Groundwork

Pets · Metro area · Texas

Pet businesses in the Brownsville-Harlingen, TX metro area

How the Brownsville-Harlingen, TX 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 72 out of 100: Upper middle

Ranked #44 of 387 scored metro areas
#8 of 26 scored metro areas based in Texas

Listings
81
11 chain locations (14%)
Official establishments
27
0.0% since 2019
Household spending a year
$101.4M
On pets · $733 a household
Spending per listing
$1.3M
43% above the U.S.
Listings per 10k households
5.9
43% below the U.S.
Population, 2025
433,946
+3.0% since 2020

See the pet businesses around any address in the Brownsville-Harlingen 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 Brownsville-Harlingen 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

Households in the Brownsville-Harlingen metro area spend about $101.4M a year on pets, or $733 per household, 19% below the U.S. average. That is about $1.3M of household spending for each business on map listings, 43% above the U.S. figure of $878K.

There are 81 pet businesses on map listings in the Brownsville-Harlingen metro area as of September 2026. 11 of them (14%) are chain locations, against 17% across the U.S. Per 10,000 households, that is 5.9, 43% below the U.S. rate of 10.4.

In 2023, official counts showed 27 businesses with payroll in the Brownsville-Harlingen metro area classed as pet care, veterinarians and pet stores, unchanged from 2019. That is one for every 5,127 households, against one for every 1,852 across the U.S. Official counts also show 80 one-person businesses without payroll.

Between 2020 and 2025, the population of the Brownsville-Harlingen metro area grew 3.0%, in step with the U.S. (+3.1%). The Brownsville-Harlingen metro area scores 72 (upper middle) on the Groundwork market score for pet businesses, ranking #44 of 387 scored metro areas and #8 of 26 scored metro areas based in Texas. That puts it in the top quarter of metro areas.

How the Brownsville-Harlingen metro area compares

The same measures for Texas 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 Brownsville-Harlingen, TX metro area compared with Texas and the U.S.
MeasureBrownsville-Harlingen metro areaTexasU.S.
Listings per 10k households5.99.810.4
Spending per listing$1.3M$972K$878K
Households per official establishment5,1271,9661,852
Official establishment growth, 2019–20230.0%+20.0%+11.4%
Population growth, 2020–2025+3.0%+8.5%+3.1%
Spending per household on pets$733$950$909
Median household income$52,601$78,476$80,734
Groundwork market score7276

Official counts and lending

Businesses

Official establishments, 2019 to 2023
270.0% over the period
Employees, 2023
301
Annual payroll, 2023
$23M
One-person businesses, 2023
80Businesses with no payroll
Map listings, September 2026
8111 chain locations
Listings at the U.S. rate for this spending
116The 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 Brownsville-Harlingen 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 Brownsville-Harlingen metro area

Population, 2025 estimate
433,946+3.0% since 2020
Households
138,433
Median age
33.5
Homes lived in by their owners
65%
Vehicles per household
1.8
Land area
892 sq. mi.
People per square mile
478
Median household income
$52,601+35.7% vs. 2015–2019, before inflation
Average household income
$71,931
Median home value
$136,500
Jobs located here
146,355
Daytime population
405,619Residents who don’t work, plus everyone whose job is here

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

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Pet businesses across Texas

Every Texas market ranked →

The highest-scoring metro areas in Texas for pet businesses, numbered among those based in Texas, with the Brownsville-Harlingen metro area marked.

Top metro areas in Texas

Metro areas in Texas ranked for pet businesses by Groundwork market score
MarketScoreListingsPer 10k householdsSpending per listingPopulation growthU.S. rank
1Midland, TX88547.8$1.4M+9.8%#3 of 387
2Odessa, TX86375.7$1.5M+5.0%#4 of 387
3Houston-Pasadena-The Woodlands, TX842,3678.9$1.1M+10.3%#8 of 387
4Laredo, TX80425.2$1.5M+5.2%#14 of 387
5McAllen-Edinburg-Mission, TX761696.3$1.2M+5.6%#24 of 387
6Dallas-Fort Worth-Arlington, TX762,8329.8$1.1M+10.6%#27 of 387
7San Antonio-New Braunfels, TX739229.5$968K+9.5%#41 of 387
8Brownsville-Harlingen, TX72815.9$1.3M+3.0%#44 of 387
9Austin-Round Rock-San Marcos, TX701,07310.8$1M+14.0%#50 of 387
10Corpus Christi, TX671368.0$1.1M+1.1%#64 of 387

Other business types in the Brownsville-Harlingen metro area

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

Questions

How many pet businesses are in the Brownsville-Harlingen, TX metro area?

As of September 2026, map listings count 81 pet businesses in the Brownsville-Harlingen metro area. 11 of them (14%) are chain locations. The listings count vets, groomers, boarding and pet stores. Official counts show 27 businesses with payroll classed as pet care, veterinarians and pet stores in 2023, unchanged from 2019. Another 80 one-person businesses have no payroll, by official counts.

How much do households in the Brownsville-Harlingen, TX metro area spend on pets?

About $101.4M a year, or $733 per household. That is 19% below the U.S. average (an index of 81, where 100 is the U.S. average). Spread across the 81 pet businesses on map listings, it comes to $1.3M per business. It is estimated from the incomes of the 138,433 households in the Brownsville-Harlingen metro area and national spending patterns by income.

How does the Brownsville-Harlingen, TX metro area compare with the U.S. for pet businesses?

The Brownsville-Harlingen metro area has 5.9 pet businesses per 10,000 households, 43% below the U.S. rate of 10.4. Spending per business is $1.3M, 43% above the U.S. figure of $878K. At the U.S. ratio of pet businesses to household spending, the Brownsville-Harlingen metro area would have about 116, against 81 on map listings. There is one business with payroll in the industry for every 5,127 households, against one for every 1,852 across the U.S. The official count held level from 2019 to 2023, against +11.4% for the U.S.

How fast is the Brownsville-Harlingen, TX metro area growing?

Population estimates put the Brownsville-Harlingen metro area at 433,946 people in 2025, up 3.0% since 2020, in step with the U.S. (+3.1%). It has 138,433 households. Median household income in the Brownsville-Harlingen metro area is $52,601, 35% below the U.S. median of $80,734. Against the 2015–2019 survey, the median rose 35.7%, 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 Brownsville-Harlingen metro area scores 72 for pet businesses (upper middle), #44 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 Brownsville-Harlingen 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 Brownsville-Harlingen metro area

Screening a site or an acquisition in the Brownsville-Harlingen 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 Brownsville-Harlingen 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.