Groundwork

Pets · County · New York

Pet businesses in Erie County, NY

How Erie County, NY 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 33 out of 100: Lower middle

Ranked #1,776 of 2,200 scored counties
#25 of 61 scored counties in New York

Listings
379
58 chain locations (15%)
Official establishments
228
+8.1% since 2019
Household spending a year
$253.3M
On pets · $618 a household
Spending per listing
$668K
24% below the U.S.
Listings per 10k households
9.3
11% below the U.S.
Population, 2025
946,741
−0.6% since 2020

See the pet businesses around any address in Erie 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 Erie 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

For pet businesses, Erie County has a Groundwork market score of 33 (lower middle): #1,776 of 2,200 scored counties and #25 of 61 scored counties in New York. That puts it in the bottom quarter of counties.

Household spending on pets in Erie County comes to about $253.3M a year: $618 per household, 32% below the U.S. average. That is about $668K of household spending for each business on map listings, 24% below the U.S. figure of $878K.

There are 379 pet businesses on map listings in Erie County as of September 2026. Chain locations make up 15% of them, against 17% across the U.S. That is 9.3 per 10,000 households, 11% below the U.S. rate of 10.4.

In 2023, official counts showed 228 businesses with payroll in Erie County classed as pet care, veterinarians and pet stores, up 8.1% from 2019. That is one for every 1,797 households, against one for every 1,852 across the U.S. Since fiscal 2022, 17 SBA-backed loans worth $3.9M have gone to businesses classed as pet care, veterinarians and pet stores in Erie County. Population estimates put the population change in Erie County from 2020 to 2025 at −0.6%, against +3.1% for the U.S.

How Erie County 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 Erie County, NY compared with New York and the U.S.
MeasureErie CountyNew YorkU.S.
Listings per 10k households9.38.410.4
Spending per listing$668K$838K$878K
Households per official establishment1,7972,3051,852
Official establishment growth, 2019–2023+8.1%+2.7%+11.4%
Population growth, 2020–2025−0.6%−0.6%+3.1%
Spending per household on pets$618$701$909
Median household income$72,839$85,974$80,734
Groundwork market score3346

Official counts and lending

Businesses

Official establishments, 2019 to 2023
211 → 228+8.1% over the period
Employees, 2023
2,510
Annual payroll, 2023
$91.4M
One-person businesses, 2023
341Businesses with no payroll
Map listings, September 2026
37958 chain locations
Listings at the U.S. rate for this spending
288The U.S. ratio of listings to household spending, applied here

SBA-backed loans since fiscal 2022

Loans
17
Amount
$3.9M

SBA-backed loans to businesses classed as pet care, veterinarians and pet stores in Erie 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 Erie County

Population, 2025 estimate
946,741−0.6% since 2020
Households
409,665
Median age
41.8
Homes lived in by their owners
66%
Vehicles per household
1.5
Land area
1,043 sq. mi.
People per square mile
912
Median household income
$72,839+25.3% vs. 2015–2019, before inflation
Average household income
$97,750
Median home value
$233,800
Jobs located here
478,475
Daytime population
994,716Residents who don’t work, plus everyone whose job is here

Looking at a specific site in Erie 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 Erie 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 New York

Every New York market ranked →

The highest-scoring counties in New York for pet businesses, numbered among those based in New York, with Erie County marked.

Top counties in New York

Counties in New York ranked for pet businesses by Groundwork market score
MarketScoreListingsPer 10k householdsSpending per listingPopulation growthU.S. rank
1Rockland County, NY69838.0$1M+5.9%#313 of 2,200
2Richmond County, NY681096.4$1.2M+1.3%#343 of 2,200
3Queens County, NY653384.0$1.7M−1.1%#451 of 2,200
4Nassau County, NY644459.7$958K+0.6%#498 of 2,200
5Westchester County, NY623338.9$950K+1.4%#573 of 2,200
6Bronx County, NY61881.6$3.1M−3.8%#601 of 2,200
7Kings County, NY614814.8$1.4M−2.5%#603 of 2,200
8New York County, NY606388.2$979K−1.3%#650 of 2,200
9Rensselaer County, NY56517.6$878K−0.2%#806 of 2,200
10Albany County, NY521067.9$860K+2.2%#985 of 2,200
25Erie County, NY333799.3$668K−0.6%#1,776 of 2,200

Other business types in Erie County

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

Questions

How many pet businesses are in Erie County, NY?

As of September 2026, map listings count 379 pet businesses in Erie County. 58 of them (15%) are chain locations. The listings count vets, groomers, boarding and pet stores. Official counts show 228 businesses with payroll classed as pet care, veterinarians and pet stores in 2023, up 8.1% from 2019. Official counts also show 341 one-person businesses without payroll.

How much do households in Erie County, NY spend on pets?

About $253.3M a year, or $618 per household. That is 32% below the U.S. average (an index of 68, where 100 is the U.S. average). Spread across the 379 pet businesses on map listings, it comes to $668K per business. It is estimated from the incomes of the 409,665 households in Erie County and national spending patterns by income.

How does Erie County, NY compare with the U.S. for pet businesses?

Erie County has 9.3 pet businesses per 10,000 households, 11% below the U.S. rate of 10.4. Spending per business is $668K, 24% below the U.S. figure of $878K. At the U.S. ratio of pet businesses to household spending, Erie County would have about 288, against 379 on map listings. There is one business with payroll in the industry for every 1,797 households, against one for every 1,852 across the U.S. The official count rose 8.1% from 2019 to 2023, against +11.4% for the U.S.

How fast is Erie County, NY growing?

Population estimates put Erie County at 946,741 people in 2025, down 0.6% since 2020, against +3.1% for the U.S. It has 409,665 households. Median household income in Erie County is $72,839, 10% below 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. Erie County scores 33 for pet businesses (lower middle), #1,776 of 2,200 scored counties.

How can I see the market around a specific site?

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

Screening a site or an acquisition in Erie 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 Erie 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.