Groundwork

Pets · Metro area · West Virginia

Pet businesses in the Huntington-Ashland, WV-KY-OH metro area

The pet businesses in the Huntington-Ashland, WV-KY-OH metro area, the household spending behind them and how the market ranks against other metro areas.

Groundwork market score · out of 100

Score 47 out of 100: Lower middle

Ranked #217 of 387 scored metro areas
#5 of 7 scored metro areas based in West Virginia

Listings
143
22 chain locations (15%)
Official establishments
60
Businesses with payroll, 2023
Household spending a year
$119M
On pets · $782 a household
Spending per listing
$832K
5% below the U.S.
Listings per 10k households
9.4
10% below the U.S.
Population, 2025
365,965
−2.6% since 2020

See the pet businesses around any address in the Huntington-Ashland 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 Huntington-Ashland 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

At $782 per household (14% below the U.S. average), households in the Huntington-Ashland metro area spend about $119M a year on pets. That works out to $832K per business, 5% below the U.S. figure of $878K.

The Huntington-Ashland metro area has 143 pet businesses on map listings as of September 2026. Chain locations make up 15% of them, against 17% across the U.S. Per 10,000 households, that is 9.4, 10% below the U.S. rate of 10.4.

The official count of businesses with payroll classed as pet care, veterinarians and pet stores in the Huntington-Ashland metro area was 60 in 2023. That is one for every 2,536 households, against one for every 1,852 across the U.S. Official counts list 99 one-person businesses without payroll. Since fiscal 2022, 5 SBA-backed loans worth $297K have gone to businesses classed as pet care, veterinarians and pet stores in the Huntington-Ashland metro area.

Between 2020 and 2025, the population of the Huntington-Ashland metro area declined 2.6%, against +3.1% for the U.S. The Groundwork market score for pet businesses in the Huntington-Ashland metro area is 47 (lower middle), #217 of 387 scored metro areas and #5 of 7 scored metro areas based in West Virginia.

How the Huntington-Ashland metro area compares

The same measures for West 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.

Pet businesses in Huntington-Ashland, WV-KY-OH metro area compared with West Virginia and the U.S.
MeasureHuntington-Ashland metro areaWest VirginiaU.S.
Listings per 10k households9.49.010.4
Spending per listing$832K$876K$878K
Households per official establishment2,5362,5751,852
Official establishment growth, 2019–2023n/a+10.1%+11.4%
Population growth, 2020–2025−2.6%−1.4%+3.1%
Spending per household on pets$782$788$909
Median household income$60,078$59,608$80,734
Groundwork market score4750

Official counts and lending

Businesses

Official establishments, 2019 to 2023
60
Employees, 2023
678
Annual payroll, 2023
$23.8M
One-person businesses, 2023
99Businesses with no payroll
Map listings, September 2026
14322 chain locations
Listings at the U.S. rate for this spending
135The U.S. ratio of listings to household spending, applied here

SBA-backed loans since fiscal 2022

Loans
5
Amount
$297K

SBA-backed loans to businesses classed as pet care, veterinarians and pet stores in the Huntington-Ashland 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 Huntington-Ashland metro area

Population, 2025 estimate
365,965−2.6% since 2020
Households
152,165
Median age
42.3
Homes lived in by their owners
74%
Vehicles per household
1.8
Land area
2,916 sq. mi.
People per square mile
127
Median household income
$60,078
Average household income
$80,719
Median home value
$154,700
Jobs located here
137,552
Daytime population
362,067Residents who don’t work, plus everyone whose job is here

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

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Pet businesses across West Virginia

Every West Virginia market ranked →

The highest-scoring metro areas in West Virginia for pet businesses, numbered among those based in West Virginia (a market based in another state is listed without a number), with the Huntington-Ashland metro area marked.

Top metro areas in West Virginia

Metro areas in West Virginia ranked for pet businesses by Groundwork market score
MarketScoreListingsPer 10k householdsSpending per listingPopulation growthU.S. rank
Washington-Arlington-Alexandria, DC-VA-MD-WV811,9328.1$1.5M+3.3%#11 of 387
Hagerstown-Martinsburg, MD-WV7312310.4$874K+7.1%#43 of 387
1Morgantown, WV67529.1$949K+1.3%#69 of 387
2Parkersburg-Vienna, WV57287.4$1M−2.3%#138 of 387
3Charleston, WV55647.3$1.1M−4.7%#155 of 387
Winchester, VA-WV527112.8$761K+6.5%#183 of 387
4Weirton-Steubenville, WV-OH48438.7$850K−3.6%#208 of 387
5Huntington-Ashland, WV-KY-OH471439.4$832K−2.6%#217 of 387
6Beckley, WV39449.8$734K−4.3%#284 of 387
7Wheeling, WV-OH385910.2$742K−3.6%#286 of 387

Other business types in the Huntington-Ashland metro area

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

Questions

How many pet businesses are in the Huntington-Ashland, WV-KY-OH metro area?

Map listings as of September 2026 show 143 pet businesses in the Huntington-Ashland metro area. 22 of them (15%) are chain locations. The listings count vets, groomers, boarding and pet stores. Official counts show 60 businesses with payroll classed as pet care, veterinarians and pet stores in 2023. Official counts also show 99 one-person businesses without payroll.

How much do households in the Huntington-Ashland, WV-KY-OH metro area spend on pets?

About $119M a year, or $782 per household. That is 14% below the U.S. average (an index of 86, where 100 is the U.S. average). Spread across the 143 pet businesses on map listings, it comes to $832K per business. It is estimated from the incomes of the 152,165 households in the Huntington-Ashland metro area and national spending patterns by income.

How does the Huntington-Ashland, WV-KY-OH metro area compare with the U.S. for pet businesses?

The Huntington-Ashland metro area has 9.4 pet businesses per 10,000 households, 10% below the U.S. rate of 10.4. Spending per business is $832K, 5% below the U.S. figure of $878K. At the U.S. ratio of pet businesses to household spending, the Huntington-Ashland metro area would have about 135, against 143 on map listings. There is one business with payroll in the industry for every 2,536 households, against one for every 1,852 across the U.S.

How fast is the Huntington-Ashland, WV-KY-OH metro area growing?

Population estimates put the Huntington-Ashland metro area at 365,965 people in 2025, down 2.6% since 2020, against +3.1% for the U.S. It has 152,165 households. Median household income in the Huntington-Ashland metro area is $60,078, 26% 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 Huntington-Ashland metro area scores 47 for pet businesses (lower middle), #217 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 Huntington-Ashland 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 Huntington-Ashland metro area

Screening a site or an acquisition in the Huntington-Ashland 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 Huntington-Ashland 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.