Groundwork

Pets · County · Massachusetts

Pet grooming and boarding businesses in Worcester County, MA

Competitor counts, household spending and official business counts for pet grooming and boarding businesses in Worcester County, MA, set against other counties and the U.S.

Groundwork market score · out of 100

Score 38 out of 100: Lower middle

Ranked #1,017 of 1,461 scored counties
#5 of 13 scored counties in Massachusetts

Listings
148
8 chain locations (5%)
Official establishments
87
+33.9% since 2019
Household spending a year
$245.6M
On pets · $731 a household
Spending per listing
$1.7M
35% below the U.S.
Listings per 10k households
4.4
22% above the U.S.
Population, 2025
888,502
+3.7% since 2020

See the pet grooming and boarding businesses around any address in Worcester County

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 Worcester County. 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

Households in Worcester County spend about $245.6M a year on pets, or $731 per household, 20% below the U.S. average. Spread across 148 pet grooming and boarding businesses, that is $1.7M per business, 35% below the U.S. figure of $2.5M. The spending figure covers all pets, not only pet grooming and boarding businesses.

Worcester County has 148 pet grooming and boarding businesses on map listings as of September 2026. Chain locations make up 5% of them, against 9% across the U.S. That comes to 4.4 for every 10,000 households, 22% above the U.S. rate of 3.6.

The official count of businesses with payroll classed as pet care (except veterinary) in Worcester County was 87 in 2023, up 33.9% from 2019. That is one for every 3,860 households, against one for every 5,057 across the U.S. Since fiscal 2022, 3 SBA-backed loans worth $1.8M have gone to businesses classed as pet care (except veterinary) in Worcester County.

Population estimates show Worcester County grew 3.7% from 2020 to 2025, faster than the U.S. (+3.1%). The Groundwork market score for pet grooming and boarding businesses in Worcester County is 38 (lower middle), #1,017 of 1,461 scored counties and #5 of 13 scored counties in Massachusetts.

How Worcester County 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.

Pet grooming and boarding in Worcester County, MA compared with Massachusetts and the U.S.
MeasureWorcester CountyMassachusettsU.S.
Listings per 10k households4.44.33.6
Spending per listing$1.7M$1.8M$2.5M
Households per official establishment3,8603,6695,057
Official establishment growth, 2019–2023+33.9%+16.1%+25.2%
Population growth, 2020–2025+3.7%+2.4%+3.1%
Spending per household on pets$731$776$909
Median household income$95,939$103,960$80,734
Groundwork market score3818

Official counts and lending

Businesses

Official establishments, 2019 to 2023
65 → 87+33.9% over the period
Employees, 2023
571
Annual payroll, 2023
$18.8M
One-person businesses, 2023
Not publishedNot published for this business type
Map listings, September 2026
1488 chain locations
Listings at the U.S. rate for this spending
97The U.S. ratio of listings to household spending, applied here

SBA-backed loans since fiscal 2022

Loans
3
Amount
$1.8M

SBA-backed loans to businesses classed as pet care (except veterinary) in Worcester County, 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 Worcester County

Population, 2025 estimate
888,502+3.7% since 2020
Households
335,826
Median age
41.3
Homes lived in by their owners
66%
Vehicles per household
1.8
Land area
1,511 sq. mi.
People per square mile
574
Median household income
$95,939+28.5% vs. 2015–2019, before inflation
Average household income
$124,653
Median home value
$423,700
Jobs located here
355,505
Daytime population
797,239Residents who don’t work, plus everyone whose job is here

Looking at a specific site in Worcester County?

These figures cover the whole county. 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 Worcester County. Signed out, you see a blurred preview; on an account, each report is one action.

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Pet grooming and boarding across Massachusetts

Every Massachusetts market ranked →

The highest-scoring counties in Massachusetts for pet grooming and boarding businesses, numbered among those based in Massachusetts, with Worcester County marked.

Top counties in Massachusetts

Counties in Massachusetts ranked for pet grooming and boarding businesses by Groundwork market score
MarketScoreListingsPer 10k householdsSpending per listingPopulation growthU.S. rank
1Suffolk County, MA59672.0$3.6M+0.1%#501 of 1,461
2Middlesex County, MA522784.4$2M+2.8%#684 of 1,461
3Hampden County, MA51532.9$2.1M+0.2%#710 of 1,461
4Norfolk County, MA441344.7$1.9M+2.2%#863 of 1,461
5Worcester County, MA381484.4$1.7M+3.7%#1,017 of 1,461
6Essex County, MA321484.7$1.6M+2.3%#1,140 of 1,461
7Franklin County, MA30144.4$1.4M−0.3%#1,190 of 1,461
8Hampshire County, MA30386.1$1.1M+10.4%#1,196 of 1,461
9Bristol County, MA291124.8$1.4M+2.9%#1,204 of 1,461
10Dukes County, MA2956.6$1.3M+3.1%#1,211 of 1,461

Other business types in Worcester County

Each with its Groundwork market score here, out of 100, where it has one.

Questions

How many pet grooming and boarding businesses are in Worcester County, MA?

Map listings as of September 2026 show 148 pet grooming and boarding businesses in Worcester County. 8 of them (5%) are chain locations. The listings count groomers, boarding, dog daycare and pet sitters. Official counts show 87 businesses with payroll classed as pet care (except veterinary) in 2023, up 33.9% from 2019.

How much do households in Worcester County, MA spend on pets?

About $245.6M a year, or $731 per household. That is 20% below the U.S. average (an index of 80, where 100 is the U.S. average). Spread across the 148 pet grooming and boarding businesses on map listings, it comes to $1.7M 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 335,826 households in Worcester County and national spending patterns by income.

How does Worcester County, MA compare with the U.S. for pet grooming and boarding businesses?

Worcester County has 4.4 pet grooming and boarding businesses per 10,000 households, 22% above the U.S. rate of 3.6. Spending per business is $1.7M, 35% below the U.S. figure of $2.5M. At the U.S. ratio of pet grooming and boarding businesses to household spending, Worcester County would have about 97, against 148 on map listings. There is one business with payroll in the industry for every 3,860 households, against one for every 5,057 across the U.S. The official count rose 33.9% from 2019 to 2023, against +25.2% for the U.S.

How fast is Worcester County, MA growing?

Population estimates put Worcester County at 888,502 people in 2025, up 3.7% since 2020, faster than the U.S. (+3.1%). It has 335,826 households. Median household income in Worcester County is $95,939, 19% above the U.S. median of $80,734. Against the 2015–2019 survey, the median rose 28.5%, 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. 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. Worcester County scores 38 for pet grooming and boarding businesses (lower middle), #1,017 of 1,461 scored counties.

How can I see the market around a specific site?

Run a Groundwork site report on an address in Worcester County. 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 Worcester County

Screening a site or an acquisition in Worcester County?

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 Worcester County. 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.