Groundwork

Pets · Small-town market · Illinois

Pet grooming and boarding businesses in the Pontiac, IL area

How the Pontiac, IL area compares with other small-town markets and the U.S. for pet grooming and boarding businesses: competitors, household spending, official counts and growth.

Groundwork market score · out of 100

Score 47 out of 100: Lower middle

Ranked #220 of 387 scored small-town markets
#6 of 17 scored small-town markets based in Illinois

Listings
7
0 chain locations (0%)
Official establishments
3
Businesses with payroll, 2023
Household spending a year
$12M
On pets · $822 a household
Spending per listing
$1.7M
33% below the U.S.
Listings per 10k households
4.8
33% above the U.S.
Population, 2025
35,057
−2.1% since 2020

See the pet grooming and boarding businesses around any address in the Pontiac 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 Pontiac 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 7 pet grooming and boarding businesses in the Pontiac area. None of them are chain locations, against 9% across the U.S. That comes to 4.8 for every 10,000 households, 33% above the U.S. rate of 3.6.

Household spending on pets in the Pontiac area comes to about $12M a year: $822 per household, 10% below the U.S. average. That works out to $1.7M per business, 33% 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 3 businesses with payroll classed as pet care (except veterinary) in the Pontiac area in 2023. That is one for every 4,872 households, against one for every 5,057 across the U.S.

Population estimates put the population change in the Pontiac area from 2020 to 2025 at −2.1%, against +3.1% for the U.S. The Groundwork market score for pet grooming and boarding businesses in the Pontiac area is 47 (lower middle), #220 of 387 scored small-town markets and #6 of 17 scored small-town markets based in Illinois.

How the Pontiac area compares

The same measures for Illinois 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 Pontiac, IL area compared with Illinois and the U.S.
MeasurePontiac areaIllinoisU.S.
Listings per 10k households4.83.73.6
Spending per listing$1.7M$2.5M$2.5M
Households per official establishment4,8724,9335,057
Official establishment growth, 2019–2023n/a+12.9%+25.2%
Population growth, 2020–2025−2.1%−0.6%+3.1%
Spending per household on pets$822$925$909
Median household income$73,790$83,390$80,734
Groundwork market score4748

Official counts and lending

Businesses

Official establishments, 2019 to 2023
3
Employees, 2023
13
Annual payroll, 2023
$228K
One-person businesses, 2023
Not publishedNot published for this business type
Map listings, September 2026
70 chain locations
Listings at the U.S. rate for this spending
5The 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 Pontiac 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 Pontiac area

Population, 2025 estimate
35,057−2.1% since 2020
Households
14,615
Median age
41.3
Homes lived in by their owners
74%
Vehicles per household
1.9
Land area
1,044 sq. mi.
People per square mile
34
Median household income
$73,790+33.8% vs. 2015–2019, before inflation
Average household income
$91,317
Median home value
$142,200
Jobs located here
12,813
Daytime population
32,838Residents who don’t work, plus everyone whose job is here

Looking at a specific site in the Pontiac area?

These figures cover the whole small-town market. 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 Pontiac 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 Illinois

Every Illinois market ranked →

The highest-scoring small-town markets in Illinois for pet grooming and boarding businesses, numbered among those based in Illinois, with the Pontiac area marked.

Top small-town markets in Illinois

Small-town markets in Illinois ranked for pet grooming and boarding businesses by Groundwork market score
MarketScoreListingsPer 10k householdsSpending per listingPopulation growthU.S. rank
1Rochelle, IL6673.4$2.5M−0.7%#75 of 387
2Dixon, IL5453.7$2.2M−3.4%#162 of 387
3Quincy, IL-MO50154.8$1.6M−2.0%#193 of 387
4Marion-Herrin, IL49155.2$1.5M+0.2%#207 of 387
5Effingham, IL4784.4$1.9M−0.9%#218 of 387
6Pontiac, IL4774.8$1.7M−2.1%#220 of 387
7Canton, IL4553.6$2M−2.0%#233 of 387
8Lincoln, IL4354.4$1.8M−2.5%#250 of 387
9Danville, IL38113.7$2M−3.7%#281 of 387
10Ottawa, IL37335.3$1.5M−1.6%#296 of 387

Other business types in the Pontiac 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 Pontiac, IL area?

There are 7 pet grooming and boarding businesses on map listings in the Pontiac area as of September 2026. None of them are chain locations. The listings count groomers, boarding, dog daycare and pet sitters. Official counts show 3 businesses with payroll classed as pet care (except veterinary) in 2023.

How much do households in the Pontiac, IL area spend on pets?

About $12M a year, or $822 per household. That is 10% below the U.S. average (an index of 90, where 100 is the U.S. average). Spread across the 7 pet grooming and boarding businesses on map listings, it comes to $1.7M per business. The spending figure covers all pets, not only pet grooming and boarding businesses. It is estimated from the incomes of the 14,615 households in the Pontiac area and national spending patterns by income.

How does the Pontiac, IL area compare with the U.S. for pet grooming and boarding businesses?

The Pontiac area has 4.8 pet grooming and boarding businesses per 10,000 households, 33% above the U.S. rate of 3.6. Spending per business is $1.7M, 33% below the U.S. figure of $2.5M. At the national ratio of pet grooming and boarding businesses to household spending, the Pontiac area would have about 5, against 7 on map listings. There is one business with payroll in the industry for every 4,872 households, against one for every 5,057 across the U.S.

How fast is the Pontiac, IL area growing?

Population estimates put the Pontiac area at 35,057 people in 2025, down 2.1% since 2020, against +3.1% for the U.S. It has 14,615 households. The median household income in the Pontiac area is $73,790 a year, 9% below the U.S. median of $80,734. That rose 33.8% 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. A small-town market is a town of 10,000 to 50,000 people and the county or counties tied to it by commuting. 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 Pontiac area scores 47 for pet grooming and boarding businesses (lower middle), #220 of 387 scored small-town markets.

How can I see the market around a specific site?

Run a Groundwork site report on an address in the Pontiac 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 Pontiac area

Screening a site or an acquisition in the Pontiac 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 Pontiac 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.