Pets · Metro area · Massachusetts
Pet grooming and boarding businesses in the Boston-Cambridge-Newton, MA-NH metro area
Competitor counts, household spending and official business counts for pet grooming and boarding businesses in the Boston-Cambridge-Newton, MA-NH metro area, set against other metro areas and the U.S.
Groundwork market score · out of 100
Score 26 out of 100: Lower middle
Ranked #349 of 386 scored metro areas
#2 of 6 scored metro areas based in Massachusetts
- Listings
- 886
- 87 chain locations (10%)
- Official establishments
- 588
- +16.0% since 2019
- Household spending a year
- $1.6B
- On pets · $823 a household
- Spending per listing
- $1.8M
- 29% below the U.S.
- Listings per 10k households
- 4.6
- 28% above the U.S.
- Population, 2025
- 5,034,221
- +2.3% since 2020
See the pet grooming and boarding businesses around any address in the Boston-Cambridge-Newton 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 Boston-Cambridge-Newton 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
The Groundwork market score for pet grooming and boarding businesses in the Boston-Cambridge-Newton metro area is 26 (lower middle), #349 of 386 scored metro areas and #2 of 6 scored metro areas based in Massachusetts. That puts it in the bottom quarter of metro areas.
Household spending on pets in the Boston-Cambridge-Newton metro area comes to about $1.6B a year: $823 per household, 10% below the U.S. average. That works out to $1.8M per business, 29% below the U.S. figure of $2.5M. The spending figure covers all pets, not only pet grooming and boarding businesses.
There are 886 pet grooming and boarding businesses on map listings in the Boston-Cambridge-Newton metro area as of September 2026. Chain locations make up 10% of them, against 9% across the U.S. That comes to 4.6 for every 10,000 households, 28% above the U.S. rate of 3.6.
The official count of businesses with payroll classed as pet care (except veterinary) in the Boston-Cambridge-Newton metro area was 588 in 2023, up 16.0% from 2019. That is one for every 3,300 households, against one for every 5,057 across the U.S. Since fiscal 2022, 60 SBA-backed loans worth $18.3M have gone to businesses classed as pet care (except veterinary) in the Boston-Cambridge-Newton metro area. Between 2020 and 2025, the population of the Boston-Cambridge-Newton metro area grew 2.3%, slower than the U.S. (+3.1%).
How the Boston-Cambridge-Newton metro area compares
The same measures for Massachusetts 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 | Boston-Cambridge-Newton metro area | Massachusetts | U.S. |
|---|---|---|---|
| Listings per 10k households | 4.6 | 4.3 | 3.6 |
| Spending per listing | $1.8M | $1.8M | $2.5M |
| Households per official establishment | 3,300 | 3,669 | 5,057 |
| Official establishment growth, 2019–2023 | +16.0% | +16.1% | +25.2% |
| Population growth, 2020–2025 | +2.3% | +2.4% | +3.1% |
| Spending per household on pets | $823 | $776 | $909 |
| Median household income | $115,863 | $103,960 | $80,734 |
| Groundwork market score | 26 | 18 |
Official counts and lending
Businesses
- Official establishments, 2019 to 2023
- 588+16.0% over the period
- Employees, 2023
- 4,257
- Annual payroll, 2023
- $126.3M
- One-person businesses, 2023
- Not publishedNot published for this business type
- Map listings, September 2026
- 88687 chain locations
- Listings at the U.S. rate for this spending
- 627The U.S. ratio of listings to household spending, applied here
SBA-backed loans since fiscal 2022
- Loans
- 60
- Amount
- $18.3M
SBA-backed loans to businesses classed as pet care (except veterinary) in the Boston-Cambridge-Newton 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 Boston-Cambridge-Newton metro area
- Population, 2025 estimate
- 5,034,221+2.3% since 2020
- Households
- 1,940,688
- Median age
- 40.8
- Homes lived in by their owners
- 62%
- Vehicles per household
- 1.6
- Land area
- 3,486 sq. mi.
- People per square mile
- 1,421
- Median household income
- $115,863+28.3% vs. 2015–2019, before inflation
- Average household income
- $159,721
- Median home value
- $646,300
- Jobs located here
- 2,811,395
- Daytime population
- 5,216,901Residents who don’t work, plus everyone whose job is here
Looking at a specific site in the Boston-Cambridge-Newton 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 Boston-Cambridge-Newton 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 Massachusetts
Every Massachusetts market ranked →The highest-scoring metro areas in Massachusetts for pet grooming and boarding businesses, numbered among those based in Massachusetts (a market based in another state is listed without a number), with the Boston-Cambridge-Newton metro area marked.
Top metro areas in Massachusetts
| Market | Score | Listings | Per 10k households | Spending per listing | Population growth | U.S. rank |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| 1Springfield, MA | 42 | 53 | 2.9 | $2.1M | +0.2% | #263 of 386 |
| 2Boston-Cambridge-Newton, MA-NH | 26 | 886 | 4.6 | $1.8M | +2.3% | #349 of 386 |
| 3Worcester, MA | 25 | 148 | 4.4 | $1.7M | +3.7% | #356 of 386 |
| 4Amherst Town-Northampton, MA | 23 | 38 | 6.1 | $1.1M | +10.4% | #363 of 386 |
| 5Barnstable Town, MA | 15 | 57 | 5.4 | $1.4M | +2.4% | #377 of 386 |
| Providence-Warwick, RI-MA | 15 | 341 | 5.0 | $1.4M | +2.1% | #378 of 386 |
| 6Pittsfield, MA | 10 | 25 | 4.3 | $1.5M | −1.2% | #383 of 386 |
Other business types in the Boston-Cambridge-Newton 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 businesses41
- Veterinarians60
- Pet grooming and boarding26
- Pet stores47
Child care
Clothing and laundry
Home services
Real estate
Funeral services
Questions
How many pet grooming and boarding businesses are in the Boston-Cambridge-Newton, MA-NH metro area?
As of September 2026, map listings count 886 pet grooming and boarding businesses in the Boston-Cambridge-Newton metro area. 87 of them (10%) are chain locations. The listings count groomers, boarding, dog daycare and pet sitters. Official counts show 588 businesses with payroll classed as pet care (except veterinary) in 2023, up 16.0% from 2019.
How much do households in the Boston-Cambridge-Newton, MA-NH metro area spend on pets?
About $1.6B a year, or $823 per household. That is 10% below the U.S. average (an index of 90, where 100 is the U.S. average). Spread across the 886 pet grooming and boarding businesses on map listings, it comes to $1.8M 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 1,940,688 households in the Boston-Cambridge-Newton metro area and national spending patterns by income.
How does the Boston-Cambridge-Newton, MA-NH metro area compare with the U.S. for pet grooming and boarding businesses?
The Boston-Cambridge-Newton metro area has 4.6 pet grooming and boarding businesses per 10,000 households, 28% above the U.S. rate of 3.6. Spending per business is $1.8M, 29% below the U.S. figure of $2.5M. At the U.S. ratio of pet grooming and boarding businesses to household spending, the Boston-Cambridge-Newton metro area would have about 627, against 886 on map listings. There is one business with payroll in the industry for every 3,300 households, against one for every 5,057 across the U.S. The official count rose 16.0% from 2019 to 2023, against +25.2% for the U.S.
How fast is the Boston-Cambridge-Newton, MA-NH metro area growing?
Population estimates put the Boston-Cambridge-Newton metro area at 5,034,221 people in 2025, up 2.3% since 2020, slower than the U.S. (+3.1%). It has 1,940,688 households. Median household income in the Boston-Cambridge-Newton metro area is $115,863, 44% above the U.S. median of $80,734. Against the 2015–2019 survey, the median rose 28.3%, 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 Boston-Cambridge-Newton metro area scores 26 for pet grooming and boarding businesses (lower middle), #349 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 Boston-Cambridge-Newton 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 Boston-Cambridge-Newton metro area
Screening a site or an acquisition in the Boston-Cambridge-Newton 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 Boston-Cambridge-Newton 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.