Groundwork

Pets · Metro area · Rhode Island

Pet businesses in the Providence-Warwick, RI-MA metro area

How the Providence-Warwick, RI-MA metro area compares with other metro areas and the U.S. for pet businesses: competitors, household spending, official counts and growth.

Groundwork market score · out of 100

Score 25 out of 100: Lower middle

Ranked #357 of 387 scored metro areas
The only scored metro area based in Rhode Island

Listings
746
113 chain locations (15%)
Official establishments
390
+13.4% since 2019
Household spending a year
$462.6M
On pets · $685 a household
Spending per listing
$620K
29% below the U.S.
Listings per 10k households
11.0
6% above the U.S.
Population, 2025
1,708,161
+2.1% since 2020

See the pet businesses around any address in the Providence-Warwick 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 Providence-Warwick 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

The Providence-Warwick metro area scores 25 (lower middle) on the Groundwork market score for pet businesses, ranking #357 of 387 scored metro areas and the only scored metro area based in Rhode Island. That puts it in the bottom quarter of metro areas.

Households in the Providence-Warwick metro area spend about $462.6M a year on pets, or $685 per household, 25% below the U.S. average. That is about $620K of household spending for each business on map listings, 29% below the U.S. figure of $878K.

There are 746 pet businesses on map listings in the Providence-Warwick metro area as of September 2026. Of those, 113 are chain locations, or 15%, against 17% across the U.S. That is 11.0 per 10,000 households, 6% 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 Providence-Warwick metro area was 390 in 2023, up 13.4% from 2019. That is one for every 1,732 households, against one for every 1,852 across the U.S. Since fiscal 2022, 28 SBA-backed loans worth $13.5M have gone to businesses classed as pet care, veterinarians and pet stores in the Providence-Warwick metro area. Population estimates put the population change in the Providence-Warwick metro area from 2020 to 2025 at +2.1%, slower than the U.S. (+3.1%).

How the Providence-Warwick metro area compares

The same measures for Rhode Island 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 Providence-Warwick, RI-MA metro area compared with Rhode Island and the U.S.
MeasureProvidence-Warwick metro areaRhode IslandU.S.
Listings per 10k households11.011.010.4
Spending per listing$620K$623K$878K
Households per official establishment1,7321,6661,852
Official establishment growth, 2019–2023+13.4%+12.3%+11.4%
Population growth, 2020–2025+2.1%+1.6%+3.1%
Spending per household on pets$685$687$909
Median household income$87,040$87,796$80,734
Groundwork market score2520

Official counts and lending

Businesses

Official establishments, 2019 to 2023
390+13.4% over the period
Employees, 2023
3,783
Annual payroll, 2023
$170.7M
One-person businesses, 2023
868Businesses with no payroll
Map listings, September 2026
746113 chain locations
Listings at the U.S. rate for this spending
527The U.S. ratio of listings to household spending, applied here

SBA-backed loans since fiscal 2022

Loans
28
Amount
$13.5M

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

Population, 2025 estimate
1,708,161+2.1% since 2020
Households
675,395
Median age
41.7
Homes lived in by their owners
63%
Vehicles per household
1.7
Land area
1,587 sq. mi.
People per square mile
1,061
Median household income
$87,040+28.3% vs. 2015–2019, before inflation
Average household income
$113,866
Median home value
$422,500
Jobs located here
710,441
Daytime population
1,584,744Residents who don’t work, plus everyone whose job is here

Looking at a specific site in the Providence-Warwick 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 Providence-Warwick metro area. Signed out, you see a blurred preview; on an account, each report is one action.

Free10 actions over 3 days, no card

Other business types in the Providence-Warwick metro area

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

Questions

How many pet businesses are in the Providence-Warwick, RI-MA metro area?

As of September 2026, map listings count 746 pet businesses in the Providence-Warwick metro area. 113 of them (15%) are chain locations. The listings count vets, groomers, boarding and pet stores. Official counts show 390 businesses with payroll classed as pet care, veterinarians and pet stores in 2023, up 13.4% from 2019. Another 868 one-person businesses have no payroll, by official counts.

How much do households in the Providence-Warwick, RI-MA metro area spend on pets?

About $462.6M a year, or $685 per household. That is 25% below the U.S. average (an index of 75, where 100 is the U.S. average). Spread across the 746 pet businesses on map listings, it comes to $620K per business. It is estimated from the incomes of the 675,395 households in the Providence-Warwick metro area and national spending patterns by income.

How does the Providence-Warwick, RI-MA metro area compare with the U.S. for pet businesses?

The Providence-Warwick metro area has 11.0 pet businesses per 10,000 households, 6% above the U.S. rate of 10.4. Spending per business is $620K, 29% below the U.S. figure of $878K. At the U.S. ratio of pet businesses to household spending, the Providence-Warwick metro area would have about 527, against 746 on map listings. There is one business with payroll in the industry for every 1,732 households, against one for every 1,852 across the U.S. The official count rose 13.4% from 2019 to 2023, against +11.4% for the U.S.

How fast is the Providence-Warwick, RI-MA metro area growing?

Population estimates put the Providence-Warwick metro area at 1,708,161 people in 2025, up 2.1% since 2020, slower than the U.S. (+3.1%). It has 675,395 households. Median household income in the Providence-Warwick metro area is $87,040, 8% above the U.S. median of $80,734. Against the 2015–2019 survey, the median rose 28.3%, 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. 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 Providence-Warwick metro area scores 25 for pet businesses (lower middle), #357 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 Providence-Warwick 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 Providence-Warwick metro area

Screening a site or an acquisition in the Providence-Warwick 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 Providence-Warwick 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.