Groundwork

Pets · Small-town market · North Carolina

Pet businesses in the Shelby-Kings Mountain, NC area

Competitor counts, household spending and official business counts for pet businesses in the Shelby-Kings Mountain, NC area, set against other small-town markets and the U.S.

Groundwork market score · out of 100

Score 71 out of 100: Upper middle

Ranked #50 of 527 scored small-town markets
#5 of 23 scored small-town markets based in North Carolina

Listings
35
4 chain locations (11%)
Official establishments
15
Businesses with payroll, 2023
Household spending a year
$29.8M
On pets · $766 a household
Spending per listing
$850K
3% below the U.S.
Listings per 10k households
9.0
13% below the U.S.
Population, 2025
103,325
+3.4% since 2020

See the pet businesses around any address in the Shelby-Kings Mountain 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 Shelby-Kings Mountain area. 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, the Shelby-Kings Mountain area has a Groundwork market score of 71 (upper middle): #50 of 527 scored small-town markets and #5 of 23 scored small-town markets based in North Carolina. That puts it in the top 10% of small-town markets for pet businesses.

As of September 2026, map listings count 35 pet businesses in the Shelby-Kings Mountain area. Chain locations make up 11% of them, against 17% across the U.S. Per 10,000 households, that is 9.0, 13% below the U.S. rate of 10.4.

Household spending on pets in the Shelby-Kings Mountain area comes to about $29.8M a year: $766 per household, 16% below the U.S. average. Spread across 35 pet businesses, that is $850K per business, 3% below the U.S. figure of $878K.

Official counts show 15 businesses with payroll classed as pet care, veterinarians and pet stores in the Shelby-Kings Mountain area in 2023. That is one for every 2,590 households, against one for every 1,852 across the U.S. Since fiscal 2022, 1 SBA-backed loan worth $25K has gone to businesses classed as pet care, veterinarians and pet stores in the Shelby-Kings Mountain area. Between 2020 and 2025, the population of the Shelby-Kings Mountain area grew 3.4%, in step with the U.S. (+3.1%).

How the Shelby-Kings Mountain 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.

Pet businesses in Shelby-Kings Mountain, NC area compared with North Carolina and the U.S.
MeasureShelby-Kings Mountain areaNorth CarolinaU.S.
Listings per 10k households9.011.010.4
Spending per listing$850K$817K$878K
Households per official establishment2,5901,7191,852
Official establishment growth, 2019–2023n/a+15.0%+11.4%
Population growth, 2020–2025+3.4%+7.2%+3.1%
Spending per household on pets$766$899$909
Median household income$58,534$72,388$80,734
Groundwork market score7159

Official counts and lending

Businesses

Official establishments, 2019 to 2023
15
Employees, 2023
92
Annual payroll, 2023
$2.9M
One-person businesses, 2023
43Businesses with no payroll
Map listings, September 2026
354 chain locations
Listings at the U.S. rate for this spending
34The U.S. ratio of listings to household spending, applied here

SBA-backed loans since fiscal 2022

Loans
1
Amount
$25K

SBA-backed loans to businesses classed as pet care, veterinarians and pet stores in the Shelby-Kings Mountain 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 Shelby-Kings Mountain area

Population, 2025 estimate
103,325+3.4% since 2020
Households
38,850
Median age
41.3
Homes lived in by their owners
71%
Vehicles per household
2.1
Land area
464 sq. mi.
People per square mile
218
Median household income
$58,534+38.6% vs. 2015–2019, before inflation
Average household income
$76,018
Median home value
$200,000
Jobs located here
34,727
Daytime population
92,263Residents who don’t work, plus everyone whose job is here

Looking at a specific site in the Shelby-Kings Mountain 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 Shelby-Kings Mountain area. Signed out, you see a blurred preview; on an account, each report is one action.

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Pet 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 Shelby-Kings Mountain area marked.

Top small-town markets in North Carolina

Small-town markets in North Carolina ranked for pet businesses by Groundwork market score
MarketScoreListingsPer 10k householdsSpending per listingPopulation growthU.S. rank
1Anderson Creek, NC87448.8$967K+12.3%#4 of 527
2Wilson, NC75257.6$1M+1.7%#29 of 527
3Marion, NC73168.6$872K+1.5%#42 of 527
4Washington, NC71126.2$1.3M0.0%#48 of 527
5Shelby-Kings Mountain, NC71359.0$850K+3.4%#50 of 527
6Lumberton, NC70327.4$882K+3.4%#57 of 527
7New Bern, NC68489.2$874K+3.6%#67 of 527
8Roanoke Rapids, NC63134.6$1.5M−4.3%#107 of 527
9Kill Devil Hills, NC612414.3$711K+3.3%#138 of 527
10Sanford, NC573313.1$614K+10.8%#181 of 527

Other business types in the Shelby-Kings Mountain area

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

Questions

How many pet businesses are in the Shelby-Kings Mountain, NC area?

The Shelby-Kings Mountain area has 35 pet businesses on map listings as of September 2026. 4 of them (11%) are chain locations. The listings count vets, groomers, boarding and pet stores. Official counts show 15 businesses with payroll classed as pet care, veterinarians and pet stores in 2023. Official counts list 43 one-person businesses without payroll.

How much do households in the Shelby-Kings Mountain, NC area spend on pets?

About $29.8M a year, or $766 per household. That is 16% below the U.S. average (an index of 84, where 100 is the U.S. average). Spread across the 35 pet businesses on map listings, it comes to $850K per business. It is estimated from the incomes of the 38,850 households in the Shelby-Kings Mountain area and national spending patterns by income.

How does the Shelby-Kings Mountain, NC area compare with the U.S. for pet businesses?

The Shelby-Kings Mountain area has 9.0 pet businesses per 10,000 households, 13% below the U.S. rate of 10.4. Spending per business is $850K, 3% below the U.S. figure of $878K. At the national ratio of pet businesses to household spending, the Shelby-Kings Mountain area would have about 34, against 35 on map listings. There is one business with payroll in the industry for every 2,590 households, against one for every 1,852 across the U.S.

How fast is the Shelby-Kings Mountain, NC area growing?

Population estimates put the Shelby-Kings Mountain area at 103,325 people in 2025, up 3.4% since 2020, in step with the U.S. (+3.1%). It has 38,850 households. The median household income in the Shelby-Kings Mountain area is $58,534 a year, 27% below the U.S. median of $80,734. That rose 38.6% 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. 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 Shelby-Kings Mountain area scores 71 for pet businesses (upper middle), #50 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 Shelby-Kings Mountain 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 Shelby-Kings Mountain area

Screening a site or an acquisition in the Shelby-Kings Mountain 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 Shelby-Kings Mountain 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.