Pets · County · Pennsylvania
Pet businesses in Delaware County, PA
How Delaware County, PA compares with other counties and the U.S. for pet businesses: competitors, household spending, official counts and growth.
Groundwork market score · out of 100
Score 54 out of 100: Upper middle
Ranked #893 of 2,200 scored counties
#3 of 63 scored counties in Pennsylvania
- Listings
- 181
- 41 chain locations (23%)
- Official establishments
- 97
- −4.0% since 2019
- Household spending a year
- $155.5M
- On pets · $717 a household
- Spending per listing
- $859K
- 2% below the U.S.
- Listings per 10k households
- 8.3
- 20% below the U.S.
- Population, 2025
- 580,937
- +0.8% since 2020
See the pet businesses around any address in Delaware 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 Delaware 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
Map listings as of September 2026 show 181 pet businesses in Delaware County. Chain locations make up 23% of them, against 17% across the U.S. That is 8.3 per 10,000 households, 20% below the U.S. rate of 10.4.
Household spending on pets in Delaware County comes to about $155.5M a year: $717 per household, 21% below the U.S. average. That is about $859K of household spending for each business on map listings, 2% below the U.S. figure of $878K.
In 2023, official counts showed 97 businesses with payroll in Delaware County classed as pet care, veterinarians and pet stores, down 4.0% from 2019. That is one for every 2,237 households, against one for every 1,852 across the U.S. Official counts also show 313 one-person businesses without payroll. Since fiscal 2022, 6 SBA-backed loans worth $7.1M have gone to businesses classed as pet care, veterinarians and pet stores in Delaware County.
Population estimates show Delaware County grew 0.8% from 2020 to 2025, slower than the U.S. (+3.1%). The Groundwork market score for pet businesses in Delaware County is 54 (upper middle), #893 of 2,200 scored counties and #3 of 63 scored counties in Pennsylvania.
How Delaware County compares
The same measures for Pennsylvania 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 | Delaware County | Pennsylvania | U.S. |
|---|---|---|---|
| Listings per 10k households | 8.3 | 10.5 | 10.4 |
| Spending per listing | $859K | $616K | $878K |
| Households per official establishment | 2,237 | 1,997 | 1,852 |
| Official establishment growth, 2019–2023 | −4.0% | +6.9% | +11.4% |
| Population growth, 2020–2025 | +0.8% | +0.5% | +3.1% |
| Spending per household on pets | $717 | $647 | $909 |
| Median household income | $89,546 | $77,971 | $80,734 |
| Groundwork market score | 54 | 24 |
Official counts and lending
Businesses
- Official establishments, 2019 to 2023
- 101 → 97−4.0% over the period
- Employees, 2023
- 1,308
- Annual payroll, 2023
- $56.2M
- One-person businesses, 2023
- 313Businesses with no payroll
- Map listings, September 2026
- 18141 chain locations
- Listings at the U.S. rate for this spending
- 177The U.S. ratio of listings to household spending, applied here
SBA-backed loans since fiscal 2022
- Loans
- 6
- Amount
- $7.1M
SBA-backed loans to businesses classed as pet care, veterinarians and pet stores in Delaware 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 Delaware County
- Population, 2025 estimate
- 580,937+0.8% since 2020
- Households
- 216,946
- Median age
- 40.3
- Homes lived in by their owners
- 70%
- Vehicles per household
- 1.6
- Land area
- 184 sq. mi.
- People per square mile
- 3,151
- Median household income
- $89,546+20.2% vs. 2015–2019, before inflation
- Average household income
- $128,494
- Median home value
- $332,200
- Jobs located here
- 228,791
- Daytime population
- 526,642Residents who don’t work, plus everyone whose job is here
Looking at a specific site in Delaware 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 Delaware 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 Pennsylvania
Every Pennsylvania market ranked →The highest-scoring counties in Pennsylvania for pet businesses, numbered among those based in Pennsylvania, with Delaware County marked.
Top counties in Pennsylvania
| Market | Score | Listings | Per 10k households | Spending per listing | Population growth | U.S. rank |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| 1Pike County, PA | 63 | 22 | 9.1 | $715K | +7.2% | #560 of 2,200 |
| 2Philadelphia County, PA | 61 | 277 | 4.1 | $1.4M | −1.6% | #605 of 2,200 |
| 3Delaware County, PA | 54 | 181 | 8.3 | $859K | +0.8% | #893 of 2,200 |
| 4Northampton County, PA | 51 | 121 | 9.9 | $697K | +3.7% | #1,051 of 2,200 |
| 5Montgomery County, PA | 48 | 372 | 11.1 | $735K | +2.4% | #1,190 of 2,200 |
| 6Dauphin County, PA | 48 | 107 | 8.8 | $708K | +2.3% | #1,194 of 2,200 |
| 7Lehigh County, PA | 45 | 137 | 9.5 | $697K | +2.7% | #1,326 of 2,200 |
| 8Adams County, PA | 44 | 41 | 10.0 | $647K | +3.6% | #1,361 of 2,200 |
| 9Bucks County, PA | 41 | 302 | 12.1 | $672K | +0.3% | #1,468 of 2,200 |
| 10Cambria County, PA | 41 | 45 | 8.0 | $658K | −3.2% | #1,472 of 2,200 |
Other business types in Delaware 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 businesses54
- Veterinarians49
- Pet grooming and boarding60
- Pet stores39
Child care
Clothing and laundry
Home services
Real estate
Funeral services
Questions
How many pet businesses are in Delaware County, PA?
There are 181 pet businesses on map listings in Delaware County as of September 2026. 41 of them (23%) are chain locations. The listings count vets, groomers, boarding and pet stores. Official counts show 97 businesses with payroll classed as pet care, veterinarians and pet stores in 2023, down 4.0% from 2019. Another 313 one-person businesses have no payroll, by official counts.
How much do households in Delaware County, PA spend on pets?
About $155.5M a year, or $717 per household. That is 21% below the U.S. average (an index of 79, where 100 is the U.S. average). Spread across the 181 pet businesses on map listings, it comes to $859K per business. It is estimated from the incomes of the 216,946 households in Delaware County and national spending patterns by income.
How does Delaware County, PA compare with the U.S. for pet businesses?
Delaware County has 8.3 pet businesses per 10,000 households, 20% below the U.S. rate of 10.4. Spending per business is $859K, 2% below the U.S. figure of $878K. At the national ratio of pet businesses to household spending, Delaware County would have about 177, against 181 on map listings. There is one business with payroll in the industry for every 2,237 households, against one for every 1,852 across the U.S. The official count fell 4.0% from 2019 to 2023, against +11.4% for the U.S.
How fast is Delaware County, PA growing?
Population estimates put Delaware County at 580,937 people in 2025, up 0.8% since 2020, slower than the U.S. (+3.1%). It has 216,946 households. The median household income in Delaware County is $89,546 a year, 11% above the U.S. median of $80,734. That rose 20.2% 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. Delaware County scores 54 for pet businesses (upper middle), #893 of 2,200 scored counties.
How can I see the market around a specific site?
Run a Groundwork site report on an address in Delaware 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 Delaware County
Screening a site or an acquisition in Delaware 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 Delaware 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.