Pets · Metro area · New York
Pet businesses in the Watertown-Fort Drum, NY metro area
Competitor counts, household spending and official business counts for pet businesses in the Watertown-Fort Drum, NY metro area, set against other metro areas and the U.S.
Groundwork market score · out of 100
Score 23 out of 100: Low
Ranked #366 of 387 scored metro areas
#7 of 13 scored metro areas based in New York
- Listings
- 51
- 13 chain locations (25%)
- Official establishments
- 19
- Businesses with payroll, 2023
- Household spending a year
- $26.9M
- On pets · $566 a household
- Spending per listing
- $528K
- 40% below the U.S.
- Listings per 10k households
- 10.7
- 3% above the U.S.
- Population, 2025
- 111,540
- −3.9% since 2020
See the pet businesses around any address in the Watertown-Fort Drum 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 Watertown-Fort Drum 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
The Groundwork market score for pet businesses in the Watertown-Fort Drum metro area is 23 (low), #366 of 387 scored metro areas and #7 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 51 pet businesses in the Watertown-Fort Drum metro area. Chain locations make up 25% of them, against 17% across the U.S. That is 10.7 per 10,000 households, 3% above the U.S. rate of 10.4.
Household spending on pets in the Watertown-Fort Drum metro area comes to about $26.9M a year: $566 per household, 38% below the U.S. average. Spread across 51 pet businesses, that is $528K per business, 40% below the U.S. figure of $878K.
In 2023, official counts showed 19 businesses with payroll in the Watertown-Fort Drum metro area classed as pet care, veterinarians and pet stores. That is one for every 2,506 households, against one for every 1,852 across the U.S. Population estimates show the Watertown-Fort Drum metro area declined 3.9% from 2020 to 2025, against +3.1% for the U.S.
How the Watertown-Fort Drum 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.
| Measure | Watertown-Fort Drum metro area | New York | U.S. |
|---|---|---|---|
| Listings per 10k households | 10.7 | 8.4 | 10.4 |
| Spending per listing | $528K | $838K | $878K |
| Households per official establishment | 2,506 | 2,305 | 1,852 |
| Official establishment growth, 2019–2023 | n/a | +2.7% | +11.4% |
| Population growth, 2020–2025 | −3.9% | −0.6% | +3.1% |
| Spending per household on pets | $566 | $701 | $909 |
| Median household income | $66,301 | $85,974 | $80,734 |
| Groundwork market score | 23 | 46 |
Official counts and lending
Businesses
- Official establishments, 2019 to 2023
- 19
- Employees, 2023
- 201
- Annual payroll, 2023
- $8.5M
- One-person businesses, 2023
- 60Businesses with no payroll
- Map listings, September 2026
- 5113 chain locations
- Listings at the U.S. rate for this spending
- 31The U.S. ratio of listings to household spending, applied here
SBA-backed loans since fiscal 2022
- Loans
- 0
- Amount
- $0
SBA-backed loans to businesses classed as pet care, veterinarians and pet stores in the Watertown-Fort Drum 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 Watertown-Fort Drum metro area
- Population, 2025 estimate
- 111,540−3.9% since 2020
- Households
- 47,606
- Median age
- 37.4
- Homes lived in by their owners
- 55%
- Vehicles per household
- 1.6
- Land area
- 1,268 sq. mi.
- People per square mile
- 91
- Median household income
- $66,301+25.8% vs. 2015–2019, before inflation
- Average household income
- $86,210
- Median home value
- $188,200
- Jobs located here
- 34,253
- Daytime population
- 112,470Residents who don’t work, plus everyone whose job is here
Looking at a specific site in the Watertown-Fort Drum 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 Watertown-Fort Drum 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 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 Watertown-Fort Drum metro area marked.
Top metro areas in New York
| Market | Score | Listings | Per 10k households | Spending per listing | Population growth | U.S. rank |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| 1New York-Newark-Jersey City, NY-NJ | 59 | 5,411 | 7.3 | $1M | +0.6% | #121 of 387 |
| 2Albany-Schenectady-Troy, NY | 33 | 388 | 10.1 | $678K | +1.9% | #319 of 387 |
| 3Utica-Rome, NY | 28 | 121 | 10.0 | $582K | −2.0% | #347 of 387 |
| 4Binghamton, NY | 28 | 102 | 10.0 | $576K | −1.3% | #348 of 387 |
| 5Buffalo-Cheektowaga, NY | 24 | 467 | 9.3 | $659K | −0.8% | #360 of 387 |
| 6Kiryas Joel-Poughkeepsie-Newburgh, NY | 23 | 331 | 13.0 | $569K | +3.0% | #364 of 387 |
| 7Watertown-Fort Drum, NY | 23 | 51 | 10.7 | $528K | −3.9% | #366 of 387 |
| 8Rochester, NY | 21 | 517 | 11.6 | $543K | −0.7% | #369 of 387 |
| 9Syracuse, NY | 16 | 316 | 11.6 | $537K | −1.3% | #380 of 387 |
| 10Kingston, NY | 13 | 96 | 12.9 | $531K | +1.1% | #383 of 387 |
Other business types in the Watertown-Fort Drum 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 businesses23
- Veterinarians43
- Pet grooming and boarding22
- Pet stores12
Child care
Clothing and laundry
Home services
Real estate
Funeral services
Questions
How many pet businesses are in the Watertown-Fort Drum, NY metro area?
There are 51 pet businesses on map listings in the Watertown-Fort Drum metro area as of September 2026. 13 of them (25%) 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. Official counts also show 60 one-person businesses without payroll.
How much do households in the Watertown-Fort Drum, NY metro area spend on pets?
About $26.9M a year, or $566 per household. That is 38% below the U.S. average (an index of 62, where 100 is the U.S. average). Spread across the 51 pet businesses on map listings, it comes to $528K per business. It is estimated from the incomes of the 47,606 households in the Watertown-Fort Drum metro area and national spending patterns by income.
How does the Watertown-Fort Drum, NY metro area compare with the U.S. for pet businesses?
The Watertown-Fort Drum metro area has 10.7 pet businesses per 10,000 households, 3% above the U.S. rate of 10.4. Spending per business is $528K, 40% below the U.S. figure of $878K. At the national ratio of pet businesses to household spending, the Watertown-Fort Drum metro area would have about 31, against 51 on map listings. There is one business with payroll in the industry for every 2,506 households, against one for every 1,852 across the U.S.
How fast is the Watertown-Fort Drum, NY metro area growing?
Population estimates put the Watertown-Fort Drum metro area at 111,540 people in 2025, down 3.9% since 2020, against +3.1% for the U.S. It has 47,606 households. The median household income in the Watertown-Fort Drum metro area is $66,301 a year, 18% below the U.S. median of $80,734. That rose 25.8% 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 Watertown-Fort Drum metro area scores 23 for pet businesses (low), #366 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 Watertown-Fort Drum 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 Watertown-Fort Drum metro area
Screening a site or an acquisition in the Watertown-Fort Drum 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 Watertown-Fort Drum 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.