Pets · Small-town market · North Carolina
Pet grooming and boarding businesses in the Elizabeth City, NC area
How the Elizabeth City, NC 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 39 out of 100: Lower middle
Ranked #280 of 387 scored small-town markets
#19 of 20 scored small-town markets based in North Carolina
- Listings
- 16
- 1 chain location (6%)
- Official establishments
- 4
- Businesses with payroll, 2023
- Household spending a year
- $12.8M
- On pets · $813 a household
- Spending per listing
- $802K
- 68% below the U.S.
- Listings per 10k households
- 10.1
- 2.8 times the U.S.
- Population, 2025
- 42,201
- +4.5% since 2020
See the pet grooming and boarding businesses around any address in the Elizabeth City 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 Elizabeth City 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
Household spending on pets in the Elizabeth City area comes to about $12.8M a year: $813 per household, 11% below the U.S. average. That works out to $802K per business, 68% below the U.S. figure of $2.5M. The spending figure covers all pets, not only pet grooming and boarding businesses.
There are 16 pet grooming and boarding businesses on map listings in the Elizabeth City area as of September 2026. One of them (6%) is a chain location, against 9% across the U.S. That is 10.1 per 10,000 households, 2.8 times the U.S. rate of 3.6.
The official count of businesses with payroll classed as pet care (except veterinary) in the Elizabeth City area was 4 in 2023. That is one for every 3,946 households, against one for every 5,057 across the U.S.
Population estimates put the population change in the Elizabeth City area from 2020 to 2025 at +4.5%, faster than the U.S. (+3.1%). The Groundwork market score for pet grooming and boarding businesses in the Elizabeth City area is 39 (lower middle), #280 of 387 scored small-town markets and #19 of 20 scored small-town markets based in North Carolina.
How the Elizabeth City area compares
The same measures for North Carolina 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 | Elizabeth City area | North Carolina | U.S. |
|---|---|---|---|
| Listings per 10k households | 10.1 | 3.8 | 3.6 |
| Spending per listing | $802K | $2.4M | $2.5M |
| Households per official establishment | 3,946 | 4,600 | 5,057 |
| Official establishment growth, 2019–2023 | n/a | +24.0% | +25.2% |
| Population growth, 2020–2025 | +4.5% | +7.2% | +3.1% |
| Spending per household on pets | $813 | $899 | $909 |
| Median household income | $66,589 | $72,388 | $80,734 |
| Groundwork market score | 39 | 56 |
Official counts and lending
Businesses
- Official establishments, 2019 to 2023
- 4
- Employees, 2023
- 10
- Annual payroll, 2023
- $156K
- One-person businesses, 2023
- Not publishedNot published for this business type
- Map listings, September 2026
- 161 chain location
- Listings at the U.S. rate for this spending
- 5The 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 Elizabeth City 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 Elizabeth City area
- Population, 2025 estimate
- 42,201+4.5% since 2020
- Households
- 15,785
- Median age
- 41.0
- Homes lived in by their owners
- 67%
- Vehicles per household
- 2.0
- Land area
- 227 sq. mi.
- People per square mile
- 180
- Median household income
- $66,589
- Average household income
- $85,046
- Median home value
- $234,600
- Jobs located here
- 15,323
- Daytime population
- 38,788Residents who don’t work, plus everyone whose job is here
Looking at a specific site in the Elizabeth City 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 Elizabeth City 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 North Carolina
Every North Carolina market ranked →The highest-scoring small-town markets in North Carolina for pet grooming and boarding businesses, numbered among those based in North Carolina, with the Elizabeth City area marked.
Top small-town markets in North Carolina
| Market | Score | Listings | Per 10k households | Spending per listing | Population growth | U.S. rank |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| 1Anderson Creek, NC | 90 | 18 | 3.6 | $2.4M | +12.3% | #3 of 387 |
| 2Morehead City, NC | 84 | 13 | 4.1 | $2.2M | +4.1% | #8 of 387 |
| 3Sanford, NC | 80 | 10 | 4.0 | $2M | +10.8% | #17 of 387 |
| 4Wilson, NC | 78 | 7 | 2.1 | $3.6M | +1.7% | #19 of 387 |
| 5New Bern, NC | 78 | 15 | 2.9 | $2.8M | +3.6% | #21 of 387 |
| 6Lumberton, NC | 77 | 6 | 1.4 | $4.7M | +3.4% | #25 of 387 |
| 7Kill Devil Hills, NC | 74 | 7 | 4.2 | $2.4M | +3.3% | #35 of 387 |
| 8Washington, NC | 69 | 5 | 2.6 | $3M | 0.0% | #53 of 387 |
| 9Forest City, NC | 69 | 7 | 2.6 | $2.8M | +2.1% | #54 of 387 |
| 10Mount Airy, NC | 66 | 11 | 3.7 | $2M | +1.3% | #78 of 387 |
| 19Elizabeth City, NC | 39 | 16 | 10.1 | $802K | +4.5% | #280 of 387 |
Other business types in the Elizabeth City 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 businesses38
- Veterinarians75
- Pet grooming and boarding39
- Pet stores43
Child care
Clothing and laundry
Home services
Real estate
Funeral services
Questions
How many pet grooming and boarding businesses are in the Elizabeth City, NC area?
As of September 2026, map listings count 16 pet grooming and boarding businesses in the Elizabeth City area. One of them (6%) 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 Elizabeth City, NC area spend on pets?
About $12.8M a year, or $813 per household. That is 11% below the U.S. average (an index of 89, where 100 is the U.S. average). Spread across the 16 pet grooming and boarding businesses on map listings, it comes to $802K 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 15,785 households in the Elizabeth City area and national spending patterns by income.
How does the Elizabeth City, NC area compare with the U.S. for pet grooming and boarding businesses?
The Elizabeth City area has 10.1 pet grooming and boarding businesses per 10,000 households, 2.8 times the U.S. rate of 3.6. Spending per business is $802K, 68% below the U.S. figure of $2.5M. At the U.S. ratio of pet grooming and boarding businesses to household spending, the Elizabeth City area would have about 5, against 16 on map listings. There is one business with payroll in the industry for every 3,946 households, against one for every 5,057 across the U.S.
How fast is the Elizabeth City, NC area growing?
Population estimates put the Elizabeth City area at 42,201 people in 2025, up 4.5% since 2020, faster than the U.S. (+3.1%). It has 15,785 households. Median household income in the Elizabeth City area is $66,589, 18% below the U.S. median of $80,734.
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 Elizabeth City area scores 39 for pet grooming and boarding businesses (lower middle), #280 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 Elizabeth City 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 Elizabeth City area
Screening a site or an acquisition in the Elizabeth City 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 Elizabeth City 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.