Groundwork

Pets · County · North Carolina

Pet grooming and boarding businesses in Onslow County, NC

How Onslow County, NC compares with other counties and the U.S. for pet grooming and boarding businesses: competitors, household spending, official counts and growth.

Groundwork market score · out of 100

Score 40 out of 100: Lower middle

Ranked #971 of 1,461 scored counties
#56 of 67 scored counties in North Carolina

Listings
39
2 chain locations (5%)
Official establishments
25
Businesses with payroll, 2023
Household spending a year
$61.7M
On pets · $819 a household
Spending per listing
$1.6M
38% below the U.S.
Listings per 10k households
5.2
44% above the U.S.
Population, 2025
217,175
+6.0% since 2020

See the pet grooming and boarding businesses around any address in Onslow 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 Onslow County. Signed out, you see a blurred preview; on an account, each report is one action.

Free10 actions over 3 days, no card

Survey 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 39 pet grooming and boarding businesses in Onslow County. 2 of them (5%) are chain locations, against 9% across the U.S. That is 5.2 per 10,000 households, 44% above the U.S. rate of 3.6.

At $819 per household (10% below the U.S. average), households in Onslow County spend about $61.7M a year on pets. That is about $1.6M of household spending for each business on map listings, 38% 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 25 businesses with payroll in Onslow County classed as pet care (except veterinary). That is one for every 3,011 households, against one for every 5,057 across the U.S. Since fiscal 2022, 1 SBA-backed loan worth $50K has gone to businesses classed as pet care (except veterinary) in Onslow County.

Between 2020 and 2025, the population of Onslow County grew 6.0%, faster than the U.S. (+3.1%). Onslow County scores 40 (lower middle) on the Groundwork market score for pet grooming and boarding businesses, ranking #971 of 1,461 scored counties and #56 of 67 scored counties in North Carolina.

How Onslow County 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.

Pet grooming and boarding in Onslow County, NC compared with North Carolina and the U.S.
MeasureOnslow CountyNorth CarolinaU.S.
Listings per 10k households5.23.83.6
Spending per listing$1.6M$2.4M$2.5M
Households per official establishment3,0114,6005,057
Official establishment growth, 2019–2023n/a+24.0%+25.2%
Population growth, 2020–2025+6.0%+7.2%+3.1%
Spending per household on pets$819$899$909
Median household income$68,148$72,388$80,734
Groundwork market score4056

Official counts and lending

Businesses

Official establishments, 2019 to 2023
19 → 25
Employees, 2023
177
Annual payroll, 2023
$3.8M
One-person businesses, 2023
Not publishedNot published for this business type
Map listings, September 2026
392 chain locations
Listings at the U.S. rate for this spending
24The U.S. ratio of listings to household spending, applied here

SBA-backed loans since fiscal 2022

Loans
1
Amount
$50K

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

Population, 2025 estimate
217,175+6.0% since 2020
Households
75,265
Median age
30.9
Homes lived in by their owners
64%
Vehicles per household
1.9
Land area
762 sq. mi.
People per square mile
273
Median household income
$68,148+35.5% vs. 2015–2019, before inflation
Average household income
$85,766
Median home value
$236,400
Jobs located here
48,126
Daytime population
192,000Residents who don’t work, plus everyone whose job is here

Looking at a specific site in Onslow 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 Onslow County. Signed out, you see a blurred preview; on an account, each report is one action.

Free10 actions over 3 days, no card

Pet grooming and boarding across North Carolina

Every North Carolina market ranked →

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

Top counties in North Carolina

Counties in North Carolina ranked for pet grooming and boarding businesses by Groundwork market score
MarketScoreListingsPer 10k householdsSpending per listingPopulation growthU.S. rank
1Durham County, NC82322.3$4.4M+7.7%#39 of 1,461
2Alamance County, NC81162.3$3.6M+8.5%#47 of 1,461
3Harnett County, NC80183.6$2.4M+12.3%#67 of 1,461
4Wayne County, NC7981.7$4.6M+3.8%#70 of 1,461
5Franklin County, NC7872.5$3.5M+18.8%#84 of 1,461
6Cabarrus County, NC78273.2$3.2M+9.9%#89 of 1,461
7Hoke County, NC7852.6$3.1M+9.0%#90 of 1,461
8Guilford County, NC78622.8$3.1M+4.4%#91 of 1,461
9Currituck County, NC7665.1$2M+16.7%#113 of 1,461
10Mecklenburg County, NC751583.4$3M+10.5%#121 of 1,461
56Onslow County, NC40395.2$1.6M+6.0%#971 of 1,461

Other business types in Onslow 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 Onslow County, NC?

There are 39 pet grooming and boarding businesses on map listings in Onslow County as of September 2026. 2 of them (5%) are chain locations. The listings count groomers, boarding, dog daycare and pet sitters. Official counts show 25 businesses with payroll classed as pet care (except veterinary) in 2023.

How much do households in Onslow County, NC spend on pets?

About $61.7M a year, or $819 per household. That is 10% below the U.S. average (an index of 90, where 100 is the U.S. average). Spread across the 39 pet grooming and boarding businesses on map listings, it comes to $1.6M per business. The spending figure covers all pets, not only pet grooming and boarding businesses. It is estimated from the incomes of the 75,265 households in Onslow County and national spending patterns by income.

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

Onslow County has 5.2 pet grooming and boarding businesses per 10,000 households, 44% above the U.S. rate of 3.6. Spending per business is $1.6M, 38% below the U.S. figure of $2.5M. At the national ratio of pet grooming and boarding businesses to household spending, Onslow County would have about 24, against 39 on map listings. There is one business with payroll in the industry for every 3,011 households, against one for every 5,057 across the U.S.

How fast is Onslow County, NC growing?

Population estimates put Onslow County at 217,175 people in 2025, up 6.0% since 2020, faster than the U.S. (+3.1%). It has 75,265 households. The median household income in Onslow County is $68,148 a year, 16% below the U.S. median of $80,734. That rose 35.5% 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. Onslow County scores 40 for pet grooming and boarding businesses (lower middle), #971 of 1,461 scored counties.

How can I see the market around a specific site?

Run a Groundwork site report on an address in Onslow 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 Onslow County

Screening a site or an acquisition in Onslow 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 Onslow 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.