Pets · Metro area · Iowa
Pet grooming and boarding businesses in the Waterloo-Cedar Falls, IA metro area
Competitor counts, household spending and official business counts for pet grooming and boarding businesses in the Waterloo-Cedar Falls, IA metro area, set against other metro areas and the U.S.
Groundwork market score · out of 100
Score 45 out of 100: Lower middle
Ranked #240 of 386 scored metro areas
#5 of 8 scored metro areas based in Iowa
- Listings
- 27
- 3 chain locations (11%)
- Official establishments
- 10
- Businesses with payroll, 2023
- Household spending a year
- $55.9M
- On pets · $805 a household
- Spending per listing
- $2.1M
- 19% below the U.S.
- Listings per 10k households
- 3.9
- 8% above the U.S.
- Population, 2025
- 169,189
- +0.5% since 2020
See the pet grooming and boarding businesses around any address in the Waterloo-Cedar Falls 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 Waterloo-Cedar Falls 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
Map listings as of September 2026 show 27 pet grooming and boarding businesses in the Waterloo-Cedar Falls metro area. Chain locations make up 11% of them, against 9% across the U.S. Per 10,000 households, that is 3.9, 8% above the U.S. rate of 3.6.
Households in the Waterloo-Cedar Falls metro area spend about $55.9M a year on pets, or $805 per household, 11% below the U.S. average. Spread across 27 pet grooming and boarding businesses, that is $2.1M per business, 19% 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 10 businesses with payroll classed as pet care (except veterinary) in the Waterloo-Cedar Falls metro area in 2023. That is one for every 6,940 households, against one for every 5,057 across the U.S. Since fiscal 2022, 1 SBA-backed loan worth $189K has gone to businesses classed as pet care (except veterinary) in the Waterloo-Cedar Falls metro area.
Population estimates put the population change in the Waterloo-Cedar Falls metro area from 2020 to 2025 at +0.5%, slower than the U.S. (+3.1%). For pet grooming and boarding businesses, the Waterloo-Cedar Falls metro area has a Groundwork market score of 45 (lower middle): #240 of 386 scored metro areas and #5 of 8 scored metro areas based in Iowa.
How the Waterloo-Cedar Falls 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 | Waterloo-Cedar Falls metro area | Iowa | U.S. |
|---|---|---|---|
| Listings per 10k households | 3.9 | 3.9 | 3.6 |
| Spending per listing | $2.1M | $2.2M | $2.5M |
| Households per official establishment | 6,940 | 4,460 | 5,057 |
| Official establishment growth, 2019–2023 | n/a | +39.8% | +25.2% |
| Population growth, 2020–2025 | +0.5% | +1.5% | +3.1% |
| Spending per household on pets | $805 | $843 | $909 |
| Median household income | $70,811 | $75,059 | $80,734 |
| Groundwork market score | 45 | 35 |
Official counts and lending
Businesses
- Official establishments, 2019 to 2023
- 10
- Employees, 2023
- 94
- Annual payroll, 2023
- $1.7M
- One-person businesses, 2023
- Not publishedNot published for this business type
- Map listings, September 2026
- 273 chain locations
- Listings at the U.S. rate for this spending
- 22The U.S. ratio of listings to household spending, applied here
SBA-backed loans since fiscal 2022
- Loans
- 1
- Amount
- $189K
SBA-backed loans to businesses classed as pet care (except veterinary) in the Waterloo-Cedar Falls 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 Waterloo-Cedar Falls metro area
- Population, 2025 estimate
- 169,189+0.5% since 2020
- Households
- 69,396
- Median age
- 37.8
- Homes lived in by their owners
- 69%
- Vehicles per household
- 1.9
- Land area
- 1,503 sq. mi.
- People per square mile
- 112
- Median household income
- $70,811+23.2% vs. 2015–2019, before inflation
- Average household income
- $92,709
- Median home value
- $194,800
- Jobs located here
- 88,619
- Daytime population
- 179,403Residents who don’t work, plus everyone whose job is here
Looking at a specific site in the Waterloo-Cedar Falls 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 Waterloo-Cedar Falls 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 Waterloo-Cedar Falls 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 Waterloo-Cedar Falls 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 businesses40
- Veterinarians32
- Pet grooming and boarding45
- Pet stores56
Child care
Clothing and laundry
Home services
Real estate
Funeral services
Questions
How many pet grooming and boarding businesses are in the Waterloo-Cedar Falls, IA metro area?
There are 27 pet grooming and boarding businesses on map listings in the Waterloo-Cedar Falls metro area as of September 2026. 3 of them (11%) are chain locations. The listings count groomers, boarding, dog daycare and pet sitters. Official counts show 10 businesses with payroll classed as pet care (except veterinary) in 2023.
How much do households in the Waterloo-Cedar Falls, IA metro area spend on pets?
About $55.9M a year, or $805 per household. That is 11% below the U.S. average (an index of 89, where 100 is the U.S. average). Spread across the 27 pet grooming and boarding businesses on map listings, it comes to $2.1M per business. The spending figure covers all pets, not only pet grooming and boarding businesses. It is estimated from the incomes of the 69,396 households in the Waterloo-Cedar Falls metro area and national spending patterns by income.
How does the Waterloo-Cedar Falls, IA metro area compare with the U.S. for pet grooming and boarding businesses?
The Waterloo-Cedar Falls metro area has 3.9 pet grooming and boarding businesses per 10,000 households, 8% above the U.S. rate of 3.6. Spending per business is $2.1M, 19% below the U.S. figure of $2.5M. At the national ratio of pet grooming and boarding businesses to household spending, the Waterloo-Cedar Falls metro area would have about 22, against 27 on map listings. There is one business with payroll in the industry for every 6,940 households, against one for every 5,057 across the U.S.
How fast is the Waterloo-Cedar Falls, IA metro area growing?
Population estimates put the Waterloo-Cedar Falls metro area at 169,189 people in 2025, up 0.5% since 2020, slower than the U.S. (+3.1%). It has 69,396 households. The median household income in the Waterloo-Cedar Falls metro area is $70,811 a year, 12% below the U.S. median of $80,734. That rose 23.2% 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. 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 Waterloo-Cedar Falls metro area scores 45 for pet grooming and boarding businesses (lower middle), #240 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 Waterloo-Cedar Falls 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 Waterloo-Cedar Falls metro area
Screening a site or an acquisition in the Waterloo-Cedar Falls 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 Waterloo-Cedar Falls 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.