Groundwork

Pets · County · North Carolina

Pet businesses in Cumberland County, NC

How Cumberland County, NC 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 68 out of 100: Upper middle

Ranked #341 of 2,200 scored counties
#19 of 85 scored counties in North Carolina

Listings
86
24 chain locations (28%)
Official establishments
49
+19.5% since 2019
Household spending a year
$102.1M
On pets · $787 a household
Spending per listing
$1.2M
35% above the U.S.
Listings per 10k households
6.6
37% below the U.S.
Population, 2025
338,473
+0.4% since 2020

See the pet businesses around any address in Cumberland 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 Cumberland 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

Households in Cumberland County spend about $102.1M a year on pets, or $787 per household, 13% below the U.S. average. Spread across 86 pet businesses, that is $1.2M per business, 35% above the U.S. figure of $878K.

Cumberland County has 86 pet businesses on map listings as of September 2026. Of those, 24 are chain locations, or 28%, against 17% across the U.S. That is 6.6 per 10,000 households, 37% below the U.S. rate of 10.4.

In 2023, official counts showed 49 businesses with payroll in Cumberland County classed as pet care, veterinarians and pet stores, up 19.5% from 2019. That is one for every 2,648 households, against one for every 1,852 across the U.S. Official counts also show 151 one-person businesses without payroll. Since fiscal 2022, 3 SBA-backed loans worth $5.3M have gone to businesses classed as pet care, veterinarians and pet stores in Cumberland County.

Population estimates put the population change in Cumberland County from 2020 to 2025 at +0.4%, slower than the U.S. (+3.1%). Cumberland County scores 68 (upper middle) on the Groundwork market score for pet businesses, ranking #341 of 2,200 scored counties and #19 of 85 scored counties in North Carolina. That puts it in the top quarter of counties.

How Cumberland County compares

The same measures for North Carolina 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 Cumberland County, NC compared with North Carolina and the U.S.
MeasureCumberland CountyNorth CarolinaU.S.
Listings per 10k households6.611.010.4
Spending per listing$1.2M$817K$878K
Households per official establishment2,6481,7191,852
Official establishment growth, 2019–2023+19.5%+15.0%+11.4%
Population growth, 2020–2025+0.4%+7.2%+3.1%
Spending per household on pets$787$899$909
Median household income$61,291$72,388$80,734
Groundwork market score6859

Official counts and lending

Businesses

Official establishments, 2019 to 2023
41 → 49+19.5% over the period
Employees, 2023
646
Annual payroll, 2023
$25.6M
One-person businesses, 2023
151Businesses with no payroll
Map listings, September 2026
8624 chain locations
Listings at the U.S. rate for this spending
116The U.S. ratio of listings to household spending, applied here

SBA-backed loans since fiscal 2022

Loans
3
Amount
$5.3M

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

Population, 2025 estimate
338,473+0.4% since 2020
Households
129,758
Median age
34.4
Homes lived in by their owners
55%
Vehicles per household
1.8
Land area
653 sq. mi.
People per square mile
519
Median household income
$61,291+30.8% vs. 2015–2019, before inflation
Average household income
$80,209
Median home value
$199,200
Jobs located here
116,297
Daytime population
342,826Residents who don’t work, plus everyone whose job is here

Looking at a specific site in Cumberland 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 Cumberland 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 North Carolina

Every North Carolina market ranked →

The highest-scoring counties in North Carolina for pet businesses, numbered among those based in North Carolina, with Cumberland County marked.

Top counties in North Carolina

Counties in North Carolina ranked for pet businesses by Groundwork market score
MarketScoreListingsPer 10k householdsSpending per listingPopulation growthU.S. rank
1Harnett County, NC84448.8$967K+12.3%#40 of 2,200
2Wayne County, NC78336.9$1.1M+3.8%#106 of 2,200
3Franklin County, NC78279.5$916K+18.8%#111 of 2,200
4Currituck County, NC781815.2$681K+16.7%#113 of 2,200
5Durham County, NC771138.0$1.2M+7.7%#116 of 2,200
6Duplin County, NC77146.7$1.1M+6.0%#118 of 2,200
7Hoke County, NC772010.4$787K+9.0%#129 of 2,200
8Nash County, NC75297.5$1.1M+3.9%#158 of 2,200
9Johnston County, NC759310.9$867K+17.9%#166 of 2,200
10Mecklenburg County, NC7448910.5$977K+10.5%#180 of 2,200
19Cumberland County, NC68866.6$1.2M+0.4%#341 of 2,200

Other business types in Cumberland County

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

Questions

How many pet businesses are in Cumberland County, NC?

Map listings as of September 2026 show 86 pet businesses in Cumberland County. 24 of them (28%) are chain locations. The listings count vets, groomers, boarding and pet stores. Official counts show 49 businesses with payroll classed as pet care, veterinarians and pet stores in 2023, up 19.5% from 2019. Another 151 one-person businesses have no payroll, by official counts.

How much do households in Cumberland County, NC spend on pets?

About $102.1M a year, or $787 per household. That is 13% below the U.S. average (an index of 87, where 100 is the U.S. average). Spread across the 86 pet businesses on map listings, it comes to $1.2M per business. It is estimated from the incomes of the 129,758 households in Cumberland County and national spending patterns by income.

How does Cumberland County, NC compare with the U.S. for pet businesses?

Cumberland County has 6.6 pet businesses per 10,000 households, 37% below the U.S. rate of 10.4. Spending per business is $1.2M, 35% above the U.S. figure of $878K. At the U.S. ratio of pet businesses to household spending, Cumberland County would have about 116, against 86 on map listings. There is one business with payroll in the industry for every 2,648 households, against one for every 1,852 across the U.S. The official count rose 19.5% from 2019 to 2023, against +11.4% for the U.S.

How fast is Cumberland County, NC growing?

Population estimates put Cumberland County at 338,473 people in 2025, up 0.4% since 2020, slower than the U.S. (+3.1%). It has 129,758 households. Median household income in Cumberland County is $61,291, 24% below the U.S. median of $80,734. Against the 2015–2019 survey, the median rose 30.8%, 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. Cumberland County scores 68 for pet businesses (upper middle), #341 of 2,200 scored counties.

How can I see the market around a specific site?

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

Screening a site or an acquisition in Cumberland 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 Cumberland 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.