Groundwork

Pets · Small-town market · North Dakota

Pet businesses in the Williston, ND area

How the Williston, ND 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 82 out of 100: High

Ranked #11 of 527 scored small-town markets
#1 of 4 scored small-town markets based in North Dakota

Listings
18
1 chain location (6%)
Official establishments
3
Businesses with payroll, 2023
Household spending a year
$14.3M
On pets · $942 a household
Spending per listing
$793K
10% below the U.S.
Listings per 10k households
11.9
14% above the U.S.
Population, 2025
41,767
+1.4% since 2020

See the pet businesses around any address in the Williston 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 Williston 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

The Williston area scores 82 (high) on the Groundwork market score for pet businesses, ranking #11 of 527 scored small-town markets and #1 of 4 scored small-town markets based in North Dakota. That puts it in the top 10% of small-town markets for pet businesses.

Households in the Williston area spend about $14.3M a year on pets, or $942 per household, 4% above the U.S. average. That works out to $793K per business, 10% below the U.S. figure of $878K.

There are 18 pet businesses on map listings in the Williston area as of September 2026. One of them (6%) is a chain location, against 17% across the U.S. That is 11.9 per 10,000 households, 14% above the U.S. rate of 10.4.

In 2023, official counts showed 3 businesses with payroll in the Williston area classed as pet care, veterinarians and pet stores. That is one for every 5,051 households, against one for every 1,852 across the U.S. Since fiscal 2022, 2 SBA-backed loans worth $196K have gone to businesses classed as pet care, veterinarians and pet stores in the Williston area. Between 2020 and 2025, the population of the Williston area grew 1.4%, slower than the U.S. (+3.1%).

How the Williston area compares

The same measures for North Dakota 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 Williston, ND area compared with North Dakota and the U.S.
MeasureWilliston areaNorth DakotaU.S.
Listings per 10k households11.910.710.4
Spending per listing$793K$805K$878K
Households per official establishment5,0511,8501,852
Official establishment growth, 2019–2023n/a+7.8%+11.4%
Population growth, 2020–2025+1.4%+2.5%+3.1%
Spending per household on pets$942$858$909
Median household income$85,595$76,657$80,734
Groundwork market score8247

Official counts and lending

Businesses

Official establishments, 2019 to 2023
3
Employees, 2023
8
Annual payroll, 2023
$214K
One-person businesses, 2023
11Businesses with no payroll
Map listings, September 2026
181 chain location
Listings at the U.S. rate for this spending
16The U.S. ratio of listings to household spending, applied here

SBA-backed loans since fiscal 2022

Loans
2
Amount
$196K

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

Population, 2025 estimate
41,767+1.4% since 2020
Households
15,154
Median age
33.3
Homes lived in by their owners
53%
Vehicles per household
2.0
Land area
2,078 sq. mi.
People per square mile
19
Median household income
$85,595−1.8% vs. 2015–2019, before inflation
Average household income
$117,741
Median home value
$284,800
Jobs located here
25,521
Daytime population
44,045Residents who don’t work, plus everyone whose job is here

Looking at a specific site in the Williston 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 Williston area. 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 Dakota

Every North Dakota market ranked →

The highest-scoring small-town markets in North Dakota for pet businesses, numbered among those based in North Dakota, with the Williston area marked.

Top small-town markets in North Dakota

Small-town markets in North Dakota ranked for pet businesses by Groundwork market score
MarketScoreListingsPer 10k householdsSpending per listingPopulation growthU.S. rank
1Williston, ND821811.9$793K+1.4%#11 of 527
2Wahpeton, ND-MN651010.5$788K0.0%#94 of 527
3Jamestown, ND581010.6$727K−0.6%#161 of 527
4Dickinson, ND432616.8$520K+0.7%#356 of 527

Other business types in the Williston area

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

Questions

How many pet businesses are in the Williston, ND area?

As of September 2026, map listings count 18 pet businesses in the Williston area. One of them (6%) is a chain location. The listings count vets, groomers, boarding and pet stores. Official counts show 3 businesses with payroll classed as pet care, veterinarians and pet stores in 2023. Official counts also show 11 one-person businesses without payroll.

How much do households in the Williston, ND area spend on pets?

About $14.3M a year, or $942 per household. That is 4% above the U.S. average (an index of 104, where 100 is the U.S. average). Spread across the 18 pet businesses on map listings, it comes to $793K per business. It is estimated from the incomes of the 15,154 households in the Williston area and national spending patterns by income.

How does the Williston, ND area compare with the U.S. for pet businesses?

The Williston area has 11.9 pet businesses per 10,000 households, 14% above the U.S. rate of 10.4. Spending per business is $793K, 10% below the U.S. figure of $878K. At the U.S. ratio of pet businesses to household spending, the Williston area would have about 16, against 18 on map listings. There is one business with payroll in the industry for every 5,051 households, against one for every 1,852 across the U.S.

How fast is the Williston, ND area growing?

Population estimates put the Williston area at 41,767 people in 2025, up 1.4% since 2020, slower than the U.S. (+3.1%). It has 15,154 households. Median household income in the Williston area is $85,595, 6% above the U.S. median of $80,734. Against the 2015–2019 survey, the median fell 1.8%, 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. 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 Williston area scores 82 for pet businesses (high), #11 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 Williston 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 Williston area

Screening a site or an acquisition in the Williston 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 Williston 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.