Pets · Small-town market · Pennsylvania
Pet businesses in the St. Marys, PA area
How the St. Marys, PA 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 5 out of 100: Very low
Ranked #527 of 527 scored small-town markets
#20 of 20 scored small-town markets based in Pennsylvania
- Listings
- 19
- 2 chain locations (11%)
- Official establishments
- n/a
- Fewer than 3, or not published
- Household spending a year
- $7.2M
- On pets · $541 a household
- Spending per listing
- $380K
- 57% below the U.S.
- Listings per 10k households
- 14.3
- 38% above the U.S.
- Population, 2025
- 29,926
- −3.3% since 2020
See the pet businesses around any address in the St. Marys 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 St. Marys area. 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
The St. Marys area scores 5 (very low) on the Groundwork market score for pet businesses, ranking #527 of 527 scored small-town markets and #20 of 20 scored small-town markets based in Pennsylvania. That puts it in the bottom quarter of small-town markets.
Household spending on pets in the St. Marys area comes to about $7.2M a year: $541 per household, 40% below the U.S. average. That is about $380K of household spending for each business on map listings, 57% below the U.S. figure of $878K.
There are 19 pet businesses on map listings in the St. Marys area as of September 2026. Chain locations make up 11% of them, against 17% across the U.S. Per 10,000 households, that is 14.3, 38% above the U.S. rate of 10.4.
Official counts don’t publish a figure for pet care, veterinarians and pet stores in the St. Marys area, since they leave out counts under 3. Population estimates show the St. Marys area declined 3.3% from 2020 to 2025, against +3.1% for the U.S.
How the St. Marys area 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 | St. Marys area | Pennsylvania | U.S. |
|---|---|---|---|
| Listings per 10k households | 14.3 | 10.5 | 10.4 |
| Spending per listing | $380K | $616K | $878K |
| Households per official establishment | n/a | 1,997 | 1,852 |
| Official establishment growth, 2019–2023 | n/a | +6.9% | +11.4% |
| Population growth, 2020–2025 | −3.3% | +0.5% | +3.1% |
| Spending per household on pets | $541 | $647 | $909 |
| Median household income | $66,380 | $77,971 | $80,734 |
| Groundwork market score | 5 | 24 |
Official counts and lending
Businesses
- Official establishments, 2019 to 2023
- n/a
- Employees, 2023
- n/a
- Annual payroll, 2023
- n/a
- One-person businesses, 2023
- 16Businesses with no payroll
- Map listings, September 2026
- 192 chain locations
- Listings at the U.S. rate for this spending
- 8The 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 St. Marys 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 St. Marys area
- Population, 2025 estimate
- 29,926−3.3% since 2020
- Households
- 13,325
- Median age
- 47.8
- Homes lived in by their owners
- 80%
- Vehicles per household
- 1.9
- Land area
- 827 sq. mi.
- People per square mile
- 37
- Median household income
- $66,380+24.2% vs. 2015–2019, before inflation
- Average household income
- $81,773
- Median home value
- $133,600
- Jobs located here
- 12,876
- Daytime population
- 29,443Residents who don’t work, plus everyone whose job is here
Looking at a specific site in the St. Marys 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 St. Marys area. 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 small-town markets in Pennsylvania for pet businesses, numbered among those based in Pennsylvania, with the St. Marys area marked.
Top small-town markets in Pennsylvania
| Market | Score | Listings | Per 10k households | Spending per listing | Population growth | U.S. rank |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| 1Hemlock Farms, PA | 68 | 22 | 9.1 | $715K | +7.2% | #73 of 527 |
| 2Warren, PA | 42 | 14 | 8.7 | $609K | −3.8% | #361 of 527 |
| 3Sunbury, PA | 37 | 39 | 8.5 | $655K | −1.7% | #410 of 527 |
| 4Lewistown, PA | 37 | 18 | 9.7 | $543K | 0.0% | #412 of 527 |
| 5Lock Haven, PA | 34 | 16 | 10.4 | $522K | +1.3% | #436 of 527 |
| 6Pottsville, PA | 32 | 75 | 12.9 | $438K | +1.5% | #449 of 527 |
| 7Oil City, PA | 30 | 28 | 13.1 | $402K | −2.0% | #463 of 527 |
| 8Lewisburg, PA | 28 | 25 | 17.2 | $359K | −0.8% | #476 of 527 |
| 9Sayre, PA | 27 | 28 | 11.4 | $493K | −0.6% | #477 of 527 |
| 10Indiana, PA | 27 | 50 | 15.4 | $346K | −0.3% | #482 of 527 |
| 20St. Marys, PA | 5 | 19 | 14.3 | $380K | −3.3% | #527 of 527 |
Other business types in the St. Marys area
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 businesses5
- Veterinarians
- Pet grooming and boarding2
- Pet stores
Child care
Clothing and laundry
Home services
Real estate
Funeral services
Questions
How many pet businesses are in the St. Marys, PA area?
As of September 2026, map listings count 19 pet businesses in the St. Marys area. 2 of them (11%) are chain locations. The listings count vets, groomers, boarding and pet stores. No official count is published for pet care, veterinarians and pet stores in the St. Marys area: counts under 3 are left out. Official counts also show 16 one-person businesses without payroll.
How much do households in the St. Marys, PA area spend on pets?
About $7.2M a year, or $541 per household. That is 40% below the U.S. average (an index of 60, where 100 is the U.S. average). Spread across the 19 pet businesses on map listings, it comes to $380K per business. It is estimated from the incomes of the 13,325 households in the St. Marys area and national spending patterns by income.
How does the St. Marys, PA area compare with the U.S. for pet businesses?
The St. Marys area has 14.3 pet businesses per 10,000 households, 38% above the U.S. rate of 10.4. Spending per business is $380K, 57% below the U.S. figure of $878K. At the U.S. ratio of pet businesses to household spending, the St. Marys area would have about 8, against 19 on map listings.
How fast is the St. Marys, PA area growing?
Population estimates put the St. Marys area at 29,926 people in 2025, down 3.3% since 2020, against +3.1% for the U.S. It has 13,325 households. Median household income in the St. Marys area is $66,380, 18% below the U.S. median of $80,734. Against the 2015–2019 survey, the median rose 24.2%, 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 St. Marys area scores 5 for pet businesses (very low), #527 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 St. Marys 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 St. Marys area
Screening a site or an acquisition in the St. Marys 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 St. Marys 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.