Groundwork

Pets · County · Alabama

Pet grooming and boarding businesses in Shelby County, AL

How Shelby County, AL compares with other counties and the U.S. for pet grooming and boarding businesses: competitors, household spending, official counts and growth.

Groundwork market score · out of 100

Score 60 out of 100: Upper middle

Ranked #494 of 1,461 scored counties
#13 of 31 scored counties in Alabama

Listings
48
2 chain locations (4%)
Official establishments
23
Businesses with payroll, 2023
Household spending a year
$92.8M
On pets · $1,068 a household
Spending per listing
$1.9M
24% below the U.S.
Listings per 10k households
5.5
53% above the U.S.
Population, 2025
238,552
+6.5% since 2020

See the pet grooming and boarding businesses around any address in Shelby County

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 Shelby County. Signed out, you see a blurred preview; on an account, each report is one action.

Free10 actions over 3 days, no card

Survey estimates 2020–2024 · population estimates 2025 · official business counts 2023 · map listings September 2026 · Data credits · How we measure

What this means

At $1,068 per household (17% above the U.S. average), households in Shelby County spend about $92.8M a year on pets. That is about $1.9M of household spending for each business on map listings, 24% below the U.S. figure of $2.5M. The spending figure covers all pets, not only pet grooming and boarding businesses.

There are 48 pet grooming and boarding businesses on map listings in Shelby County as of September 2026. 2 of them (4%) are chain locations, against 9% across the U.S. That is 5.5 per 10,000 households, 53% above the U.S. rate of 3.6.

The official count of businesses with payroll classed as pet care (except veterinary) in Shelby County was 23 in 2023. That is one for every 3,777 households, against one for every 5,057 across the U.S. Since fiscal 2022, 4 SBA-backed loans worth $785K have gone to businesses classed as pet care (except veterinary) in Shelby County.

Population estimates put the population change in Shelby County from 2020 to 2025 at +6.5%, faster than the U.S. (+3.1%). For pet grooming and boarding businesses, Shelby County has a Groundwork market score of 60 (upper middle): #494 of 1,461 scored counties and #13 of 31 scored counties in Alabama.

How Shelby County 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 Shelby County, AL compared with Alabama and the U.S.
MeasureShelby CountyAlabamaU.S.
Listings per 10k households5.53.43.6
Spending per listing$1.9M$2.5M$2.5M
Households per official establishment3,7776,4645,057
Official establishment growth, 2019–2023n/a+51.5%+25.2%
Population growth, 2020–2025+6.5%+3.2%+3.1%
Spending per household on pets$1,068$834$909
Median household income$97,961$63,999$80,734
Groundwork market score6062

Official counts and lending

Businesses

Official establishments, 2019 to 2023
19 → 23
Employees, 2023
174
Annual payroll, 2023
$4.2M
One-person businesses, 2023
Not publishedNot published for this business type
Map listings, September 2026
482 chain locations
Listings at the U.S. rate for this spending
36The U.S. ratio of listings to household spending, applied here

SBA-backed loans since fiscal 2022

Loans
4
Amount
$785K

SBA-backed loans to businesses classed as pet care (except veterinary) in Shelby County, 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 Shelby County

Population, 2025 estimate
238,552+6.5% since 2020
Households
86,866
Median age
41.0
Homes lived in by their owners
81%
Vehicles per household
2.1
Land area
785 sq. mi.
People per square mile
293
Median household income
$97,961+25.9% vs. 2015–2019, before inflation
Average household income
$128,135
Median home value
$326,100
Jobs located here
95,355
Daytime population
222,801Residents who don’t work, plus everyone whose job is here

Looking at a specific site in Shelby County?

These figures cover the whole county. 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 Shelby County. 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 counties in Alabama for pet grooming and boarding businesses, numbered among those based in Alabama, with Shelby County marked.

Top counties in Alabama

Counties in Alabama ranked for pet grooming and boarding businesses by Groundwork market score
MarketScoreListingsPer 10k householdsSpending per listingPopulation growthU.S. rank
1Lee County, AL80152.2$3.9M+8.6%#60 of 1,461
2Tuscaloosa County, AL78222.4$3.4M+3.8%#85 of 1,461
3Madison County, AL75694.2$2.4M+11.0%#128 of 1,461
4Autauga County, AL7483.5$2.6M+5.1%#137 of 1,461
5Coffee County, AL7362.9$3M+6.3%#159 of 1,461
6Montgomery County, AL70131.4$5.6M−1.1%#221 of 1,461
7Jefferson County, AL70592.2$4M−1.3%#222 of 1,461
8Morgan County, AL70193.9$2.2M+2.6%#243 of 1,461
9Limestone County, AL69225.4$1.8M+18.0%#269 of 1,461
10Elmore County, AL65144.3$2.1M+4.2%#361 of 1,461
13Shelby County, AL60485.5$1.9M+6.5%#494 of 1,461

Other business types in Shelby County

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

Questions

How many pet grooming and boarding businesses are in Shelby County, AL?

As of September 2026, map listings count 48 pet grooming and boarding businesses in Shelby County. 2 of them (4%) are chain locations. The listings count groomers, boarding, dog daycare and pet sitters. Official counts show 23 businesses with payroll classed as pet care (except veterinary) in 2023.

How much do households in Shelby County, AL spend on pets?

About $92.8M a year, or $1,068 per household. That is 17% above the U.S. average (an index of 117, where 100 is the U.S. average). Spread across the 48 pet grooming and boarding businesses on map listings, it comes to $1.9M per business. That spending covers all pets, which pet grooming and boarding businesses share with other businesses in the trade. It is estimated from the incomes of the 86,866 households in Shelby County and national spending patterns by income.

How does Shelby County, AL compare with the U.S. for pet grooming and boarding businesses?

Shelby County has 5.5 pet grooming and boarding businesses per 10,000 households, 53% above the U.S. rate of 3.6. Spending per business is $1.9M, 24% below the U.S. figure of $2.5M. At the U.S. ratio of pet grooming and boarding businesses to household spending, Shelby County would have about 36, against 48 on map listings. There is one business with payroll in the industry for every 3,777 households, against one for every 5,057 across the U.S.

How fast is Shelby County, AL growing?

Population estimates put Shelby County at 238,552 people in 2025, up 6.5% since 2020, faster than the U.S. (+3.1%). It has 86,866 households. Median household income in Shelby County is $97,961, 21% above the U.S. median of $80,734. Against the 2015–2019 survey, the median rose 25.9%, 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. Shelby County scores 60 for pet grooming and boarding businesses (upper middle), #494 of 1,461 scored counties.

How can I see the market around a specific site?

Run a Groundwork site report on an address in Shelby County. 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 Shelby County

Screening a site or an acquisition in Shelby County?

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 Shelby County. 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.