NY area growing?

Population estimates put the Auburn area at 74,365 people in 2025, down 2.3% since 2020, against +3.1% for the U.S. It has 31,524 households. The median household income in the Auburn area is $67,904 a year, 16% below the U.S. median of $80,734. That rose 16.3% 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 Auburn area scores 11 for pet businesses (low), #522 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 Auburn 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 Auburn area

Screening a site or an acquisition in the Auburn 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 Auburn 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.