Pets · Metro area · Texas
Pet businesses in the Waco, TX metro area
How the Waco, 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 61 out of 100: Upper middle
Ranked #110 of 387 scored metro areas
#15 of 26 scored metro areas based in Texas
- Listings
- 117
- 19 chain locations (16%)
- Official establishments
- 50
- +4.4% since 2019
- Household spending a year
- $94M
- On pets · $846 a household
- Spending per listing
- $804K
- 8% below the U.S.
- Listings per 10k households
- 10.5
- In line with the U.S.
- Population, 2025
- 308,807
- +4.2% since 2020
See the pet businesses around any address in the Waco 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 Waco 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
Map listings as of September 2026 show 117 pet businesses in the Waco metro area. 19 of them (16%) are chain locations, against 17% across the U.S. That is 10.5 per 10,000 households, in line with the U.S. rate of 10.4.
Households in the Waco metro area spend about $94M a year on pets, or $846 per household, 7% below the U.S. average. Spread across 117 pet businesses, that is $804K per business, 8% below the U.S. figure of $878K.
In 2023, official counts showed 50 businesses with payroll in the Waco metro area classed as pet care, veterinarians and pet stores, up 4.4% from 2019. That is one for every 2,224 households, against one for every 1,852 across the U.S. Official counts list 125 one-person businesses without payroll. Since fiscal 2022, 2 SBA-backed loans worth $2.2M have gone to businesses classed as pet care, veterinarians and pet stores in the Waco metro area.
Between 2020 and 2025, the population of the Waco metro area grew 4.2%, faster than the U.S. (+3.1%). For pet businesses, the Waco metro area has a Groundwork market score of 61 (upper middle): #110 of 387 scored metro areas and #15 of 26 scored metro areas based in Texas.
How the Waco 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 | Waco metro area | Texas | U.S. |
|---|---|---|---|
| Listings per 10k households | 10.5 | 9.8 | 10.4 |
| Spending per listing | $804K | $972K | $878K |
| Households per official establishment | 2,224 | 1,966 | 1,852 |
| Official establishment growth, 2019–2023 | +4.4% | +20.0% | +11.4% |
| Population growth, 2020–2025 | +4.2% | +8.5% | +3.1% |
| Spending per household on pets | $846 | $950 | $909 |
| Median household income | $66,205 | $78,476 | $80,734 |
| Groundwork market score | 61 | 76 |
Official counts and lending
Businesses
- Official establishments, 2019 to 2023
- 50+4.4% over the period
- Employees, 2023
- 527
- Annual payroll, 2023
- $19.4M
- One-person businesses, 2023
- 125Businesses with no payroll
- Map listings, September 2026
- 11719 chain locations
- Listings at the U.S. rate for this spending
- 107The U.S. ratio of listings to household spending, applied here
SBA-backed loans since fiscal 2022
- Loans
- 2
- Amount
- $2.2M
SBA-backed loans to businesses classed as pet care, veterinarians and pet stores in the Waco 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 Waco metro area
- Population, 2025 estimate
- 308,807+4.2% since 2020
- Households
- 111,178
- Median age
- 37.1
- Homes lived in by their owners
- 64%
- Vehicles per household
- 1.9
- Land area
- 2,785 sq. mi.
- People per square mile
- 108
- Median household income
- $66,205
- Average household income
- $91,997
- Median home value
- $234,100
- Jobs located here
- 129,143
- Daytime population
- 295,622Residents who don’t work, plus everyone whose job is here
Looking at a specific site in the Waco 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 Waco 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 Waco 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 |
| 15Waco, TX | 61 | 117 | 10.5 | $804K | +4.2% | #110 of 387 |
Other business types in the Waco 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 businesses61
- Veterinarians51
- Pet grooming and boarding65
- Pet stores63
Child care
Clothing and laundry
Home services
Real estate
Funeral services
Questions
How many pet businesses are in the Waco, TX metro area?
There are 117 pet businesses on map listings in the Waco metro area as of September 2026. 19 of them (16%) are chain locations. The listings count vets, groomers, boarding and pet stores. Official counts show 50 businesses with payroll classed as pet care, veterinarians and pet stores in 2023, up 4.4% from 2019. Official counts also show 125 one-person businesses without payroll.
How much do households in the Waco, TX metro area spend on pets?
About $94M a year, or $846 per household. That is 7% below the U.S. average (an index of 93, where 100 is the U.S. average). Spread across the 117 pet businesses on map listings, it comes to $804K per business. It is estimated from the incomes of the 111,178 households in the Waco metro area and national spending patterns by income.
How does the Waco, TX metro area compare with the U.S. for pet businesses?
The Waco metro area has 10.5 pet businesses per 10,000 households, in line with the U.S. rate of 10.4. Spending per business is $804K, 8% below the U.S. figure of $878K. At the national ratio of pet businesses to household spending, the Waco metro area would have about 107, against 117 on map listings. There is one business with payroll in the industry for every 2,224 households, against one for every 1,852 across the U.S. The official count rose 4.4% from 2019 to 2023, against +11.4% for the U.S.
How fast is the Waco, TX metro area growing?
Population estimates put the Waco metro area at 308,807 people in 2025, up 4.2% since 2020, faster than the U.S. (+3.1%). It has 111,178 households. The median household income in the Waco metro area is $66,205 a year, 18% below 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 Waco metro area scores 61 for pet businesses (upper middle), #110 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 Waco 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 Waco metro area
Screening a site or an acquisition in the Waco 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 Waco 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.