Groundwork

Pets · Metro area · New York

Pet businesses in the Utica-Rome, NY metro area

How the Utica-Rome, 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 28 out of 100: Lower middle

Ranked #347 of 387 scored metro areas
#3 of 13 scored metro areas based in New York

Listings
121
18 chain locations (15%)
Official establishments
47
−6.1% since 2019
Household spending a year
$70.5M
On pets · $582 a household
Spending per listing
$582K
34% below the U.S.
Listings per 10k households
10.0
4% below the U.S.
Population, 2025
285,611
−2.0% since 2020

See the pet businesses around any address in the Utica-Rome 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 Utica-Rome 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 Groundwork market score for pet businesses in the Utica-Rome metro area is 28 (lower middle), #347 of 387 scored metro areas and #3 of 13 scored metro areas based in New York. That puts it in the bottom quarter of metro areas.

At $582 per household (36% below the U.S. average), households in the Utica-Rome metro area spend about $70.5M a year on pets. That works out to $582K per business, 34% below the U.S. figure of $878K.

There are 121 pet businesses on map listings in the Utica-Rome metro area as of September 2026. Chain locations make up 15% of them, against 17% across the U.S. That is 10.0 per 10,000 households, 4% below the U.S. rate of 10.4.

Official counts show 47 businesses with payroll classed as pet care, veterinarians and pet stores in the Utica-Rome metro area in 2023, down 6.1% from 2019. That is one for every 2,574 households, against one for every 1,852 across the U.S. Since fiscal 2022, 4 SBA-backed loans worth $55K have gone to businesses classed as pet care, veterinarians and pet stores in the Utica-Rome metro area. Between 2020 and 2025, the population of the Utica-Rome metro area declined 2.0%, against +3.1% for the U.S.

How the Utica-Rome 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 Utica-Rome, NY metro area compared with New York and the U.S.
MeasureUtica-Rome metro areaNew YorkU.S.
Listings per 10k households10.08.410.4
Spending per listing$582K$838K$878K
Households per official establishment2,5742,3051,852
Official establishment growth, 2019–2023−6.1%+2.7%+11.4%
Population growth, 2020–2025−2.0%−0.6%+3.1%
Spending per household on pets$582$701$909
Median household income$69,779$85,974$80,734
Groundwork market score2846

Official counts and lending

Businesses

Official establishments, 2019 to 2023
47−6.1% over the period
Employees, 2023
532
Annual payroll, 2023
$29.9M
One-person businesses, 2023
98Businesses with no payroll
Map listings, September 2026
12118 chain locations
Listings at the U.S. rate for this spending
80The U.S. ratio of listings to household spending, applied here

SBA-backed loans since fiscal 2022

Loans
4
Amount
$55K

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

Population, 2025 estimate
285,611−2.0% since 2020
Households
120,961
Median age
42.5
Homes lived in by their owners
70%
Vehicles per household
1.6
Land area
2,623 sq. mi.
People per square mile
110
Median household income
$69,779+25.2% vs. 2015–2019, before inflation
Average household income
$90,098
Median home value
$172,900
Jobs located here
118,874
Daytime population
283,084Residents who don’t work, plus everyone whose job is here

Looking at a specific site in the Utica-Rome 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 Utica-Rome 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 Utica-Rome 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

Other business types in the Utica-Rome metro area

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

Questions

How many pet businesses are in the Utica-Rome, NY metro area?

As of September 2026, map listings count 121 pet businesses in the Utica-Rome metro area. 18 of them (15%) are chain locations. The listings count vets, groomers, boarding and pet stores. Official counts show 47 businesses with payroll classed as pet care, veterinarians and pet stores in 2023, down 6.1% from 2019. Official counts list 98 one-person businesses without payroll.

How much do households in the Utica-Rome, NY metro area spend on pets?

About $70.5M a year, or $582 per household. That is 36% below the U.S. average (an index of 64, where 100 is the U.S. average). Spread across the 121 pet businesses on map listings, it comes to $582K per business. It is estimated from the incomes of the 120,961 households in the Utica-Rome metro area and national spending patterns by income.

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

The Utica-Rome metro area has 10.0 pet businesses per 10,000 households, 4% below the U.S. rate of 10.4. Spending per business is $582K, 34% below the U.S. figure of $878K. At the U.S. ratio of pet businesses to household spending, the Utica-Rome metro area would have about 80, against 121 on map listings. There is one business with payroll in the industry for every 2,574 households, against one for every 1,852 across the U.S. The official count fell 6.1% from 2019 to 2023, against +11.4% for the U.S.

How fast is the Utica-Rome, NY metro area growing?

Population estimates put the Utica-Rome metro area at 285,611 people in 2025, down 2.0% since 2020, against +3.1% for the U.S. It has 120,961 households. Median household income in the Utica-Rome metro area is $69,779, 14% below the U.S. median of $80,734. Against the 2015–2019 survey, the median rose 25.2%, 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 Utica-Rome metro area scores 28 for pet businesses (lower middle), #347 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 Utica-Rome 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 Utica-Rome metro area

Screening a site or an acquisition in the Utica-Rome 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 Utica-Rome 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.