Groundwork

Pets · Small-town market · Ohio

Pet businesses in the Ashland, OH area

How the Ashland, OH 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 23 out of 100: Low

Ranked #500 of 527 scored small-town markets
#29 of 29 scored small-town markets based in Ohio

Listings
36
3 chain locations (8%)
Official establishments
15
Businesses with payroll, 2023
Household spending a year
$15.5M
On pets · $750 a household
Spending per listing
$432K
51% below the U.S.
Listings per 10k households
17.4
67% above the U.S.
Population, 2025
52,523
+0.1% since 2020

See the pet businesses around any address in the Ashland 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 Ashland 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 Ashland area scores 23 (low) on the Groundwork market score for pet businesses, ranking #500 of 527 scored small-town markets and #29 of 29 scored small-town markets based in Ohio. That puts it in the bottom quarter of small-town markets.

Households in the Ashland area spend about $15.5M a year on pets, or $750 per household, 18% below the U.S. average. That is about $432K of household spending for each business on map listings, 51% below the U.S. figure of $878K.

The Ashland area has 36 pet businesses on map listings as of September 2026. 3 of them (8%) are chain locations, against 17% across the U.S. That comes to 17.4 for every 10,000 households, 67% above the U.S. rate of 10.4.

The official count of businesses with payroll classed as pet care, veterinarians and pet stores in the Ashland area was 15 in 2023. That is one for every 1,381 households, against one for every 1,852 across the U.S. Population estimates show the Ashland area grew 0.1% from 2020 to 2025, slower than the U.S. (+3.1%).

How the Ashland area compares

The same measures for Ohio 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 Ashland, OH area compared with Ohio and the U.S.
MeasureAshland areaOhioU.S.
Listings per 10k households17.410.510.4
Spending per listing$432K$791K$878K
Households per official establishment1,3812,0301,852
Official establishment growth, 2019–2023n/a+8.4%+11.4%
Population growth, 2020–2025+0.1%+0.9%+3.1%
Spending per household on pets$750$832$909
Median household income$69,860$71,389$80,734
Groundwork market score2346

Official counts and lending

Businesses

Official establishments, 2019 to 2023
15
Employees, 2023
138
Annual payroll, 2023
$4.3M
One-person businesses, 2023
21Businesses with no payroll
Map listings, September 2026
363 chain locations
Listings at the U.S. rate for this spending
18The 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 the Ashland 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 Ashland area

Population, 2025 estimate
52,523+0.1% since 2020
Households
20,720
Median age
42.2
Homes lived in by their owners
78%
Vehicles per household
2.0
Land area
423 sq. mi.
People per square mile
124
Median household income
$69,860+32.3% vs. 2015–2019, before inflation
Average household income
$82,890
Median home value
$186,800
Jobs located here
18,646
Daytime population
47,965Residents who don’t work, plus everyone whose job is here

Looking at a specific site in the Ashland 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 Ashland 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 Ohio

Every Ohio market ranked →

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

Top small-town markets in Ohio

Small-town markets in Ohio ranked for pet businesses by Groundwork market score
MarketScoreListingsPer 10k householdsSpending per listingPopulation growthU.S. rank
1Tiffin, OH68167.2$1M−1.0%#66 of 527
2Wapakoneta, OH61179.0$943K−1.2%#132 of 527
3Marion, OH59239.3$779K−0.4%#153 of 527
4Cambridge, OH57127.4$958K−0.1%#169 of 527
5Bucyrus, OH57168.9$805K−0.3%#170 of 527
6Washington Court House, OH571311.2$684K−1.4%#178 of 527
7Sidney, OH572714.3$578K−0.2%#187 of 527
8Portsmouth, OH55248.3$823K−3.4%#205 of 527
9Defiance, OH551711.1$709K+0.1%#210 of 527
10Norwalk, OH51239.8$778K−0.4%#266 of 527
29Ashland, OH233617.4$432K+0.1%#500 of 527

Other business types in the Ashland area

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

Questions

How many pet businesses are in the Ashland, OH area?

Map listings as of September 2026 show 36 pet businesses in the Ashland area. 3 of them (8%) 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 also show 21 one-person businesses without payroll.

How much do households in the Ashland, OH area spend on pets?

About $15.5M a year, or $750 per household. That is 18% below the U.S. average (an index of 82, where 100 is the U.S. average). Spread across the 36 pet businesses on map listings, it comes to $432K per business. It is estimated from the incomes of the 20,720 households in the Ashland area and national spending patterns by income.

How does the Ashland, OH area compare with the U.S. for pet businesses?

The Ashland area has 17.4 pet businesses per 10,000 households, 67% above the U.S. rate of 10.4. Spending per business is $432K, 51% below the U.S. figure of $878K. At the U.S. ratio of pet businesses to household spending, the Ashland area would have about 18, against 36 on map listings. There is one business with payroll in the industry for every 1,381 households, against one for every 1,852 across the U.S.

How fast is the Ashland, OH area growing?

Population estimates put the Ashland area at 52,523 people in 2025, up 0.1% since 2020, slower than the U.S. (+3.1%). It has 20,720 households. Median household income in the Ashland area is $69,860, 13% below the U.S. median of $80,734. Against the 2015–2019 survey, the median rose 32.3%, 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 Ashland area scores 23 for pet businesses (low), #500 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 Ashland 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 Ashland area

Screening a site or an acquisition in the Ashland 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 Ashland 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.