Groundwork

Pets · Metro area · Alabama

Pet grooming and boarding businesses in the Birmingham, AL metro area

Competitor counts, household spending and official business counts for pet grooming and boarding businesses in the Birmingham, AL metro area, set against other metro areas and the U.S.

Groundwork market score · out of 100

Score 61 out of 100: Upper middle

Ranked #111 of 386 scored metro areas
#6 of 12 scored metro areas based in Alabama

Listings
153
15 chain locations (10%)
Official establishments
84
+46.3% since 2019
Household spending a year
$415.8M
On pets · $894 a household
Spending per listing
$2.7M
7% above the U.S.
Listings per 10k households
3.3
8% below the U.S.
Population, 2025
1,197,766
+1.4% since 2020

See the pet grooming and boarding businesses around any address in the Birmingham metro area

The site report maps the pet grooming and boarding 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 Birmingham 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

As of September 2026, map listings count 153 pet grooming and boarding businesses in the Birmingham metro area. 15 of them (10%) are chain locations, against 9% across the U.S. That comes to 3.3 for every 10,000 households, 8% below the U.S. rate of 3.6.

Household spending on pets in the Birmingham metro area comes to about $415.8M a year: $894 per household, 2% below the U.S. average. That works out to $2.7M per business, 7% above the U.S. figure of $2.5M. That spending covers all pets, which pet grooming and boarding businesses share with other businesses in the trade.

Official counts show 84 businesses with payroll classed as pet care (except veterinary) in the Birmingham metro area in 2023, up 46.3% from 2019. That is one for every 5,536 households, against one for every 5,057 across the U.S. Since fiscal 2022, 14 SBA-backed loans worth $3.3M have gone to businesses classed as pet care (except veterinary) in the Birmingham metro area.

Between 2020 and 2025, the population of the Birmingham metro area grew 1.4%, slower than the U.S. (+3.1%). For pet grooming and boarding businesses, the Birmingham metro area has a Groundwork market score of 61 (upper middle): #111 of 386 scored metro areas and #6 of 12 scored metro areas based in Alabama.

How the Birmingham metro area compares

The same measures for Alabama and the whole U.S. Spending per listing divides a year of household spending on all pets by the pet grooming and boarding 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 grooming and boarding in Birmingham, AL metro area compared with Alabama and the U.S.
MeasureBirmingham metro areaAlabamaU.S.
Listings per 10k households3.33.43.6
Spending per listing$2.7M$2.5M$2.5M
Households per official establishment5,5366,4645,057
Official establishment growth, 2019–2023+46.3%+51.5%+25.2%
Population growth, 2020–2025+1.4%+3.2%+3.1%
Spending per household on pets$894$834$909
Median household income$71,498$63,999$80,734
Groundwork market score6162

Official counts and lending

Businesses

Official establishments, 2019 to 2023
84+46.3% over the period
Employees, 2023
780
Annual payroll, 2023
$16.4M
One-person businesses, 2023
Not publishedNot published for this business type
Map listings, September 2026
15315 chain locations
Listings at the U.S. rate for this spending
163The U.S. ratio of listings to household spending, applied here

SBA-backed loans since fiscal 2022

Loans
14
Amount
$3.3M

SBA-backed loans to businesses classed as pet care (except veterinary) in the Birmingham 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 Birmingham metro area

Population, 2025 estimate
1,197,766+1.4% since 2020
Households
465,003
Median age
40.0
Homes lived in by their owners
71%
Vehicles per household
1.9
Land area
5,280 sq. mi.
People per square mile
224
Median household income
$71,498
Average household income
$100,521
Median home value
$240,200
Jobs located here
555,318
Daytime population
1,227,371Residents who don’t work, plus everyone whose job is here

Looking at a specific site in the Birmingham 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 grooming and boarding businesses on map listings by name and distance.

Or open the report at the center of the Birmingham metro area. Signed out, you see a blurred preview; on an account, each report is one action.

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Pet grooming and boarding across Alabama

Every Alabama market ranked →

The highest-scoring metro areas in Alabama for pet grooming and boarding businesses, numbered among those based in Alabama (a market based in another state is listed without a number), with the Birmingham metro area marked.

Top metro areas in Alabama

Metro areas in Alabama ranked for pet grooming and boarding businesses by Groundwork market score
MarketScoreListingsPer 10k householdsSpending per listingPopulation growthU.S. rank
1Auburn-Opelika, AL77152.0$4.2M+7.1%#22 of 386
2Tuscaloosa, AL73232.2$3.7M+2.9%#38 of 386
3Huntsville, AL71914.4$2.2M+12.5%#47 of 386
4Montgomery, AL69362.4$3.5M+0.9%#54 of 386
5Decatur, AL62233.7$2.3M+2.5%#106 of 386
6Birmingham, AL611533.3$2.7M+1.4%#111 of 386
7Mobile, AL53462.8$2.8M−0.7%#171 of 386
Columbus, GA-AL51362.8$2.8M−1.3%#189 of 386
8Gadsden, AL48133.3$2.2M+0.4%#217 of 386
9Florence-Muscle Shoals, AL48243.8$2.1M+3.5%#219 of 386

Other business types in the Birmingham metro area

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

Questions

How many pet grooming and boarding businesses are in the Birmingham, AL metro area?

The Birmingham metro area has 153 pet grooming and boarding businesses on map listings as of September 2026. 15 of them (10%) are chain locations. The listings count groomers, boarding, dog daycare and pet sitters. Official counts show 84 businesses with payroll classed as pet care (except veterinary) in 2023, up 46.3% from 2019.

How much do households in the Birmingham, AL metro area spend on pets?

About $415.8M a year, or $894 per household. That is 2% below the U.S. average (an index of 98, where 100 is the U.S. average). Spread across the 153 pet grooming and boarding businesses on map listings, it comes to $2.7M per business. The spending figure covers all pets, not only pet grooming and boarding businesses. It is estimated from the incomes of the 465,003 households in the Birmingham metro area and national spending patterns by income.

How does the Birmingham, AL metro area compare with the U.S. for pet grooming and boarding businesses?

The Birmingham metro area has 3.3 pet grooming and boarding businesses per 10,000 households, 8% below the U.S. rate of 3.6. Spending per business is $2.7M, 7% above the U.S. figure of $2.5M. At the national ratio of pet grooming and boarding businesses to household spending, the Birmingham metro area would have about 163, against 153 on map listings. There is one business with payroll in the industry for every 5,536 households, against one for every 5,057 across the U.S. The official count rose 46.3% from 2019 to 2023, against +25.2% for the U.S.

How fast is the Birmingham, AL metro area growing?

Population estimates put the Birmingham metro area at 1,197,766 people in 2025, up 1.4% since 2020, slower than the U.S. (+3.1%). It has 465,003 households. The median household income in the Birmingham metro area is $71,498 a year, 11% 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 Birmingham metro area scores 61 for pet grooming and boarding businesses (upper middle), #111 of 386 scored metro areas.

How can I see the market around a specific site?

Run a Groundwork site report on an address in the Birmingham metro area. It maps the pet grooming and boarding 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 grooming and boarding businesses · All 56 business types in the Birmingham metro area

Screening a site or an acquisition in the Birmingham 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 Birmingham 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.