Pets · Small-town market · North Carolina
Pet businesses in the Forest City, NC area
How the Forest City, NC area compares with other small-town markets and the U.S. for pet businesses: competitors, household spending, official counts and growth.
Groundwork market score · out of 100
Score 46 out of 100: Lower middle
Ranked #325 of 527 scored small-town markets
#19 of 23 scored small-town markets based in North Carolina
- Listings
- 33
- 2 chain locations (6%)
- Official establishments
- 12
- Businesses with payroll, 2023
- Household spending a year
- $19.3M
- On pets · $724 a household
- Spending per listing
- $584K
- 33% below the U.S.
- Listings per 10k households
- 12.4
- 19% above the U.S.
- Population, 2025
- 65,745
- +2.1% since 2020
See the pet businesses around any address in the Forest City 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 Forest City 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
Household spending on pets in the Forest City area comes to about $19.3M a year: $724 per household, 20% below the U.S. average. That works out to $584K per business, 33% below the U.S. figure of $878K.
The Forest City area has 33 pet businesses on map listings as of September 2026. 2 of them (6%) are chain locations, against 17% across the U.S. That is 12.4 per 10,000 households, 19% above the U.S. rate of 10.4.
In 2023, official counts showed 12 businesses with payroll in the Forest City area classed as pet care, veterinarians and pet stores. That is one for every 2,220 households, against one for every 1,852 across the U.S. Official counts also show 38 one-person businesses without payroll. Since fiscal 2022, 3 SBA-backed loans worth $1.9M have gone to businesses classed as pet care, veterinarians and pet stores in the Forest City area.
Between 2020 and 2025, the population of the Forest City area grew 2.1%, slower than the U.S. (+3.1%). For pet businesses, the Forest City area has a Groundwork market score of 46 (lower middle): #325 of 527 scored small-town markets and #19 of 23 scored small-town markets based in North Carolina.
How the Forest City area 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.
| Measure | Forest City area | North Carolina | U.S. |
|---|---|---|---|
| Listings per 10k households | 12.4 | 11.0 | 10.4 |
| Spending per listing | $584K | $817K | $878K |
| Households per official establishment | 2,220 | 1,719 | 1,852 |
| Official establishment growth, 2019–2023 | n/a | +15.0% | +11.4% |
| Population growth, 2020–2025 | +2.1% | +7.2% | +3.1% |
| Spending per household on pets | $724 | $899 | $909 |
| Median household income | $51,410 | $72,388 | $80,734 |
| Groundwork market score | 46 | 59 |
Official counts and lending
Businesses
- Official establishments, 2019 to 2023
- 12
- Employees, 2023
- 95
- Annual payroll, 2023
- $3M
- One-person businesses, 2023
- 38Businesses with no payroll
- Map listings, September 2026
- 332 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
- 3
- Amount
- $1.9M
SBA-backed loans to businesses classed as pet care, veterinarians and pet stores in the Forest City 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 Forest City area
- Population, 2025 estimate
- 65,745+2.1% since 2020
- Households
- 26,642
- Median age
- 44.8
- Homes lived in by their owners
- 74%
- Vehicles per household
- 2.1
- Land area
- 565 sq. mi.
- People per square mile
- 115
- Median household income
- $51,410+20.7% vs. 2015–2019, before inflation
- Average household income
- $72,230
- Median home value
- $201,800
- Jobs located here
- 19,241
- Daytime population
- 55,091Residents who don’t work, plus everyone whose job is here
Looking at a specific site in the Forest City area?
These figures cover the whole small-town market. 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 Forest City 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 North Carolina
Every North Carolina market ranked →The highest-scoring small-town markets in North Carolina for pet businesses, numbered among those based in North Carolina, with the Forest City area marked.
Top small-town markets in North Carolina
| Market | Score | Listings | Per 10k households | Spending per listing | Population growth | U.S. rank |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| 1Anderson Creek, NC | 87 | 44 | 8.8 | $967K | +12.3% | #4 of 527 |
| 2Wilson, NC | 75 | 25 | 7.6 | $1M | +1.7% | #29 of 527 |
| 3Marion, NC | 73 | 16 | 8.6 | $872K | +1.5% | #42 of 527 |
| 4Washington, NC | 71 | 12 | 6.2 | $1.3M | 0.0% | #48 of 527 |
| 5Shelby-Kings Mountain, NC | 71 | 35 | 9.0 | $850K | +3.4% | #50 of 527 |
| 6Lumberton, NC | 70 | 32 | 7.4 | $882K | +3.4% | #57 of 527 |
| 7New Bern, NC | 68 | 48 | 9.2 | $874K | +3.6% | #67 of 527 |
| 8Roanoke Rapids, NC | 63 | 13 | 4.6 | $1.5M | −4.3% | #107 of 527 |
| 9Kill Devil Hills, NC | 61 | 24 | 14.3 | $711K | +3.3% | #138 of 527 |
| 10Sanford, NC | 57 | 33 | 13.1 | $614K | +10.8% | #181 of 527 |
| 19Forest City, NC | 46 | 33 | 12.4 | $584K | +2.1% | #325 of 527 |
Other business types in the Forest City 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 businesses46
- Veterinarians53
- Pet grooming and boarding69
- Pet stores44
Child care
Clothing and laundry
Home services
Real estate
Funeral services
Questions
How many pet businesses are in the Forest City, NC area?
Map listings as of September 2026 show 33 pet businesses in the Forest City area. 2 of them (6%) are chain locations. The listings count vets, groomers, boarding and pet stores. Official counts show 12 businesses with payroll classed as pet care, veterinarians and pet stores in 2023. Another 38 one-person businesses have no payroll, by official counts.
How much do households in the Forest City, NC area spend on pets?
About $19.3M a year, or $724 per household. That is 20% below the U.S. average (an index of 80, where 100 is the U.S. average). Spread across the 33 pet businesses on map listings, it comes to $584K per business. It is estimated from the incomes of the 26,642 households in the Forest City area and national spending patterns by income.
How does the Forest City, NC area compare with the U.S. for pet businesses?
The Forest City area has 12.4 pet businesses per 10,000 households, 19% above the U.S. rate of 10.4. Spending per business is $584K, 33% below the U.S. figure of $878K. At the U.S. ratio of pet businesses to household spending, the Forest City area would have about 22, against 33 on map listings. There is one business with payroll in the industry for every 2,220 households, against one for every 1,852 across the U.S.
How fast is the Forest City, NC area growing?
Population estimates put the Forest City area at 65,745 people in 2025, up 2.1% since 2020, slower than the U.S. (+3.1%). It has 26,642 households. Median household income in the Forest City area is $51,410, 36% below the U.S. median of $80,734. Against the 2015–2019 survey, the median rose 20.7%, 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. A small-town market is a town of 10,000 to 50,000 people and the county or counties tied to it by commuting. 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 Forest City area scores 46 for pet businesses (lower middle), #325 of 527 scored small-town markets.
How can I see the market around a specific site?
Run a Groundwork site report on an address in the Forest City 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 Forest City area
Screening a site or an acquisition in the Forest City 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 Forest City 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.