Pets · Metro area · Iowa
Pet grooming and boarding businesses in the Iowa City, IA metro area
How the Iowa City, IA metro area compares with other metro areas and the U.S. for pet grooming and boarding businesses: competitors, household spending, official counts and growth.
Groundwork market score · out of 100
Score 62 out of 100: Upper middle
Ranked #101 of 386 scored metro areas
#2 of 8 scored metro areas based in Iowa
- Listings
- 20
- 1 chain location (5%)
- Official establishments
- 17
- Businesses with payroll, 2023
- Household spending a year
- $63M
- On pets · $871 a household
- Spending per listing
- $3.1M
- 24% above the U.S.
- Listings per 10k households
- 2.8
- 22% below the U.S.
- Population, 2025
- 182,711
- +4.1% since 2020
See the pet grooming and boarding businesses around any address in the Iowa City 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 Iowa City 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 Iowa City metro area spend about $63M a year on pets, or $871 per household, 4% below the U.S. average. That is about $3.1M of household spending for each business on map listings, 24% above the U.S. figure of $2.5M. The spending figure covers all pets, not only pet grooming and boarding businesses.
The Iowa City metro area has 20 pet grooming and boarding businesses on map listings as of September 2026. One of them (5%) is a chain location, against 9% across the U.S. That comes to 2.8 for every 10,000 households, 22% below the U.S. rate of 3.6.
In 2023, official counts showed 17 businesses with payroll in the Iowa City metro area classed as pet care (except veterinary). That is one for every 4,254 households, against one for every 5,057 across the U.S. Since fiscal 2022, 1 SBA-backed loan worth $1.1M has gone to businesses classed as pet care (except veterinary) in the Iowa City metro area.
Between 2020 and 2025, the population of the Iowa City metro area grew 4.1%, faster than the U.S. (+3.1%). The Groundwork market score for pet grooming and boarding businesses in the Iowa City metro area is 62 (upper middle), #101 of 386 scored metro areas and #2 of 8 scored metro areas based in Iowa.
How the Iowa City metro area compares
The same measures for Iowa 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 | Iowa City metro area | Iowa | U.S. |
|---|---|---|---|
| Listings per 10k households | 2.8 | 3.9 | 3.6 |
| Spending per listing | $3.1M | $2.2M | $2.5M |
| Households per official establishment | 4,254 | 4,460 | 5,057 |
| Official establishment growth, 2019–2023 | n/a | +39.8% | +25.2% |
| Population growth, 2020–2025 | +4.1% | +1.5% | +3.1% |
| Spending per household on pets | $871 | $843 | $909 |
| Median household income | $75,088 | $75,059 | $80,734 |
| Groundwork market score | 62 | 35 |
Official counts and lending
Businesses
- Official establishments, 2019 to 2023
- 17
- Employees, 2023
- 162
- Annual payroll, 2023
- $2.6M
- One-person businesses, 2023
- Not publishedNot published for this business type
- Map listings, September 2026
- 201 chain location
- 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
- 1
- Amount
- $1.1M
SBA-backed loans to businesses classed as pet care (except veterinary) in the Iowa City 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 Iowa City metro area
- Population, 2025 estimate
- 182,711+4.1% since 2020
- Households
- 72,313
- Median age
- 35.3
- Homes lived in by their owners
- 61%
- Vehicles per household
- 1.8
- Land area
- 1,182 sq. mi.
- People per square mile
- 152
- Median household income
- $75,088+20.1% vs. 2015–2019, before inflation
- Average household income
- $107,246
- Median home value
- $293,600
- Jobs located here
- 96,346
- Daytime population
- 190,647Residents who don’t work, plus everyone whose job is here
Looking at a specific site in the Iowa City 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 Iowa City 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 Iowa
Every Iowa market ranked →The highest-scoring metro areas in Iowa for pet grooming and boarding businesses, numbered among those based in Iowa (a market based in another state is listed without a number), with the Iowa City metro area marked.
Top metro areas in Iowa
| Market | Score | Listings | Per 10k households | Spending per listing | Population growth | U.S. rank |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| Omaha, NE-IA | 66 | 135 | 3.5 | $2.7M | +4.2% | #75 of 386 |
| 1Ames, IA | 64 | 13 | 2.6 | $3.2M | +2.2% | #86 of 386 |
| 2Iowa City, IA | 62 | 20 | 2.8 | $3.1M | +4.1% | #101 of 386 |
| 3Des Moines-West Des Moines, IA | 54 | 117 | 4.0 | $2.3M | +6.7% | #166 of 386 |
| 4Sioux City, IA-NE-SD | 52 | 13 | 2.3 | $3.5M | +1.0% | #178 of 386 |
| 5Waterloo-Cedar Falls, IA | 45 | 27 | 3.9 | $2.1M | +0.5% | #240 of 386 |
| 6Davenport-Moline-Rock Island, IA-IL | 34 | 71 | 4.4 | $1.9M | −0.9% | #309 of 386 |
| 7Cedar Rapids, IA | 33 | 48 | 4.2 | $2.1M | +1.0% | #312 of 386 |
| 8Dubuque, IA | 28 | 23 | 5.6 | $1.5M | +0.1% | #343 of 386 |
Other business types in the Iowa City 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 businesses56
- Veterinarians53
- Pet grooming and boarding62
- Pet stores60
Child care
Clothing and laundry
Home services
Real estate
Funeral services
Questions
How many pet grooming and boarding businesses are in the Iowa City, IA metro area?
Map listings as of September 2026 show 20 pet grooming and boarding businesses in the Iowa City metro area. One of them (5%) is a chain location. 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 Iowa City, IA metro area spend on pets?
About $63M a year, or $871 per household. That is 4% below the U.S. average (an index of 96, where 100 is the U.S. average). Spread across the 20 pet grooming and boarding businesses on map listings, it comes to $3.1M 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 72,313 households in the Iowa City metro area and national spending patterns by income.
How does the Iowa City, IA metro area compare with the U.S. for pet grooming and boarding businesses?
The Iowa City metro area has 2.8 pet grooming and boarding businesses per 10,000 households, 22% below the U.S. rate of 3.6. Spending per business is $3.1M, 24% above the U.S. figure of $2.5M. At the U.S. ratio of pet grooming and boarding businesses to household spending, the Iowa City metro area would have about 25, against 20 on map listings. There is one business with payroll in the industry for every 4,254 households, against one for every 5,057 across the U.S.
How fast is the Iowa City, IA metro area growing?
Population estimates put the Iowa City metro area at 182,711 people in 2025, up 4.1% since 2020, faster than the U.S. (+3.1%). It has 72,313 households. Median household income in the Iowa City metro area is $75,088, 7% below the U.S. median of $80,734. Against the 2015–2019 survey, the median rose 20.1%, 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 Iowa City metro area scores 62 for pet grooming and boarding businesses (upper middle), #101 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 Iowa City 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 Iowa City metro area
Screening a site or an acquisition in the Iowa City 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 Iowa City 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.