Groundwork

Pets · County · Pennsylvania

Pet businesses in Erie County, PA

How Erie 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 24 out of 100: Low

Ranked #2,030 of 2,200 scored counties
#46 of 63 scored counties in Pennsylvania

Listings
120
14 chain locations (12%)
Official establishments
55
+14.6% since 2019
Household spending a year
$62.6M
On pets · $566 a household
Spending per listing
$521K
41% below the U.S.
Listings per 10k households
10.9
5% above the U.S.
Population, 2025
265,832
−1.8% since 2020

See the pet businesses around any address in Erie 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 Erie County. 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 Groundwork market score for pet businesses in Erie County is 24 (low), #2,030 of 2,200 scored counties and #46 of 63 scored counties in Pennsylvania. That puts it in the bottom quarter of counties.

Map listings as of September 2026 show 120 pet businesses in Erie County. Of those, 14 are chain locations, or 12%, against 17% across the U.S. Per 10,000 households, that is 10.9, 5% above the U.S. rate of 10.4.

Household spending on pets in Erie County comes to about $62.6M a year: $566 per household, 38% below the U.S. average. That works out to $521K per business, 41% below the U.S. figure of $878K.

In 2023, official counts showed 55 businesses with payroll in Erie County classed as pet care, veterinarians and pet stores, up 14.6% from 2019. That is one for every 2,011 households, against one for every 1,852 across the U.S. Since fiscal 2022, 3 SBA-backed loans worth $714K have gone to businesses classed as pet care, veterinarians and pet stores in Erie County. Population estimates show Erie County declined 1.8% from 2020 to 2025, against +3.1% for the U.S.

How Erie 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.

Pet businesses in Erie County, PA compared with Pennsylvania and the U.S.
MeasureErie CountyPennsylvaniaU.S.
Listings per 10k households10.910.510.4
Spending per listing$521K$616K$878K
Households per official establishment2,0111,9971,852
Official establishment growth, 2019–2023+14.6%+6.9%+11.4%
Population growth, 2020–2025−1.8%+0.5%+3.1%
Spending per household on pets$566$647$909
Median household income$63,354$77,971$80,734
Groundwork market score2424

Official counts and lending

Businesses

Official establishments, 2019 to 2023
48 → 55+14.6% over the period
Employees, 2023
571
Annual payroll, 2023
$19.7M
One-person businesses, 2023
94Businesses with no payroll
Map listings, September 2026
12014 chain locations
Listings at the U.S. rate for this spending
71The U.S. ratio of listings to household spending, applied here

SBA-backed loans since fiscal 2022

Loans
3
Amount
$714K

SBA-backed loans to businesses classed as pet care, veterinarians and pet stores in Erie 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 Erie County

Population, 2025 estimate
265,832−1.8% since 2020
Households
110,587
Median age
41.4
Homes lived in by their owners
68%
Vehicles per household
1.6
Land area
799 sq. mi.
People per square mile
337
Median household income
$63,354+23.0% vs. 2015–2019, before inflation
Average household income
$85,573
Median home value
$177,000
Jobs located here
120,819
Daytime population
270,477Residents who don’t work, plus everyone whose job is here

Looking at a specific site in Erie 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 Erie County. 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 Pennsylvania

Every Pennsylvania market ranked →

The highest-scoring counties in Pennsylvania for pet businesses, numbered among those based in Pennsylvania, with Erie County marked.

Top counties in Pennsylvania

Counties in Pennsylvania ranked for pet businesses by Groundwork market score
MarketScoreListingsPer 10k householdsSpending per listingPopulation growthU.S. rank
1Pike County, PA63229.1$715K+7.2%#560 of 2,200
2Philadelphia County, PA612774.1$1.4M−1.6%#605 of 2,200
3Delaware County, PA541818.3$859K+0.8%#893 of 2,200
4Northampton County, PA511219.9$697K+3.7%#1,051 of 2,200
5Montgomery County, PA4837211.1$735K+2.4%#1,190 of 2,200
6Dauphin County, PA481078.8$708K+2.3%#1,194 of 2,200
7Lehigh County, PA451379.5$697K+2.7%#1,326 of 2,200
8Adams County, PA444110.0$647K+3.6%#1,361 of 2,200
9Bucks County, PA4130212.1$672K+0.3%#1,468 of 2,200
10Cambria County, PA41458.0$658K−3.2%#1,472 of 2,200
46Erie County, PA2412010.9$521K−1.8%#2,030 of 2,200

Other business types in Erie County

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

Questions

How many pet businesses are in Erie County, PA?

There are 120 pet businesses on map listings in Erie County as of September 2026. 14 of them (12%) are chain locations. The listings count vets, groomers, boarding and pet stores. Official counts show 55 businesses with payroll classed as pet care, veterinarians and pet stores in 2023, up 14.6% from 2019. Another 94 one-person businesses have no payroll, by official counts.

How much do households in Erie County, PA spend on pets?

About $62.6M a year, or $566 per household. That is 38% below the U.S. average (an index of 62, where 100 is the U.S. average). Spread across the 120 pet businesses on map listings, it comes to $521K per business. It is estimated from the incomes of the 110,587 households in Erie County and national spending patterns by income.

How does Erie County, PA compare with the U.S. for pet businesses?

Erie County has 10.9 pet businesses per 10,000 households, 5% above the U.S. rate of 10.4. Spending per business is $521K, 41% below the U.S. figure of $878K. At the national ratio of pet businesses to household spending, Erie County would have about 71, against 120 on map listings. There is one business with payroll in the industry for every 2,011 households, against one for every 1,852 across the U.S. The official count rose 14.6% from 2019 to 2023, against +11.4% for the U.S.

How fast is Erie County, PA growing?

Population estimates put Erie County at 265,832 people in 2025, down 1.8% since 2020, against +3.1% for the U.S. It has 110,587 households. The median household income in Erie County is $63,354 a year, 22% below the U.S. median of $80,734. That rose 23.0% 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. Erie County scores 24 for pet businesses (low), #2,030 of 2,200 scored counties.

How can I see the market around a specific site?

Run a Groundwork site report on an address in Erie 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 Erie County

Screening a site or an acquisition in Erie 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 Erie 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.