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Pets · Metro area · Washington

Pet businesses in the Seattle-Tacoma-Bellevue, WA metro area

The pet businesses in the Seattle-Tacoma-Bellevue, WA metro area, the household spending behind them and how the market ranks against other metro areas.

Groundwork market score · out of 100

Score 69 out of 100: Upper middle

Ranked #55 of 387 scored metro areas
#5 of 11 scored metro areas based in Washington

Listings
1,635
344 chain locations (21%)
Official establishments
1,062
+9.7% since 2019
Household spending a year
$2B
On pets · $1,249 a household
Spending per listing
$1.2M
40% above the U.S.
Listings per 10k households
10.2
2% below the U.S.
Population, 2025
4,161,883
+3.3% since 2020

See the pet businesses around any address in the Seattle-Tacoma-Bellevue 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 Seattle-Tacoma-Bellevue 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

Map listings as of September 2026 show 1,635 pet businesses in the Seattle-Tacoma-Bellevue metro area. 344 of them (21%) are chain locations, against 17% across the U.S. Per 10,000 households, that is 10.2, 2% below the U.S. rate of 10.4.

Households in the Seattle-Tacoma-Bellevue metro area spend about $2B a year on pets, or $1,249 per household, 37% above the U.S. average. That is about $1.2M of household spending for each business on map listings, 40% above the U.S. figure of $878K.

The official count of businesses with payroll classed as pet care, veterinarians and pet stores in the Seattle-Tacoma-Bellevue metro area was 1,062 in 2023, up 9.7% from 2019. That is one for every 1,515 households, against one for every 1,852 across the U.S. Official counts list 3,204 one-person businesses without payroll. Since fiscal 2022, 77 SBA-backed loans worth $57.8M have gone to businesses classed as pet care, veterinarians and pet stores in the Seattle-Tacoma-Bellevue metro area.

Population estimates show the Seattle-Tacoma-Bellevue metro area grew 3.3% from 2020 to 2025, in step with the U.S. (+3.1%). The Groundwork market score for pet businesses in the Seattle-Tacoma-Bellevue metro area is 69 (upper middle), #55 of 387 scored metro areas and #5 of 11 scored metro areas based in Washington. That puts it in the top quarter of metro areas.

How the Seattle-Tacoma-Bellevue metro area compares

The same measures for Washington 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 Seattle-Tacoma-Bellevue, WA metro area compared with Washington and the U.S.
MeasureSeattle-Tacoma-Bellevue metro areaWashingtonU.S.
Listings per 10k households10.210.810.4
Spending per listing$1.2M$1M$878K
Households per official establishment1,5151,5541,852
Official establishment growth, 2019–2023+9.7%+10.0%+11.4%
Population growth, 2020–2025+3.3%+3.6%+3.1%
Spending per household on pets$1,249$1,131$909
Median household income$115,177$98,141$80,734
Groundwork market score6969

Official counts and lending

Businesses

Official establishments, 2019 to 2023
1,062+9.7% over the period
Employees, 2023
12,246
Annual payroll, 2023
$608.2M
One-person businesses, 2023
3,204Businesses with no payroll
Map listings, September 2026
1,635344 chain locations
Listings at the U.S. rate for this spending
2,288The U.S. ratio of listings to household spending, applied here

SBA-backed loans since fiscal 2022

Loans
77
Amount
$57.8M

SBA-backed loans to businesses classed as pet care, veterinarians and pet stores in the Seattle-Tacoma-Bellevue 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 Seattle-Tacoma-Bellevue metro area

Population, 2025 estimate
4,161,883+3.3% since 2020
Households
1,608,596
Median age
38.9
Homes lived in by their owners
60%
Vehicles per household
1.8
Land area
5,870 sq. mi.
People per square mile
692
Median household income
$115,177+32.6% vs. 2015–2019, before inflation
Average household income
$158,706
Median home value
$717,500
Jobs located here
2,129,194
Daytime population
4,229,343Residents who don’t work, plus everyone whose job is here

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

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Pet businesses across Washington

Every Washington market ranked →

The highest-scoring metro areas in Washington for pet businesses, numbered among those based in Washington (a market based in another state is listed without a number), with the Seattle-Tacoma-Bellevue metro area marked.

Top metro areas in Washington

Metro areas in Washington ranked for pet businesses by Groundwork market score
MarketScoreListingsPer 10k householdsSpending per listingPopulation growthU.S. rank
1Kennewick-Richland, WA7711310.5$992K+6.5%#22 of 387
2Walla Walla, WA76198.1$1.2M−0.4%#26 of 387
3Yakima, WA73596.7$1.3M+1.0%#37 of 387
4Wenatchee-East Wenatchee, WA704910.3$982K+5.0%#52 of 387
5Seattle-Tacoma-Bellevue, WA691,63510.2$1.2M+3.3%#55 of 387
6Longview-Kelso, WA625412.3$760K+3.5%#101 of 387
7Bremerton-Silverdale-Port Orchard, WA5813012.0$959K+2.7%#131 of 387
Lewiston, ID-WA582810.5$866K+1.5%#132 of 387
Portland-Vancouver-Hillsboro, OR-WA571,16111.5$972K+1.0%#139 of 387
8Bellingham, WA5311211.9$838K+3.9%#171 of 387

Other business types in the Seattle-Tacoma-Bellevue metro area

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

Questions

How many pet businesses are in the Seattle-Tacoma-Bellevue, WA metro area?

There are 1,635 pet businesses on map listings in the Seattle-Tacoma-Bellevue metro area as of September 2026. 344 of them (21%) are chain locations. The listings count vets, groomers, boarding and pet stores. Official counts show 1,062 businesses with payroll classed as pet care, veterinarians and pet stores in 2023, up 9.7% from 2019. Official counts also show 3,204 one-person businesses without payroll.

How much do households in the Seattle-Tacoma-Bellevue, WA metro area spend on pets?

About $2B a year, or $1,249 per household. That is 37% above the U.S. average (an index of 137, where 100 is the U.S. average). Spread across the 1,635 pet businesses on map listings, it comes to $1.2M per business. It is estimated from the incomes of the 1,608,596 households in the Seattle-Tacoma-Bellevue metro area and national spending patterns by income.

How does the Seattle-Tacoma-Bellevue, WA metro area compare with the U.S. for pet businesses?

The Seattle-Tacoma-Bellevue metro area has 10.2 pet businesses per 10,000 households, 2% below the U.S. rate of 10.4. Spending per business is $1.2M, 40% above the U.S. figure of $878K. At the national ratio of pet businesses to household spending, the Seattle-Tacoma-Bellevue metro area would have about 2,288, against 1,635 on map listings. There is one business with payroll in the industry for every 1,515 households, against one for every 1,852 across the U.S. The official count rose 9.7% from 2019 to 2023, against +11.4% for the U.S.

How fast is the Seattle-Tacoma-Bellevue, WA metro area growing?

Population estimates put the Seattle-Tacoma-Bellevue metro area at 4,161,883 people in 2025, up 3.3% since 2020, in step with the U.S. (+3.1%). It has 1,608,596 households. The median household income in the Seattle-Tacoma-Bellevue metro area is $115,177 a year, 43% above the U.S. median of $80,734. That rose 32.6% 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 Seattle-Tacoma-Bellevue metro area scores 69 for pet businesses (upper middle), #55 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 Seattle-Tacoma-Bellevue 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 Seattle-Tacoma-Bellevue metro area

Screening a site or an acquisition in the Seattle-Tacoma-Bellevue 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 Seattle-Tacoma-Bellevue 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.