Pets · Metro area · Virginia
Pet businesses in the Roanoke, VA metro area
How the Roanoke, VA 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 40 out of 100: Lower middle
Ranked #273 of 387 scored metro areas
#8 of 9 scored metro areas based in Virginia
- Listings
- 153
- 21 chain locations (14%)
- Official establishments
- 73
- Businesses with payroll, 2023
- Household spending a year
- $113.1M
- On pets · $860 a household
- Spending per listing
- $739K
- 16% below the U.S.
- Listings per 10k households
- 11.6
- 12% above the U.S.
- Population, 2025
- 316,547
- +0.4% since 2020
See the pet businesses around any address in the Roanoke 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 Roanoke 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
As of September 2026, map listings count 153 pet businesses in the Roanoke metro area. Chain locations make up 14% of them, against 17% across the U.S. Per 10,000 households, that is 11.6, 12% above the U.S. rate of 10.4.
Households in the Roanoke metro area spend about $113.1M a year on pets, or $860 per household, 5% below the U.S. average. Spread across 153 pet businesses, that is $739K per business, 16% below the U.S. figure of $878K.
In 2023, official counts showed 73 businesses with payroll in the Roanoke metro area classed as pet care, veterinarians and pet stores. That is one for every 1,802 households, against one for every 1,852 across the U.S. Another 159 one-person businesses have no payroll, by official counts. Since fiscal 2022, 7 SBA-backed loans worth $10.9M have gone to businesses classed as pet care, veterinarians and pet stores in the Roanoke metro area.
Population estimates put the population change in the Roanoke metro area from 2020 to 2025 at +0.4%, slower than the U.S. (+3.1%). For pet businesses, the Roanoke metro area has a Groundwork market score of 40 (lower middle): #273 of 387 scored metro areas and #8 of 9 scored metro areas based in Virginia.
How the Roanoke metro area compares
The same measures for Virginia 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 | Roanoke metro area | Virginia | U.S. |
|---|---|---|---|
| Listings per 10k households | 11.6 | 10.0 | 10.4 |
| Spending per listing | $739K | $1.1M | $878K |
| Households per official establishment | 1,802 | 1,686 | 1,852 |
| Official establishment growth, 2019–2023 | n/a | +10.6% | +11.4% |
| Population growth, 2020–2025 | +0.4% | +2.8% | +3.1% |
| Spending per household on pets | $860 | $1,056 | $909 |
| Median household income | $68,761 | $93,170 | $80,734 |
| Groundwork market score | 40 | 68 |
Official counts and lending
Businesses
- Official establishments, 2019 to 2023
- 73
- Employees, 2023
- 947
- Annual payroll, 2023
- $31.6M
- One-person businesses, 2023
- 159Businesses with no payroll
- Map listings, September 2026
- 15321 chain locations
- Listings at the U.S. rate for this spending
- 129The U.S. ratio of listings to household spending, applied here
SBA-backed loans since fiscal 2022
- Loans
- 7
- Amount
- $10.9M
SBA-backed loans to businesses classed as pet care, veterinarians and pet stores in the Roanoke 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 Roanoke metro area
- Population, 2025 estimate
- 316,547+0.4% since 2020
- Households
- 131,510
- Median age
- 43.5
- Homes lived in by their owners
- 69%
- Vehicles per household
- 1.9
- Land area
- 1,868 sq. mi.
- People per square mile
- 169
- Median household income
- $68,761+21.5% vs. 2015–2019, before inflation
- Average household income
- $94,709
- Median home value
- $251,400
- Jobs located here
- 158,052
- Daytime population
- 332,123Residents who don’t work, plus everyone whose job is here
Looking at a specific site in the Roanoke 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 Roanoke 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 Virginia
Every Virginia market ranked →The highest-scoring metro areas in Virginia for pet businesses, numbered among those based in Virginia (a market based in another state is listed without a number), with the Roanoke metro area marked.
Top metro areas in Virginia
| Market | Score | Listings | Per 10k households | Spending per listing | Population growth | U.S. rank |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| Washington-Arlington-Alexandria, DC-VA-MD-WV | 81 | 1,932 | 8.1 | $1.5M | +3.3% | #11 of 387 |
| 1Richmond, VA | 73 | 489 | 9.2 | $1.1M | +5.5% | #40 of 387 |
| 2Virginia Beach-Chesapeake-Norfolk, VA-NC | 63 | 638 | 9.0 | $1.1M | +0.9% | #94 of 387 |
| 3Charlottesville, VA | 57 | 106 | 11.7 | $901K | +3.1% | #140 of 387 |
| 4Winchester, VA-WV | 52 | 71 | 12.8 | $761K | +6.5% | #183 of 387 |
| 5Harrisonburg, VA | 51 | 58 | 11.6 | $762K | +3.5% | #190 of 387 |
| Kingsport-Bristol, TN-VA | 45 | 146 | 11.2 | $699K | +2.3% | #238 of 387 |
| 6Lynchburg, VA | 41 | 115 | 11.1 | $754K | +2.9% | #267 of 387 |
| 7Blacksburg-Christiansburg-Radford, VA | 40 | 73 | 10.4 | $816K | −0.1% | #272 of 387 |
| 8Roanoke, VA | 40 | 153 | 11.6 | $739K | +0.4% | #273 of 387 |
Other business types in the Roanoke 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 businesses40
- Veterinarians37
- Pet grooming and boarding44
- Pet stores53
Child care
Clothing and laundry
Home services
Real estate
Funeral services
Questions
How many pet businesses are in the Roanoke, VA metro area?
The Roanoke metro area has 153 pet businesses on map listings as of September 2026. 21 of them (14%) are chain locations. The listings count vets, groomers, boarding and pet stores. Official counts show 73 businesses with payroll classed as pet care, veterinarians and pet stores in 2023. Official counts list 159 one-person businesses without payroll.
How much do households in the Roanoke, VA metro area spend on pets?
About $113.1M a year, or $860 per household. That is 5% below the U.S. average (an index of 95, where 100 is the U.S. average). Spread across the 153 pet businesses on map listings, it comes to $739K per business. It is estimated from the incomes of the 131,510 households in the Roanoke metro area and national spending patterns by income.
How does the Roanoke, VA metro area compare with the U.S. for pet businesses?
The Roanoke metro area has 11.6 pet businesses per 10,000 households, 12% above the U.S. rate of 10.4. Spending per business is $739K, 16% below the U.S. figure of $878K. At the national ratio of pet businesses to household spending, the Roanoke metro area would have about 129, against 153 on map listings. There is one business with payroll in the industry for every 1,802 households, against one for every 1,852 across the U.S.
How fast is the Roanoke, VA metro area growing?
Population estimates put the Roanoke metro area at 316,547 people in 2025, up 0.4% since 2020, slower than the U.S. (+3.1%). It has 131,510 households. The median household income in the Roanoke metro area is $68,761 a year, 15% below the U.S. median of $80,734. That rose 21.5% from the 2015–2019 survey, 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 Roanoke metro area scores 40 for pet businesses (lower middle), #273 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 Roanoke 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 Roanoke metro area
Screening a site or an acquisition in the Roanoke 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 Roanoke 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.