Pets · Metro area · North Carolina
Pet grooming and boarding businesses in the Wilmington, NC metro area
Competitor counts, household spending and official business counts for pet grooming and boarding businesses in the Wilmington, NC metro area, set against other metro areas and the U.S.
Groundwork market score · out of 100
Score 42 out of 100: Lower middle
Ranked #268 of 386 scored metro areas
#12 of 15 scored metro areas based in North Carolina
- Listings
- 114
- 8 chain locations (7%)
- Official establishments
- 55
- +12.2% since 2019
- Household spending a year
- $183M
- On pets · $918 a household
- Spending per listing
- $1.6M
- 37% below the U.S.
- Listings per 10k households
- 5.7
- 58% above the U.S.
- Population, 2025
- 492,772
- +15.9% since 2020
See the pet grooming and boarding businesses around any address in the Wilmington 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 Wilmington 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
At $918 per household (in line with the U.S. average), households in the Wilmington metro area spend about $183M a year on pets. That is about $1.6M of household spending for each business on map listings, 37% below the U.S. figure of $2.5M. The spending figure covers all pets, not only pet grooming and boarding businesses.
The Wilmington metro area has 114 pet grooming and boarding businesses on map listings as of September 2026. Chain locations make up 7% of them, against 9% across the U.S. That comes to 5.7 for every 10,000 households, 58% above the U.S. rate of 3.6.
Official counts show 55 businesses with payroll classed as pet care (except veterinary) in the Wilmington metro area in 2023, up 12.2% from 2019. That is one for every 3,623 households, against one for every 5,057 across the U.S. Since fiscal 2022, 3 SBA-backed loans worth $629K have gone to businesses classed as pet care (except veterinary) in the Wilmington metro area.
Between 2020 and 2025, the population of the Wilmington metro area grew 15.9%, faster than the U.S. (+3.1%). For pet grooming and boarding businesses, the Wilmington metro area has a Groundwork market score of 42 (lower middle): #268 of 386 scored metro areas and #12 of 15 scored metro areas based in North Carolina.
How the Wilmington metro 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 | Wilmington metro area | North Carolina | U.S. |
|---|---|---|---|
| Listings per 10k households | 5.7 | 3.8 | 3.6 |
| Spending per listing | $1.6M | $2.4M | $2.5M |
| Households per official establishment | 3,623 | 4,600 | 5,057 |
| Official establishment growth, 2019–2023 | +12.2% | +24.0% | +25.2% |
| Population growth, 2020–2025 | +15.9% | +7.2% | +3.1% |
| Spending per household on pets | $918 | $899 | $909 |
| Median household income | $76,471 | $72,388 | $80,734 |
| Groundwork market score | 42 | 56 |
Official counts and lending
Businesses
- Official establishments, 2019 to 2023
- 55+12.2% over the period
- Employees, 2023
- 506
- Annual payroll, 2023
- $12.7M
- One-person businesses, 2023
- Not publishedNot published for this business type
- Map listings, September 2026
- 1148 chain locations
- Listings at the U.S. rate for this spending
- 72The U.S. ratio of listings to household spending, applied here
SBA-backed loans since fiscal 2022
- Loans
- 3
- Amount
- $629K
SBA-backed loans to businesses classed as pet care (except veterinary) in the Wilmington 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 Wilmington metro area
- Population, 2025 estimate
- 492,772+15.9% since 2020
- Households
- 199,271
- Median age
- 45.1
- Homes lived in by their owners
- 72%
- Vehicles per household
- 1.9
- Land area
- 1,913 sq. mi.
- People per square mile
- 237
- Median household income
- $76,471
- Average household income
- $104,427
- Median home value
- $362,400
- Jobs located here
- 180,798
- Daytime population
- 448,307Residents who don’t work, plus everyone whose job is here
Looking at a specific site in the Wilmington 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 Wilmington 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 North Carolina
Every North Carolina market ranked →The highest-scoring metro areas in North Carolina for pet grooming and boarding businesses, numbered among those based in North Carolina (a market based in another state is listed without a number), with the Wilmington metro area marked.
Top metro areas in North Carolina
| Market | Score | Listings | Per 10k households | Spending per listing | Population growth | U.S. rank |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| 1Burlington, NC | 78 | 16 | 2.3 | $3.6M | +8.5% | #19 of 386 |
| 2Goldsboro, NC | 77 | 8 | 1.7 | $4.6M | +3.8% | #21 of 386 |
| 3Durham-Chapel Hill, NC | 74 | 65 | 2.6 | $3.8M | +7.5% | #33 of 386 |
| 4Rocky Mount, NC | 71 | 9 | 1.5 | $5.1M | +2.8% | #44 of 386 |
| 5Fayetteville, NC | 69 | 29 | 1.9 | $4.1M | +1.6% | #53 of 386 |
| 6Raleigh-Cary, NC | 67 | 227 | 4.0 | $2.8M | +12.6% | #65 of 386 |
| 7Greensboro-High Point, NC | 61 | 113 | 3.6 | $2.3M | +4.1% | #115 of 386 |
| 8Charlotte-Concord-Gastonia, NC-SC | 59 | 453 | 4.2 | $2.3M | +10.1% | #129 of 386 |
| Virginia Beach-Chesapeake-Norfolk, VA-NC | 58 | 231 | 3.3 | $2.9M | +0.9% | #134 of 386 |
| 9Greenville, NC | 56 | 22 | 3.0 | $2.7M | +5.4% | #150 of 386 |
| 12Wilmington, NC | 42 | 114 | 5.7 | $1.6M | +15.9% | #268 of 386 |
Other business types in the Wilmington 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 businesses44
- Veterinarians55
- Pet grooming and boarding42
- Pet stores42
Child care
Clothing and laundry
Home services
Real estate
Funeral services
Questions
How many pet grooming and boarding businesses are in the Wilmington, NC metro area?
Map listings as of September 2026 show 114 pet grooming and boarding businesses in the Wilmington metro area. 8 of them (7%) are chain locations. The listings count groomers, boarding, dog daycare and pet sitters. Official counts show 55 businesses with payroll classed as pet care (except veterinary) in 2023, up 12.2% from 2019.
How much do households in the Wilmington, NC metro area spend on pets?
About $183M a year, or $918 per household. That is in line with the U.S. average (an index of 101, where 100 is the U.S. average). Spread across the 114 pet grooming and boarding businesses on map listings, it comes to $1.6M 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 199,271 households in the Wilmington metro area and national spending patterns by income.
How does the Wilmington, NC metro area compare with the U.S. for pet grooming and boarding businesses?
The Wilmington metro area has 5.7 pet grooming and boarding businesses per 10,000 households, 58% above the U.S. rate of 3.6. Spending per business is $1.6M, 37% below the U.S. figure of $2.5M. At the U.S. ratio of pet grooming and boarding businesses to household spending, the Wilmington metro area would have about 72, against 114 on map listings. There is one business with payroll in the industry for every 3,623 households, against one for every 5,057 across the U.S. The official count rose 12.2% from 2019 to 2023, against +25.2% for the U.S.
How fast is the Wilmington, NC metro area growing?
Population estimates put the Wilmington metro area at 492,772 people in 2025, up 15.9% since 2020, faster than the U.S. (+3.1%). It has 199,271 households. Median household income in the Wilmington metro area is $76,471, 5% 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. 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 Wilmington metro area scores 42 for pet grooming and boarding businesses (lower middle), #268 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 Wilmington 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 Wilmington metro area
Screening a site or an acquisition in the Wilmington 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 Wilmington 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.