Groundwork

Pets · Metro area · Alabama

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

The pet grooming and boarding businesses in the Decatur, AL metro area, the household spending behind them and how the market ranks against other metro areas.

Groundwork market score · out of 100

Score 62 out of 100: Upper middle

Ranked #106 of 386 scored metro areas
#5 of 12 scored metro areas based in Alabama

Listings
23
6 chain locations (26%)
Official establishments
6
Businesses with payroll, 2023
Household spending a year
$53.1M
On pets · $847 a household
Spending per listing
$2.3M
9% below the U.S.
Listings per 10k households
3.7
3% above the U.S.
Population, 2025
160,326
+2.5% since 2020

See the pet grooming and boarding businesses around any address in the Decatur 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 Decatur 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 23 pet grooming and boarding businesses in the Decatur metro area. 6 of them (26%) are chain locations, against 9% across the U.S. That comes to 3.7 for every 10,000 households, 3% above the U.S. rate of 3.6.

At $847 per household (7% below the U.S. average), households in the Decatur metro area spend about $53.1M a year on pets. Spread across 23 pet grooming and boarding businesses, that is $2.3M per business, 9% below 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 6 businesses with payroll classed as pet care (except veterinary) in the Decatur metro area in 2023. That is one for every 10,445 households, against one for every 5,057 across the U.S. Since fiscal 2022, 1 SBA-backed loan worth $100K has gone to businesses classed as pet care (except veterinary) in the Decatur metro area.

Population estimates show the Decatur metro area grew 2.5% from 2020 to 2025, slower than the U.S. (+3.1%). The Groundwork market score for pet grooming and boarding businesses in the Decatur metro area is 62 (upper middle), #106 of 386 scored metro areas and #5 of 12 scored metro areas based in Alabama.

How the Decatur 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 Decatur, AL metro area compared with Alabama and the U.S.
MeasureDecatur metro areaAlabamaU.S.
Listings per 10k households3.73.43.6
Spending per listing$2.3M$2.5M$2.5M
Households per official establishment10,4456,4645,057
Official establishment growth, 2019–2023n/a+51.5%+25.2%
Population growth, 2020–2025+2.5%+3.2%+3.1%
Spending per household on pets$847$834$909
Median household income$68,116$63,999$80,734
Groundwork market score6262

Official counts and lending

Businesses

Official establishments, 2019 to 2023
6
Employees, 2023
21
Annual payroll, 2023
$490K
One-person businesses, 2023
Not publishedNot published for this business type
Map listings, September 2026
236 chain locations
Listings at the U.S. rate for this spending
21The U.S. ratio of listings to household spending, applied here

SBA-backed loans since fiscal 2022

Loans
1
Amount
$100K

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

Population, 2025 estimate
160,326+2.5% since 2020
Households
62,667
Median age
41.4
Homes lived in by their owners
75%
Vehicles per household
2.1
Land area
1,270 sq. mi.
People per square mile
124
Median household income
$68,116+35.1% vs. 2015–2019, before inflation
Average household income
$87,472
Median home value
$202,500
Jobs located here
58,542
Daytime population
149,857Residents who don’t work, plus everyone whose job is here

Looking at a specific site in the Decatur 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 Decatur 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 Decatur 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 Decatur 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 Decatur, AL metro area?

There are 23 pet grooming and boarding businesses on map listings in the Decatur metro area as of September 2026. 6 of them (26%) are chain locations. The listings count groomers, boarding, dog daycare and pet sitters. Official counts show 6 businesses with payroll classed as pet care (except veterinary) in 2023.

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

About $53.1M a year, or $847 per household. That is 7% below the U.S. average (an index of 93, where 100 is the U.S. average). Spread across the 23 pet grooming and boarding businesses on map listings, it comes to $2.3M per business. The spending figure covers all pets, not only pet grooming and boarding businesses. It is estimated from the incomes of the 62,667 households in the Decatur metro area and national spending patterns by income.

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

The Decatur metro area has 3.7 pet grooming and boarding businesses per 10,000 households, 3% above the U.S. rate of 3.6. Spending per business is $2.3M, 9% below the U.S. figure of $2.5M. At the national ratio of pet grooming and boarding businesses to household spending, the Decatur metro area would have about 21, against 23 on map listings. There is one business with payroll in the industry for every 10,445 households, against one for every 5,057 across the U.S.

How fast is the Decatur, AL metro area growing?

Population estimates put the Decatur metro area at 160,326 people in 2025, up 2.5% since 2020, slower than the U.S. (+3.1%). It has 62,667 households. The median household income in the Decatur metro area is $68,116 a year, 16% below the U.S. median of $80,734. That rose 35.1% 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 Decatur metro area scores 62 for pet grooming and boarding businesses (upper middle), #106 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 Decatur 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 Decatur metro area

Screening a site or an acquisition in the Decatur 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 Decatur 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.