Groundwork

Pets · Metro area · Ohio

Pet businesses in the Cincinnati, OH-KY-IN metro area

Competitor counts, household spending and official business counts for pet businesses in the Cincinnati, OH-KY-IN metro area, set against other metro areas and the U.S.

Groundwork market score · out of 100

Score 59 out of 100: Upper middle

Ranked #126 of 387 scored metro areas
#3 of 12 scored metro areas based in Ohio

Listings
992
205 chain locations (21%)
Official establishments
470
+2.9% since 2019
Household spending a year
$826.9M
On pets · $912 a household
Spending per listing
$834K
5% below the U.S.
Listings per 10k households
10.9
5% above the U.S.
Population, 2025
2,312,858
+2.7% since 2020

See the pet businesses around any address in the Cincinnati metro 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 Cincinnati metro area. Signed out, you see a blurred preview; on an account, each report is one action.

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Survey estimates 2020–2024 · population estimates 2025 · official business counts 2023 · map listings September 2026 · Data credits · How we measure

What this means

At $912 per household (in line with the U.S. average), households in the Cincinnati metro area spend about $826.9M a year on pets. Spread across 992 pet businesses, that is $834K per business, 5% below the U.S. figure of $878K.

The Cincinnati metro area has 992 pet businesses on map listings as of September 2026. Of those, 205 are chain locations, or 21%, against 17% across the U.S. Per 10,000 households, that is 10.9, 5% above the U.S. rate of 10.4.

In 2023, official counts showed 470 businesses with payroll in the Cincinnati metro area classed as pet care, veterinarians and pet stores, up 2.9% from 2019. That is one for every 1,929 households, against one for every 1,852 across the U.S. Official counts list 898 one-person businesses without payroll. Since fiscal 2022, 34 SBA-backed loans worth $13.6M have gone to businesses classed as pet care, veterinarians and pet stores in the Cincinnati metro area.

Population estimates show the Cincinnati metro area grew 2.7% from 2020 to 2025, in step with the U.S. (+3.1%). For pet businesses, the Cincinnati metro area has a Groundwork market score of 59 (upper middle): #126 of 387 scored metro areas and #3 of 12 scored metro areas based in Ohio.

How the Cincinnati metro 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 Cincinnati, OH-KY-IN metro area compared with Ohio and the U.S.
MeasureCincinnati metro areaOhioU.S.
Listings per 10k households10.910.510.4
Spending per listing$834K$791K$878K
Households per official establishment1,9292,0301,852
Official establishment growth, 2019–2023+2.9%+8.4%+11.4%
Population growth, 2020–2025+2.7%+0.9%+3.1%
Spending per household on pets$912$832$909
Median household income$81,120$71,389$80,734
Groundwork market score5946

Official counts and lending

Businesses

Official establishments, 2019 to 2023
470+2.9% over the period
Employees, 2023
5,906
Annual payroll, 2023
$220.3M
One-person businesses, 2023
898Businesses with no payroll
Map listings, September 2026
992205 chain locations
Listings at the U.S. rate for this spending
942The U.S. ratio of listings to household spending, applied here

SBA-backed loans since fiscal 2022

Loans
34
Amount
$13.6M

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

Population, 2025 estimate
2,312,858+2.7% since 2020
Households
906,675
Median age
39.5
Homes lived in by their owners
68%
Vehicles per household
1.8
Land area
4,385 sq. mi.
People per square mile
518
Median household income
$81,120
Average household income
$110,407
Median home value
$258,600
Jobs located here
1,109,713
Daytime population
2,288,397Residents who don’t work, plus everyone whose job is here

Looking at a specific site in the Cincinnati metro area?

These figures cover the whole metro area. 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 Cincinnati metro area. Signed out, you see a blurred preview; on an account, each report is one action.

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Pet businesses across Ohio

Every Ohio market ranked →

The highest-scoring metro areas in Ohio for pet businesses, numbered among those based in Ohio (a market based in another state is listed without a number), with the Cincinnati metro area marked.

Top metro areas in Ohio

Metro areas in Ohio ranked for pet businesses by Groundwork market score
MarketScoreListingsPer 10k householdsSpending per listingPopulation growthU.S. rank
1Columbus, OH6390410.5$873K+4.7%#96 of 387
2Dayton-Kettering-Beavercreek, OH593349.7$853K+1.5%#125 of 387
3Cincinnati, OH-KY-IN5999210.9$834K+2.7%#126 of 387
4Cleveland, OH548569.2$913K−0.8%#164 of 387
Weirton-Steubenville, WV-OH48438.7$850K−3.6%#208 of 387
5Mansfield, OH48459.0$800K−0.1%#210 of 387
Huntington-Ashland, WV-KY-OH471439.4$832K−2.6%#217 of 387
6Toledo, OH452479.7$816K−1.0%#233 of 387
7Youngstown-Warren, OH431658.9$806K−1.4%#251 of 387
8Akron, OH4331710.7$784K0.0%#253 of 387

Other business types in the Cincinnati metro area

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

Questions

How many pet businesses are in the Cincinnati, OH-KY-IN metro area?

Map listings as of September 2026 show 992 pet businesses in the Cincinnati metro area. 205 of them (21%) are chain locations. The listings count vets, groomers, boarding and pet stores. Official counts show 470 businesses with payroll classed as pet care, veterinarians and pet stores in 2023, up 2.9% from 2019. Official counts also show 898 one-person businesses without payroll.

How much do households in the Cincinnati, OH-KY-IN metro area spend on pets?

About $826.9M a year, or $912 per household. That is in line with the U.S. average (an index of 100, where 100 is the U.S. average). Spread across the 992 pet businesses on map listings, it comes to $834K per business. It is estimated from the incomes of the 906,675 households in the Cincinnati metro area and national spending patterns by income.

How does the Cincinnati, OH-KY-IN metro area compare with the U.S. for pet businesses?

The Cincinnati metro area has 10.9 pet businesses per 10,000 households, 5% above the U.S. rate of 10.4. Spending per business is $834K, 5% below the U.S. figure of $878K. At the U.S. ratio of pet businesses to household spending, the Cincinnati metro area would have about 942, against 992 on map listings. There is one business with payroll in the industry for every 1,929 households, against one for every 1,852 across the U.S. The official count rose 2.9% from 2019 to 2023, against +11.4% for the U.S.

How fast is the Cincinnati, OH-KY-IN metro area growing?

Population estimates put the Cincinnati metro area at 2,312,858 people in 2025, up 2.7% since 2020, in step with the U.S. (+3.1%). It has 906,675 households. Median household income in the Cincinnati metro area is $81,120, in line with the U.S. median of $80,734.

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. The Cincinnati metro area scores 59 for pet businesses (upper middle), #126 of 387 scored metro areas.

How can I see the market around a specific site?

Run a Groundwork site report on an address in the Cincinnati metro 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 Cincinnati metro area

Screening a site or an acquisition in the Cincinnati metro 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 Cincinnati metro 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.