Pets · Small-town market · Michigan
Pet grooming and boarding businesses in the Alpena, MI area
How the Alpena, MI area compares with other small-town markets and the U.S. for pet grooming and boarding businesses: competitors, household spending, official counts and growth.
Groundwork market score · out of 100
Score 15 out of 100: Low
Ranked #378 of 387 scored small-town markets
#15 of 16 scored small-town markets based in Michigan
- Listings
- 10
- 1 chain location (10%)
- Official establishments
- 4
- Businesses with payroll, 2023
- Household spending a year
- $9.1M
- On pets · $696 a household
- Spending per listing
- $906K
- 64% below the U.S.
- Listings per 10k households
- 7.7
- 2.1 times the U.S.
- Population, 2025
- 28,853
- −0.1% since 2020
See the pet grooming and boarding businesses around any address in the Alpena 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 Alpena 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 Alpena area scores 15 (low) on the Groundwork market score for pet grooming and boarding businesses, ranking #378 of 387 scored small-town markets and #15 of 16 scored small-town markets based in Michigan. That puts it in the bottom quarter of small-town markets.
Map listings as of September 2026 show 10 pet grooming and boarding businesses in the Alpena area. One of them (10%) is a chain location, against 9% across the U.S. That comes to 7.7 for every 10,000 households, 2.1 times the U.S. rate of 3.6.
Household spending on pets in the Alpena area comes to about $9.1M a year: $696 per household, 23% below the U.S. average. That is about $906K of household spending for each business on map listings, 64% 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.
In 2023, official counts showed 4 businesses with payroll in the Alpena area classed as pet care (except veterinary). That is one for every 3,255 households, against one for every 5,057 across the U.S. Population estimates put the population change in the Alpena area from 2020 to 2025 at −0.1%, against +3.1% for the U.S.
How the Alpena area compares
The same measures for Michigan 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 | Alpena area | Michigan | U.S. |
|---|---|---|---|
| Listings per 10k households | 7.7 | 3.8 | 3.6 |
| Spending per listing | $906K | $2.2M | $2.5M |
| Households per official establishment | 3,255 | 5,995 | 5,057 |
| Official establishment growth, 2019–2023 | n/a | +33.1% | +25.2% |
| Population growth, 2020–2025 | −0.1% | +0.6% | +3.1% |
| Spending per household on pets | $696 | $843 | $909 |
| Median household income | $53,950 | $72,875 | $80,734 |
| Groundwork market score | 15 | 45 |
Official counts and lending
Businesses
- Official establishments, 2019 to 2023
- 4
- Employees, 2023
- 6
- Annual payroll, 2023
- $99K
- One-person businesses, 2023
- Not publishedNot published for this business type
- Map listings, September 2026
- 101 chain location
- Listings at the U.S. rate for this spending
- 4The 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 Alpena 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 Alpena area
- Population, 2025 estimate
- 28,853−0.1% since 2020
- Households
- 13,019
- Median age
- 47.4
- Homes lived in by their owners
- 80%
- Vehicles per household
- 1.7
- Land area
- 572 sq. mi.
- People per square mile
- 50
- Median household income
- $53,950+24.4% vs. 2015–2019, before inflation
- Average household income
- $74,418
- Median home value
- $153,900
- Jobs located here
- 11,363
- Daytime population
- 29,194Residents who don’t work, plus everyone whose job is here
Looking at a specific site in the Alpena 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 Alpena 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 Michigan
Every Michigan market ranked →The highest-scoring small-town markets in Michigan for pet grooming and boarding businesses, numbered among those based in Michigan (a market based in another state is listed without a number), with the Alpena area marked.
Top small-town markets in Michigan
| Market | Score | Listings | Per 10k households | Spending per listing | Population growth | U.S. rank |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| 1Petoskey, MI | 66 | 6 | 3.9 | $2.2M | −1.0% | #77 of 387 |
| 2Coldwater, MI | 60 | 6 | 3.5 | $2.1M | +2.5% | #118 of 387 |
| 3Mount Pleasant, MI | 57 | 6 | 2.4 | $2.9M | +0.3% | #140 of 387 |
| 4Cadillac, MI | 53 | 8 | 4.1 | $1.8M | +2.0% | #169 of 387 |
| 5Adrian, MI | 53 | 20 | 5.1 | $1.5M | −1.6% | #174 of 387 |
| 6Hillsdale, MI | 44 | 8 | 4.5 | $1.7M | 0.0% | #240 of 387 |
| Marinette, WI-MI | 43 | 12 | 4.1 | $1.8M | +0.3% | #249 of 387 |
| 7Holland, MI | 43 | 34 | 7.5 | $1.2M | +2.1% | #254 of 387 |
| 8Sturgis, MI | 40 | 11 | 4.7 | $1.6M | +0.1% | #266 of 387 |
| 9Marquette, MI | 39 | 17 | 6.0 | $1.3M | +2.3% | #275 of 387 |
| 15Alpena, MI | 15 | 10 | 7.7 | $906K | −0.1% | #378 of 387 |
Other business types in the Alpena 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 businesses20
- Veterinarians34
- Pet grooming and boarding15
- Pet stores20
Child care
Clothing and laundry
Home services
Real estate
Funeral services
Questions
How many pet grooming and boarding businesses are in the Alpena, MI area?
There are 10 pet grooming and boarding businesses on map listings in the Alpena area as of September 2026. One of them (10%) is a chain location. The listings count groomers, boarding, dog daycare and pet sitters. Official counts show 4 businesses with payroll classed as pet care (except veterinary) in 2023.
How much do households in the Alpena, MI area spend on pets?
About $9.1M a year, or $696 per household. That is 23% below the U.S. average (an index of 77, where 100 is the U.S. average). Spread across the 10 pet grooming and boarding businesses on map listings, it comes to $906K per business. The spending figure covers all pets, not only pet grooming and boarding businesses. It is estimated from the incomes of the 13,019 households in the Alpena area and national spending patterns by income.
How does the Alpena, MI area compare with the U.S. for pet grooming and boarding businesses?
The Alpena area has 7.7 pet grooming and boarding businesses per 10,000 households, 2.1 times the U.S. rate of 3.6. Spending per business is $906K, 64% below the U.S. figure of $2.5M. At the national ratio of pet grooming and boarding businesses to household spending, the Alpena area would have about 4, against 10 on map listings. There is one business with payroll in the industry for every 3,255 households, against one for every 5,057 across the U.S.
How fast is the Alpena, MI area growing?
Population estimates put the Alpena area at 28,853 people in 2025, down 0.1% since 2020, against +3.1% for the U.S. It has 13,019 households. The median household income in the Alpena area is $53,950 a year, 33% below the U.S. median of $80,734. That rose 24.4% 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. 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 Alpena area scores 15 for pet grooming and boarding businesses (low), #378 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 Alpena 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 Alpena area
Screening a site or an acquisition in the Alpena 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 Alpena 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.