Groundwork

Pets · County · Texas

Pet businesses in Hidalgo County, TX

How Hidalgo County, TX 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 79 out of 100: High

Ranked #83 of 2,200 scored counties
#11 of 144 scored counties in Texas

Listings
169
24 chain locations (14%)
Official establishments
48
+29.7% since 2019
Household spending a year
$201.7M
On pets · $746 a household
Spending per listing
$1.2M
36% above the U.S.
Listings per 10k households
6.3
39% below the U.S.
Population, 2025
921,549
+5.6% since 2020

See the pet businesses around any address in Hidalgo 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 Hidalgo 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

For pet businesses, Hidalgo County has a Groundwork market score of 79 (high): #83 of 2,200 scored counties and #11 of 144 scored counties in Texas. That puts it in the top 10% of counties for pet businesses.

Household spending on pets in Hidalgo County comes to about $201.7M a year: $746 per household, 18% below the U.S. average. Spread across 169 pet businesses, that is $1.2M per business, 36% above the U.S. figure of $878K.

Hidalgo County has 169 pet businesses on map listings as of September 2026. Chain locations make up 14% of them, against 17% across the U.S. That comes to 6.3 for every 10,000 households, 39% below the U.S. rate of 10.4.

Official counts show 48 businesses with payroll classed as pet care, veterinarians and pet stores in Hidalgo County in 2023, up 29.7% from 2019. That is one for every 5,629 households, against one for every 1,852 across the U.S. Since fiscal 2022, 4 SBA-backed loans worth $4.3M have gone to businesses classed as pet care, veterinarians and pet stores in Hidalgo County. Between 2020 and 2025, the population of Hidalgo County grew 5.6%, faster than the U.S. (+3.1%).

How Hidalgo County 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 Hidalgo County, TX compared with Texas and the U.S.
MeasureHidalgo CountyTexasU.S.
Listings per 10k households6.39.810.4
Spending per listing$1.2M$972K$878K
Households per official establishment5,6291,9661,852
Official establishment growth, 2019–2023+29.7%+20.0%+11.4%
Population growth, 2020–2025+5.6%+8.5%+3.1%
Spending per household on pets$746$950$909
Median household income$54,338$78,476$80,734
Groundwork market score7976

Official counts and lending

Businesses

Official establishments, 2019 to 2023
37 → 48+29.7% over the period
Employees, 2023
655
Annual payroll, 2023
$27.1M
One-person businesses, 2023
183Businesses with no payroll
Map listings, September 2026
16924 chain locations
Listings at the U.S. rate for this spending
230The U.S. ratio of listings to household spending, applied here

SBA-backed loans since fiscal 2022

Loans
4
Amount
$4.3M

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

Population, 2025 estimate
921,549+5.6% since 2020
Households
270,210
Median age
31.5
Homes lived in by their owners
67%
Vehicles per household
1.9
Land area
1,571 sq. mi.
People per square mile
568
Median household income
$54,338+35.8% vs. 2015–2019, before inflation
Average household income
$74,309
Median home value
$140,900
Jobs located here
292,679
Daytime population
862,027Residents who don’t work, plus everyone whose job is here

Looking at a specific site in Hidalgo 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 Hidalgo 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 Texas

Every Texas market ranked →

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

Top counties in Texas

Counties in Texas ranked for pet businesses by Groundwork market score
MarketScoreListingsPer 10k householdsSpending per listingPopulation growthU.S. rank
1Ector County, TX87375.7$1.5M+5.0%#12 of 2,200
2Fort Bend County, TX862428.3$1.4M+17.4%#18 of 2,200
3Midland County, TX85537.8$1.3M+10.0%#24 of 2,200
4Blanco County, TX85611.6$855K+18.6%#33 of 2,200
5Webb County, TX84425.2$1.5M+5.2%#36 of 2,200
6Harris County, TX841,3477.7$1.2M+6.6%#38 of 2,200
7Ellis County, TX83679.3$1.1M+24.0%#42 of 2,200
8Milam County, TX8176.9$1.2M+6.0%#58 of 2,200
9Hill County, TX80107.3$1.1M+9.8%#69 of 2,200
10Dallas County, TX796826.9$1.4M+1.9%#80 of 2,200
11Hidalgo County, TX791696.3$1.2M+5.6%#83 of 2,200

Other business types in Hidalgo County

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

Questions

How many pet businesses are in Hidalgo County, TX?

Map listings as of September 2026 show 169 pet businesses in Hidalgo County. 24 of them (14%) are chain locations. The listings count vets, groomers, boarding and pet stores. Official counts show 48 businesses with payroll classed as pet care, veterinarians and pet stores in 2023, up 29.7% from 2019. Official counts list 183 one-person businesses without payroll.

How much do households in Hidalgo County, TX spend on pets?

About $201.7M a year, or $746 per household. That is 18% below the U.S. average (an index of 82, where 100 is the U.S. average). Spread across the 169 pet businesses on map listings, it comes to $1.2M per business. It is estimated from the incomes of the 270,210 households in Hidalgo County and national spending patterns by income.

How does Hidalgo County, TX compare with the U.S. for pet businesses?

Hidalgo County has 6.3 pet businesses per 10,000 households, 39% below the U.S. rate of 10.4. Spending per business is $1.2M, 36% above the U.S. figure of $878K. At the U.S. ratio of pet businesses to household spending, Hidalgo County would have about 230, against 169 on map listings. There is one business with payroll in the industry for every 5,629 households, against one for every 1,852 across the U.S. The official count rose 29.7% from 2019 to 2023, against +11.4% for the U.S.

How fast is Hidalgo County, TX growing?

Population estimates put Hidalgo County at 921,549 people in 2025, up 5.6% since 2020, faster than the U.S. (+3.1%). It has 270,210 households. Median household income in Hidalgo County is $54,338, 33% below the U.S. median of $80,734. Against the 2015–2019 survey, the median rose 35.8%, 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. Hidalgo County scores 79 for pet businesses (high), #83 of 2,200 scored counties.

How can I see the market around a specific site?

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

Screening a site or an acquisition in Hidalgo 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 Hidalgo 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.