Pets · Small-town market · Illinois
Pet grooming and boarding businesses in the Sterling, IL area
Competitor counts, household spending and official business counts for pet grooming and boarding businesses in the Sterling, IL area, set against other small-town markets and the U.S.
Groundwork market score · out of 100
Score 35 out of 100: Lower middle
Ranked #310 of 387 scored small-town markets
#11 of 17 scored small-town markets based in Illinois
- Listings
- 11
- 1 chain location (9%)
- Official establishments
- n/a
- Fewer than 3, or not published
- Household spending a year
- $17.8M
- On pets · $768 a household
- Spending per listing
- $1.6M
- 37% below the U.S.
- Listings per 10k households
- 4.8
- 33% above the U.S.
- Population, 2025
- 54,121
- −2.6% since 2020
See the pet grooming and boarding businesses around any address in the Sterling 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 Sterling 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
The Sterling area scores 35 (lower middle) on the Groundwork market score for pet grooming and boarding businesses, ranking #310 of 387 scored small-town markets and #11 of 17 scored small-town markets based in Illinois. That puts it in the bottom quarter of small-town markets.
Households in the Sterling area spend about $17.8M a year on pets, or $768 per household, 16% below the U.S. average. That works out to $1.6M per business, 37% below the U.S. figure of $2.5M. The spending figure covers all pets, not only pet grooming and boarding businesses.
The Sterling area has 11 pet grooming and boarding businesses on map listings as of September 2026. One of them (9%) is a chain location, against 9% across the U.S. That is 4.8 per 10,000 households, 33% above the U.S. rate of 3.6.
Official counts don’t publish a figure for pet care (except veterinary) in the Sterling area, since they leave out counts under 3. Population estimates put the population change in the Sterling area from 2020 to 2025 at −2.6%, against +3.1% for the U.S.
How the Sterling 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.
| Measure | Sterling area | Illinois | U.S. |
|---|---|---|---|
| Listings per 10k households | 4.8 | 3.7 | 3.6 |
| Spending per listing | $1.6M | $2.5M | $2.5M |
| Households per official establishment | n/a | 4,933 | 5,057 |
| Official establishment growth, 2019–2023 | n/a | +12.9% | +25.2% |
| Population growth, 2020–2025 | −2.6% | −0.6% | +3.1% |
| Spending per household on pets | $768 | $925 | $909 |
| Median household income | $67,500 | $83,390 | $80,734 |
| Groundwork market score | 35 | 48 |
Official counts and lending
Businesses
- Official establishments, 2019 to 2023
- n/a
- Employees, 2023
- n/a
- Annual payroll, 2023
- n/a
- One-person businesses, 2023
- Not publishedNot published for this business type
- Map listings, September 2026
- 111 chain location
- Listings at the U.S. rate for this spending
- 7The 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 Sterling 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 Sterling area
- Population, 2025 estimate
- 54,121−2.6% since 2020
- Households
- 23,120
- Median age
- 43.5
- Homes lived in by their owners
- 77%
- Vehicles per household
- 1.8
- Land area
- 684 sq. mi.
- People per square mile
- 80
- Median household income
- $67,500+24.5% vs. 2015–2019, before inflation
- Average household income
- $86,592
- Median home value
- $127,100
- Jobs located here
- 20,819
- Daytime population
- 50,543Residents who don’t work, plus everyone whose job is here
Looking at a specific site in the Sterling 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 Sterling 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 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 Sterling area marked.
Top small-town markets in Illinois
| Market | Score | Listings | Per 10k households | Spending per listing | Population growth | U.S. rank |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| 1Rochelle, IL | 66 | 7 | 3.4 | $2.5M | −0.7% | #75 of 387 |
| 2Dixon, IL | 54 | 5 | 3.7 | $2.2M | −3.4% | #162 of 387 |
| 3Quincy, IL-MO | 50 | 15 | 4.8 | $1.6M | −2.0% | #193 of 387 |
| 4Marion-Herrin, IL | 49 | 15 | 5.2 | $1.5M | +0.2% | #207 of 387 |
| 5Effingham, IL | 47 | 8 | 4.4 | $1.9M | −0.9% | #218 of 387 |
| 6Pontiac, IL | 47 | 7 | 4.8 | $1.7M | −2.1% | #220 of 387 |
| 7Canton, IL | 45 | 5 | 3.6 | $2M | −2.0% | #233 of 387 |
| 8Lincoln, IL | 43 | 5 | 4.4 | $1.8M | −2.5% | #250 of 387 |
| 9Danville, IL | 38 | 11 | 3.7 | $2M | −3.7% | #281 of 387 |
| 10Ottawa, IL | 37 | 33 | 5.3 | $1.5M | −1.6% | #296 of 387 |
| 11Sterling, IL | 35 | 11 | 4.8 | $1.6M | −2.6% | #310 of 387 |
Other business types in the Sterling 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 businesses62
- Veterinarians65
- Pet grooming and boarding35
- Pet stores
Child care
Clothing and laundry
Home services
Real estate
Funeral services
Questions
How many pet grooming and boarding businesses are in the Sterling, IL area?
Map listings as of September 2026 show 11 pet grooming and boarding businesses in the Sterling area. One of them (9%) is a chain location. The listings count groomers, boarding, dog daycare and pet sitters. No official count is published for pet care (except veterinary) in the Sterling area: counts under 3 are left out.
How much do households in the Sterling, IL area spend on pets?
About $17.8M a year, or $768 per household. That is 16% below the U.S. average (an index of 84, where 100 is the U.S. average). Spread across the 11 pet grooming and boarding businesses on map listings, it comes to $1.6M 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 23,120 households in the Sterling area and national spending patterns by income.
How does the Sterling, IL area compare with the U.S. for pet grooming and boarding businesses?
The Sterling 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 $1.6M, 37% below the U.S. figure of $2.5M. At the U.S. ratio of pet grooming and boarding businesses to household spending, the Sterling area would have about 7, against 11 on map listings.
How fast is the Sterling, IL area growing?
Population estimates put the Sterling area at 54,121 people in 2025, down 2.6% since 2020, against +3.1% for the U.S. It has 23,120 households. Median household income in the Sterling area is $67,500, 16% below the U.S. median of $80,734. Against the 2015–2019 survey, the median rose 24.5%, 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 Sterling area scores 35 for pet grooming and boarding businesses (lower middle), #310 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 Sterling 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 Sterling area
Screening a site or an acquisition in the Sterling 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 Sterling 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.