Pets · Metro area · Delaware
Pet grooming and boarding businesses in the Dover, DE metro area
Competitor counts, household spending and official business counts for pet grooming and boarding businesses in the Dover, DE 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 #203 of 386 scored metro areas
The only scored metro area based in Delaware
- Listings
- 30
- 3 chain locations (10%)
- Official establishments
- 17
- Businesses with payroll, 2023
- Household spending a year
- $62.9M
- On pets · $881 a household
- Spending per listing
- $2.1M
- 18% below the U.S.
- Listings per 10k households
- 4.2
- 17% above the U.S.
- Population, 2025
- 194,786
- +6.8% since 2020
See the pet grooming and boarding businesses around any address in the Dover 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 Dover metro area. Signed out, you see a blurred preview; on an account, each report is one action.
Free10 actions over 3 days, no cardSurvey estimates 2020–2024 · population estimates 2025 · official business counts 2023 · map listings September 2026 · Data credits · How we measure
What this means
Households in the Dover metro area spend about $62.9M a year on pets, or $881 per household, 3% below the U.S. average. That works out to $2.1M per business, 18% below the U.S. figure of $2.5M. The spending figure covers all pets, not only pet grooming and boarding businesses.
There are 30 pet grooming and boarding businesses on map listings in the Dover metro area as of September 2026. Of those, 3 are chain locations, or 10%, against 9% across the U.S. That comes to 4.2 for every 10,000 households, 17% above the U.S. rate of 3.6.
Official counts show 17 businesses with payroll classed as pet care (except veterinary) in the Dover metro area in 2023. That is one for every 4,201 households, against one for every 5,057 across the U.S.
Population estimates put the population change in the Dover metro area from 2020 to 2025 at +6.8%, faster than the U.S. (+3.1%). The Dover metro area scores 50 (upper middle) on the Groundwork market score for pet grooming and boarding businesses, ranking #203 of 386 scored metro areas and the only scored metro area based in Delaware.
How the Dover metro area compares
The same measures for Delaware 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.
| Measure | Dover metro area | Delaware | U.S. |
|---|---|---|---|
| Listings per 10k households | 4.2 | 3.5 | 3.6 |
| Spending per listing | $2.1M | $2.8M | $2.5M |
| Households per official establishment | 4,201 | 6,185 | 5,057 |
| Official establishment growth, 2019–2023 | n/a | +22.6% | +25.2% |
| Population growth, 2020–2025 | +6.8% | +6.9% | +3.1% |
| Spending per household on pets | $881 | $980 | $909 |
| Median household income | $74,477 | $84,954 | $80,734 |
| Groundwork market score | 50 | 81 |
Official counts and lending
Businesses
- Official establishments, 2019 to 2023
- 17
- Employees, 2023
- 105
- Annual payroll, 2023
- $2.5M
- One-person businesses, 2023
- Not publishedNot published for this business type
- Map listings, September 2026
- 303 chain locations
- Listings at the U.S. rate for this spending
- 25The U.S. ratio of listings to household spending, applied here
SBA-backed loans since fiscal 2022
- Loans
- 0
- Amount
- $0
SBA-backed loans to businesses classed as pet care (except veterinary) in the Dover 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 Dover metro area
- Population, 2025 estimate
- 194,786+6.8% since 2020
- Households
- 71,424
- Median age
- 39.6
- Homes lived in by their owners
- 73%
- Vehicles per household
- 1.9
- Land area
- 586 sq. mi.
- People per square mile
- 320
- Median household income
- $74,477+22.3% vs. 2015–2019, before inflation
- Average household income
- $92,801
- Median home value
- $316,600
- Jobs located here
- 66,799
- Daytime population
- 177,320Residents who don’t work, plus everyone whose job is here
Looking at a specific site in the Dover 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 Dover metro area. Signed out, you see a blurred preview; on an account, each report is one action.
Free10 actions over 3 days, no cardPet grooming and boarding across Delaware
Every Delaware market ranked →The highest-scoring metro areas in Delaware for pet grooming and boarding businesses, numbered among those based in Delaware (a market based in another state is listed without a number), with the Dover metro area marked.
Top metro areas in Delaware
| Market | Score | Listings | Per 10k households | Spending per listing | Population growth | U.S. rank |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| 1Dover, DE | 50 | 30 | 4.2 | $2.1M | +6.8% | #203 of 386 |
| Philadelphia-Camden-Wilmington, PA-NJ-DE-MD | 47 | 742 | 3.0 | $2.5M | +1.4% | #222 of 386 |
Other business types in the Dover metro area
Each with its Groundwork market score here, out of 100, where it has one.
Food and drink
Groceries and convenience
Auto
Beauty and personal care
Fitness and classes
Health care
Pets
- Pet businesses58
- Veterinarians76
- Pet grooming and boarding50
- Pet stores38
Child care
Clothing and laundry
Home services
Real estate
Funeral services
Questions
How many pet grooming and boarding businesses are in the Dover, DE metro area?
As of September 2026, map listings count 30 pet grooming and boarding businesses in the Dover metro area. 3 of them (10%) are chain locations. The listings count groomers, boarding, dog daycare and pet sitters. Official counts show 17 businesses with payroll classed as pet care (except veterinary) in 2023.
How much do households in the Dover, DE metro area spend on pets?
About $62.9M a year, or $881 per household. That is 3% below the U.S. average (an index of 97, where 100 is the U.S. average). Spread across the 30 pet grooming and boarding businesses on map listings, it comes to $2.1M 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 71,424 households in the Dover metro area and national spending patterns by income.
How does the Dover, DE metro area compare with the U.S. for pet grooming and boarding businesses?
The Dover metro area has 4.2 pet grooming and boarding businesses per 10,000 households, 17% above the U.S. rate of 3.6. Spending per business is $2.1M, 18% below the U.S. figure of $2.5M. At the U.S. ratio of pet grooming and boarding businesses to household spending, the Dover metro area would have about 25, against 30 on map listings. There is one business with payroll in the industry for every 4,201 households, against one for every 5,057 across the U.S.
How fast is the Dover, DE metro area growing?
Population estimates put the Dover metro area at 194,786 people in 2025, up 6.8% since 2020, faster than the U.S. (+3.1%). It has 71,424 households. Median household income in the Dover metro area is $74,477, 8% below the U.S. median of $80,734. Against the 2015–2019 survey, the median rose 22.3%, 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 Dover metro area scores 50 for pet grooming and boarding businesses (upper middle), #203 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 Dover 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 Dover metro area
Screening a site or an acquisition in the Dover 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 Dover 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.