Groundwork

Pets · Metro area · Wisconsin

Pet businesses in the Eau Claire, WI metro area

Competitor counts, household spending and official business counts for pet businesses in the Eau Claire, WI metro area, set against other metro areas and the U.S.

Groundwork market score · out of 100

Score 50 out of 100: Upper middle

Ranked #194 of 387 scored metro areas
#5 of 13 scored metro areas based in Wisconsin

Listings
70
11 chain locations (16%)
Official establishments
42
+7.9% since 2019
Household spending a year
$59.8M
On pets · $832 a household
Spending per listing
$854K
3% below the U.S.
Listings per 10k households
9.7
7% below the U.S.
Population, 2025
176,647
+2.6% since 2020

See the pet businesses around any address in the Eau Claire 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 Eau Claire 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 $832 per household (9% below the U.S. average), households in the Eau Claire metro area spend about $59.8M a year on pets. Spread across 70 pet businesses, that is $854K per business, 3% below the U.S. figure of $878K.

The Eau Claire metro area has 70 pet businesses on map listings as of September 2026. 11 of them (16%) are chain locations, against 17% across the U.S. Per 10,000 households, that is 9.7, 7% 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 Eau Claire metro area was 42 in 2023, up 7.9% from 2019. That is one for every 1,711 households, against one for every 1,852 across the U.S. Official counts also show 87 one-person businesses without payroll. Since fiscal 2022, 2 SBA-backed loans worth $640K have gone to businesses classed as pet care, veterinarians and pet stores in the Eau Claire metro area.

Population estimates put the population change in the Eau Claire metro area from 2020 to 2025 at +2.6%, slower than the U.S. (+3.1%). For pet businesses, the Eau Claire metro area has a Groundwork market score of 50 (upper middle): #194 of 387 scored metro areas and #5 of 13 scored metro areas based in Wisconsin.

How the Eau Claire metro area compares

The same measures for Wisconsin 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 Eau Claire, WI metro area compared with Wisconsin and the U.S.
MeasureEau Claire metro areaWisconsinU.S.
Listings per 10k households9.711.810.4
Spending per listing$854K$730K$878K
Households per official establishment1,7111,7211,852
Official establishment growth, 2019–2023+7.9%+8.5%+11.4%
Population growth, 2020–2025+2.6%+1.3%+3.1%
Spending per household on pets$832$861$909
Median household income$74,595$77,485$80,734
Groundwork market score5037

Official counts and lending

Businesses

Official establishments, 2019 to 2023
42+7.9% over the period
Employees, 2023
490
Annual payroll, 2023
$17.5M
One-person businesses, 2023
87Businesses with no payroll
Map listings, September 2026
7011 chain locations
Listings at the U.S. rate for this spending
68The U.S. ratio of listings to household spending, applied here

SBA-backed loans since fiscal 2022

Loans
2
Amount
$640K

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

Population, 2025 estimate
176,647+2.6% since 2020
Households
71,865
Median age
39.3
Homes lived in by their owners
66%
Vehicles per household
1.9
Land area
1,646 sq. mi.
People per square mile
106
Median household income
$74,595+25.2% vs. 2015–2019, before inflation
Average household income
$97,224
Median home value
$259,900
Jobs located here
86,835
Daytime population
182,644Residents who don’t work, plus everyone whose job is here

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

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Pet businesses across Wisconsin

Every Wisconsin market ranked →

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

Top metro areas in Wisconsin

Metro areas in Wisconsin ranked for pet businesses by Groundwork market score
MarketScoreListingsPer 10k householdsSpending per listingPopulation growthU.S. rank
Minneapolis-St. Paul-Bloomington, MN-WI671,48210.0$1M+2.6%#65 of 387
1Sheboygan, WI66397.8$1.1M0.0%#73 of 387
2Milwaukee-Waukesha, WI566229.5$933K0.0%#147 of 387
3Appleton, WI5211511.5$786K+2.7%#181 of 387
4Kenosha, WI51669.6$930K−0.4%#184 of 387
Duluth, MN-WI511149.5$863K+0.2%#185 of 387
5Eau Claire, WI50709.7$854K+2.6%#194 of 387
6Racine-Mount Pleasant, WI499211.4$752K+0.4%#199 of 387
7Madison, WI4637512.4$764K+4.1%#224 of 387
8Wausau, WI466511.2$754K+1.0%#225 of 387

Other business types in the Eau Claire metro area

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

Questions

How many pet businesses are in the Eau Claire, WI metro area?

Map listings as of September 2026 show 70 pet businesses in the Eau Claire metro area. 11 of them (16%) are chain locations. The listings count vets, groomers, boarding and pet stores. Official counts show 42 businesses with payroll classed as pet care, veterinarians and pet stores in 2023, up 7.9% from 2019. Another 87 one-person businesses have no payroll, by official counts.

How much do households in the Eau Claire, WI metro area spend on pets?

About $59.8M a year, or $832 per household. That is 9% below the U.S. average (an index of 91, where 100 is the U.S. average). Spread across the 70 pet businesses on map listings, it comes to $854K per business. It is estimated from the incomes of the 71,865 households in the Eau Claire metro area and national spending patterns by income.

How does the Eau Claire, WI metro area compare with the U.S. for pet businesses?

The Eau Claire metro area has 9.7 pet businesses per 10,000 households, 7% below the U.S. rate of 10.4. Spending per business is $854K, 3% below the U.S. figure of $878K. At the U.S. ratio of pet businesses to household spending, the Eau Claire metro area would have about 68, against 70 on map listings. There is one business with payroll in the industry for every 1,711 households, against one for every 1,852 across the U.S. The official count rose 7.9% from 2019 to 2023, against +11.4% for the U.S.

How fast is the Eau Claire, WI metro area growing?

Population estimates put the Eau Claire metro area at 176,647 people in 2025, up 2.6% since 2020, slower than the U.S. (+3.1%). It has 71,865 households. Median household income in the Eau Claire metro area is $74,595, 8% below the U.S. median of $80,734. Against the 2015–2019 survey, the median rose 25.2%, 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 Eau Claire metro area scores 50 for pet businesses (upper middle), #194 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 Eau Claire 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 Eau Claire metro area

Screening a site or an acquisition in the Eau Claire 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 Eau Claire 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.