Pets · County · North Carolina
Pet businesses in Swain County, NC
How Swain County, NC compares with other counties and the U.S. for pet businesses: competitors, household spending, official counts and growth.
Groundwork market score
Not scored
The score needs at least 5 listings; this market has 4.
- Listings
- 4
- 0 chain locations (0%)
- Official establishments
- n/a
- Fewer than 3, or not published
- Household spending a year
- $4.7M
- On pets · $774 a household
- Spending per listing
- $1.2M
- 33% above the U.S.
- Listings per 10k households
- 6.7
- 36% below the U.S.
- Population, 2025
- 14,024
- −0.6% since 2020
See the pet businesses around any address in Swain 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 Swain County. 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
As of September 2026, map listings count 4 pet businesses in Swain County. Per 10,000 households, that is 6.7, 36% below the U.S. rate of 10.4.
Households in Swain County spend about $4.7M a year on pets, or $774 per household, 15% below the U.S. average. Spread across 4 pet businesses, that is $1.2M per business, 33% above the U.S. figure of $878K.
There is no official count of businesses with payroll classed as pet care, veterinarians and pet stores in Swain County: counts under 3 aren’t published. Official counts list 8 one-person businesses without payroll.
Population estimates put the population change in Swain County from 2020 to 2025 at −0.6%, against +3.1% for the U.S. With 4 pet businesses on map listings, Swain County isn’t given a market score: the score needs at least 5, since one listing more or less would swing it.
How Swain 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.
| Measure | Swain County | North Carolina | U.S. |
|---|---|---|---|
| Listings per 10k households | 6.7 | 11.0 | 10.4 |
| Spending per listing | $1.2M | $817K | $878K |
| Households per official establishment | n/a | 1,719 | 1,852 |
| Official establishment growth, 2019–2023 | n/a | +15.0% | +11.4% |
| Population growth, 2020–2025 | −0.6% | +7.2% | +3.1% |
| Spending per household on pets | $774 | $899 | $909 |
| Median household income | $52,349 | $72,388 | $80,734 |
| Groundwork market score | Not scored | 59 |
Official counts and lending
Businesses
- Official establishments, 2019 to 2023
- n/a
- Employees, 2023
- n/a
- Annual payroll, 2023
- n/a
- One-person businesses, 2023
- 8Businesses with no payroll
- Map listings, September 2026
- 40 chain locations
- Listings at the U.S. rate for this spending
- 5The 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 Swain 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 Swain County
- Population, 2025 estimate
- 14,024−0.6% since 2020
- Households
- 6,013
- Median age
- 41.4
- Homes lived in by their owners
- 73%
- Vehicles per household
- 1.9
- Land area
- 528 sq. mi.
- People per square mile
- 27
- Median household income
- $52,349+33.2% vs. 2015–2019, before inflation
- Average household income
- $74,062
- Median home value
- $207,000
- Jobs located here
- 6,242
- Daytime population
- 14,755Residents who don’t work, plus everyone whose job is here
Looking at a specific site in Swain 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 Swain County. 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 counties in North Carolina for pet businesses, numbered among those based in North Carolina, with Swain County marked.
Top counties in North Carolina
| Market | Score | Listings | Per 10k households | Spending per listing | Population growth | U.S. rank |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| 1Harnett County, NC | 84 | 44 | 8.8 | $967K | +12.3% | #40 of 2,200 |
| 2Wayne County, NC | 78 | 33 | 6.9 | $1.1M | +3.8% | #106 of 2,200 |
| 3Franklin County, NC | 78 | 27 | 9.5 | $916K | +18.8% | #111 of 2,200 |
| 4Currituck County, NC | 78 | 18 | 15.2 | $681K | +16.7% | #113 of 2,200 |
| 5Durham County, NC | 77 | 113 | 8.0 | $1.2M | +7.7% | #116 of 2,200 |
| 6Duplin County, NC | 77 | 14 | 6.7 | $1.1M | +6.0% | #118 of 2,200 |
| 7Hoke County, NC | 77 | 20 | 10.4 | $787K | +9.0% | #129 of 2,200 |
| 8Nash County, NC | 75 | 29 | 7.5 | $1.1M | +3.9% | #158 of 2,200 |
| 9Johnston County, NC | 75 | 93 | 10.9 | $867K | +17.9% | #166 of 2,200 |
| 10Mecklenburg County, NC | 74 | 489 | 10.5 | $977K | +10.5% | #180 of 2,200 |
| Swain County, NC | Not scored | 4 | 6.7 | $1.2M | −0.6% |
Other business types in Swain County
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 businesses
- Veterinarians
- Pet grooming and boarding
- Pet stores
Child care
Clothing and laundry
Home services
Real estate
Funeral services
Questions
How many pet businesses are in Swain County, NC?
Swain County has 4 pet businesses on map listings as of September 2026. The listings count vets, groomers, boarding and pet stores. No official count is published for pet care, veterinarians and pet stores in Swain County: counts under 3 are left out. Official counts also show 8 one-person businesses without payroll.
How much do households in Swain County, NC spend on pets?
About $4.7M a year, or $774 per household. That is 15% below the U.S. average (an index of 85, where 100 is the U.S. average). Spread across the 4 pet businesses on map listings, it comes to $1.2M per business. It is estimated from the incomes of the 6,013 households in Swain County and national spending patterns by income.
How does Swain County, NC compare with the U.S. for pet businesses?
Swain County has 6.7 pet businesses per 10,000 households, 36% below the U.S. rate of 10.4. Spending per business is $1.2M, 33% above the U.S. figure of $878K. At the national ratio of pet businesses to household spending, Swain County would have about 5, against 4 on map listings.
How fast is Swain County, NC growing?
Population estimates put Swain County at 14,024 people in 2025, down 0.6% since 2020, against +3.1% for the U.S. It has 6,013 households. The median household income in Swain County is $52,349 a year, 35% below the U.S. median of $80,734. That rose 33.2% 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. Swain County has no market score for pet businesses: the score needs at least 5 on map listings, and it has 4.
How can I see the market around a specific site?
Run a Groundwork site report on an address in Swain 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 Swain County
Screening a site or an acquisition in Swain 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 Swain 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.