Pets · Metro area · Texas
Pet businesses in the Houston-Pasadena-The Woodlands, TX metro area
The pet businesses in the Houston-Pasadena-The Woodlands, TX metro area, the household spending behind them and how the market ranks against other metro areas.
Groundwork market score · out of 100
Score 84 out of 100: High
Ranked #8 of 387 scored metro areas
#3 of 26 scored metro areas based in Texas
- Listings
- 2,367
- 551 chain locations (23%)
- Official establishments
- 1,255
- +19.0% since 2019
- Household spending a year
- $2.6B
- On pets · $988 a household
- Spending per listing
- $1.1M
- 27% above the U.S.
- Listings per 10k households
- 8.9
- 14% below the U.S.
- Population, 2025
- 7,904,627
- +10.3% since 2020
See the pet businesses around any address in the Houston-Pasadena-The Woodlands 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 Houston-Pasadena-The Woodlands metro 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 Houston-Pasadena-The Woodlands metro area scores 84 (high) on the Groundwork market score for pet businesses, ranking #8 of 387 scored metro areas and #3 of 26 scored metro areas based in Texas. That puts it in the top 10% of metro areas for pet businesses.
Map listings as of September 2026 show 2,367 pet businesses in the Houston-Pasadena-The Woodlands metro area. Chain locations make up 23% of them, against 17% across the U.S. That is 8.9 per 10,000 households, 14% below the U.S. rate of 10.4.
At $988 per household (9% above the U.S. average), households in the Houston-Pasadena-The Woodlands metro area spend about $2.6B a year on pets. That is about $1.1M of household spending for each business on map listings, 27% above the U.S. figure of $878K.
Official counts show 1,255 businesses with payroll classed as pet care, veterinarians and pet stores in the Houston-Pasadena-The Woodlands metro area in 2023, up 19.0% from 2019. That is one for every 2,121 households, against one for every 1,852 across the U.S. Since fiscal 2022, 110 SBA-backed loans worth $84.3M have gone to businesses classed as pet care, veterinarians and pet stores in the Houston-Pasadena-The Woodlands metro area. Between 2020 and 2025, the population of the Houston-Pasadena-The Woodlands metro area grew 10.3%, faster than the U.S. (+3.1%).
How the Houston-Pasadena-The Woodlands 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.
| Measure | Houston-Pasadena-The Woodlands metro area | Texas | U.S. |
|---|---|---|---|
| Listings per 10k households | 8.9 | 9.8 | 10.4 |
| Spending per listing | $1.1M | $972K | $878K |
| Households per official establishment | 2,121 | 1,966 | 1,852 |
| Official establishment growth, 2019–2023 | +19.0% | +20.0% | +11.4% |
| Population growth, 2020–2025 | +10.3% | +8.5% | +3.1% |
| Spending per household on pets | $988 | $950 | $909 |
| Median household income | $82,168 | $78,476 | $80,734 |
| Groundwork market score | 84 | 76 |
Official counts and lending
Businesses
- Official establishments, 2019 to 2023
- 1,255+19.0% over the period
- Employees, 2023
- 15,859
- Annual payroll, 2023
- $676.7M
- One-person businesses, 2023
- 3,383Businesses with no payroll
- Map listings, September 2026
- 2,367551 chain locations
- Listings at the U.S. rate for this spending
- 2,994The U.S. ratio of listings to household spending, applied here
SBA-backed loans since fiscal 2022
- Loans
- 110
- Amount
- $84.3M
SBA-backed loans to businesses classed as pet care, veterinarians and pet stores in the Houston-Pasadena-The Woodlands 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 Houston-Pasadena-The Woodlands metro area
- Population, 2025 estimate
- 7,904,627+10.3% since 2020
- Households
- 2,661,739
- Median age
- 36.4
- Homes lived in by their owners
- 61%
- Vehicles per household
- 1.8
- Land area
- 8,839 sq. mi.
- People per square mile
- 842
- Median household income
- $82,168
- Average household income
- $117,837
- Median home value
- $298,000
- Jobs located here
- 3,347,878
- Daytime population
- 7,510,084Residents who don’t work, plus everyone whose job is here
Looking at a specific site in the Houston-Pasadena-The Woodlands 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 Houston-Pasadena-The Woodlands metro 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 Texas
Every Texas market ranked →The highest-scoring metro areas in Texas for pet businesses, numbered among those based in Texas, with the Houston-Pasadena-The Woodlands metro area marked.
Top metro areas in Texas
| Market | Score | Listings | Per 10k households | Spending per listing | Population growth | U.S. rank |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| 1Midland, TX | 88 | 54 | 7.8 | $1.4M | +9.8% | #3 of 387 |
| 2Odessa, TX | 86 | 37 | 5.7 | $1.5M | +5.0% | #4 of 387 |
| 3Houston-Pasadena-The Woodlands, TX | 84 | 2,367 | 8.9 | $1.1M | +10.3% | #8 of 387 |
| 4Laredo, TX | 80 | 42 | 5.2 | $1.5M | +5.2% | #14 of 387 |
| 5McAllen-Edinburg-Mission, TX | 76 | 169 | 6.3 | $1.2M | +5.6% | #24 of 387 |
| 6Dallas-Fort Worth-Arlington, TX | 76 | 2,832 | 9.8 | $1.1M | +10.6% | #27 of 387 |
| 7San Antonio-New Braunfels, TX | 73 | 922 | 9.5 | $968K | +9.5% | #41 of 387 |
| 8Brownsville-Harlingen, TX | 72 | 81 | 5.9 | $1.3M | +3.0% | #44 of 387 |
| 9Austin-Round Rock-San Marcos, TX | 70 | 1,073 | 10.8 | $1M | +14.0% | #50 of 387 |
| 10Corpus Christi, TX | 67 | 136 | 8.0 | $1.1M | +1.1% | #64 of 387 |
Other business types in the Houston-Pasadena-The Woodlands metro 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 businesses84
- Veterinarians81
- Pet grooming and boarding83
- Pet stores75
Child care
Clothing and laundry
Home services
Real estate
Funeral services
Questions
How many pet businesses are in the Houston-Pasadena-The Woodlands, TX metro area?
There are 2,367 pet businesses on map listings in the Houston-Pasadena-The Woodlands metro area as of September 2026. 551 of them (23%) are chain locations. The listings count vets, groomers, boarding and pet stores. Official counts show 1,255 businesses with payroll classed as pet care, veterinarians and pet stores in 2023, up 19.0% from 2019. Official counts list 3,383 one-person businesses without payroll.
How much do households in the Houston-Pasadena-The Woodlands, TX metro area spend on pets?
About $2.6B a year, or $988 per household. That is 9% above the U.S. average (an index of 109, where 100 is the U.S. average). Spread across the 2,367 pet businesses on map listings, it comes to $1.1M per business. It is estimated from the incomes of the 2,661,739 households in the Houston-Pasadena-The Woodlands metro area and national spending patterns by income.
How does the Houston-Pasadena-The Woodlands, TX metro area compare with the U.S. for pet businesses?
The Houston-Pasadena-The Woodlands metro area has 8.9 pet businesses per 10,000 households, 14% below the U.S. rate of 10.4. Spending per business is $1.1M, 27% above the U.S. figure of $878K. At the national ratio of pet businesses to household spending, the Houston-Pasadena-The Woodlands metro area would have about 2,994, against 2,367 on map listings. There is one business with payroll in the industry for every 2,121 households, against one for every 1,852 across the U.S. The official count rose 19.0% from 2019 to 2023, against +11.4% for the U.S.
How fast is the Houston-Pasadena-The Woodlands, TX metro area growing?
Population estimates put the Houston-Pasadena-The Woodlands metro area at 7,904,627 people in 2025, up 10.3% since 2020, faster than the U.S. (+3.1%). It has 2,661,739 households. The median household income in the Houston-Pasadena-The Woodlands metro area is $82,168 a year, 2% above the U.S. median of $80,734.
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 Houston-Pasadena-The Woodlands metro area scores 84 for pet businesses (high), #8 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 Houston-Pasadena-The Woodlands 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 Houston-Pasadena-The Woodlands metro area
Screening a site or an acquisition in the Houston-Pasadena-The Woodlands 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 Houston-Pasadena-The Woodlands 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.