Groundwork

Pets · Metro area · New York

Pet businesses in the Elmira, NY metro area

How the Elmira, NY 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 8 out of 100: Very low

Ranked #386 of 387 scored metro areas
#12 of 13 scored metro areas based in New York

Listings
40
7 chain locations (18%)
Official establishments
22
Businesses with payroll, 2023
Household spending a year
$19.6M
On pets · $556 a household
Spending per listing
$491K
44% below the U.S.
Listings per 10k households
11.3
9% above the U.S.
Population, 2025
80,415
−3.9% since 2020

See the pet businesses around any address in the Elmira 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 Elmira 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

The Elmira metro area scores 8 (very low) on the Groundwork market score for pet businesses, ranking #386 of 387 scored metro areas and #12 of 13 scored metro areas based in New York. That puts it in the bottom quarter of metro areas.

Map listings as of September 2026 show 40 pet businesses in the Elmira metro area. Of those, 7 are chain locations, or 18%, against 17% across the U.S. Per 10,000 households, that is 11.3, 9% above the U.S. rate of 10.4.

At $556 per household (39% below the U.S. average), households in the Elmira metro area spend about $19.6M a year on pets. Spread across 40 pet businesses, that is $491K per business, 44% below the U.S. figure of $878K.

The official count of businesses with payroll classed as pet care, veterinarians and pet stores in the Elmira metro area was 22 in 2023. That is one for every 1,603 households, against one for every 1,852 across the U.S. Since fiscal 2022, 1 SBA-backed loan worth $125K has gone to businesses classed as pet care, veterinarians and pet stores in the Elmira metro area. Between 2020 and 2025, the population of the Elmira metro area declined 3.9%, against +3.1% for the U.S.

How the Elmira metro 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 Elmira, NY metro area compared with New York and the U.S.
MeasureElmira metro areaNew YorkU.S.
Listings per 10k households11.38.410.4
Spending per listing$491K$838K$878K
Households per official establishment1,6032,3051,852
Official establishment growth, 2019–2023n/a+2.7%+11.4%
Population growth, 2020–2025−3.9%−0.6%+3.1%
Spending per household on pets$556$701$909
Median household income$63,716$85,974$80,734
Groundwork market score846

Official counts and lending

Businesses

Official establishments, 2019 to 2023
22
Employees, 2023
168
Annual payroll, 2023
$5.7M
One-person businesses, 2023
35Businesses with no payroll
Map listings, September 2026
407 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
1
Amount
$125K

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

Population, 2025 estimate
80,415−3.9% since 2020
Households
35,262
Median age
42.8
Homes lived in by their owners
68%
Vehicles per household
1.6
Land area
407 sq. mi.
People per square mile
202
Median household income
$63,716+16.0% vs. 2015–2019, before inflation
Average household income
$86,374
Median home value
$141,100
Jobs located here
31,723
Daytime population
81,216Residents who don’t work, plus everyone whose job is here

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

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Pet businesses across New York

Every New York market ranked →

The highest-scoring metro areas in New York for pet businesses, numbered among those based in New York, with the Elmira metro area marked.

Top metro areas in New York

Metro areas in New York ranked for pet businesses by Groundwork market score
MarketScoreListingsPer 10k householdsSpending per listingPopulation growthU.S. rank
1New York-Newark-Jersey City, NY-NJ595,4117.3$1M+0.6%#121 of 387
2Albany-Schenectady-Troy, NY3338810.1$678K+1.9%#319 of 387
3Utica-Rome, NY2812110.0$582K−2.0%#347 of 387
4Binghamton, NY2810210.0$576K−1.3%#348 of 387
5Buffalo-Cheektowaga, NY244679.3$659K−0.8%#360 of 387
6Kiryas Joel-Poughkeepsie-Newburgh, NY2333113.0$569K+3.0%#364 of 387
7Watertown-Fort Drum, NY235110.7$528K−3.9%#366 of 387
8Rochester, NY2151711.6$543K−0.7%#369 of 387
9Syracuse, NY1631611.6$537K−1.3%#380 of 387
10Kingston, NY139612.9$531K+1.1%#383 of 387
12Elmira, NY84011.3$491K−3.9%#386 of 387

Other business types in the Elmira metro area

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

Questions

How many pet businesses are in the Elmira, NY metro area?

There are 40 pet businesses on map listings in the Elmira metro area as of September 2026. 7 of them (18%) are chain locations. The listings count vets, groomers, boarding and pet stores. Official counts show 22 businesses with payroll classed as pet care, veterinarians and pet stores in 2023. Another 35 one-person businesses have no payroll, by official counts.

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

About $19.6M a year, or $556 per household. That is 39% below the U.S. average (an index of 61, where 100 is the U.S. average). Spread across the 40 pet businesses on map listings, it comes to $491K per business. It is estimated from the incomes of the 35,262 households in the Elmira metro area and national spending patterns by income.

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

The Elmira metro area has 11.3 pet businesses per 10,000 households, 9% above the U.S. rate of 10.4. Spending per business is $491K, 44% below the U.S. figure of $878K. At the national ratio of pet businesses to household spending, the Elmira metro area would have about 22, against 40 on map listings. There is one business with payroll in the industry for every 1,603 households, against one for every 1,852 across the U.S.

How fast is the Elmira, NY metro area growing?

Population estimates put the Elmira metro area at 80,415 people in 2025, down 3.9% since 2020, against +3.1% for the U.S. It has 35,262 households. The median household income in the Elmira metro area is $63,716 a year, 21% below the U.S. median of $80,734. That rose 16.0% 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. 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 Elmira metro area scores 8 for pet businesses (very low), #386 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 Elmira 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 Elmira metro area

Screening a site or an acquisition in the Elmira 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 Elmira 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.