Groundwork

Pets · Metro area · Pennsylvania

Pet grooming and boarding businesses in the State College, PA metro area

Competitor counts, household spending and official business counts for pet grooming and boarding businesses in the State College, PA metro area, set against other metro areas and the U.S.

Groundwork market score · out of 100

Score 54 out of 100: Upper middle

Ranked #163 of 386 scored metro areas
#1 of 16 scored metro areas based in Pennsylvania

Listings
12
4 chain locations (33%)
Official establishments
8
Businesses with payroll, 2023
Household spending a year
$37.1M
On pets · $629 a household
Spending per listing
$3.1M
22% above the U.S.
Listings per 10k households
2.0
44% below the U.S.
Population, 2025
157,393
−0.4% since 2020

See the pet grooming and boarding businesses around any address in the State College 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 State College metro area. 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

Household spending on pets in the State College metro area comes to about $37.1M a year: $629 per household, 31% below the U.S. average. That is about $3.1M of household spending for each business on map listings, 22% above the U.S. figure of $2.5M. The spending figure covers all pets, not only pet grooming and boarding businesses.

There are 12 pet grooming and boarding businesses on map listings in the State College metro area as of September 2026. Chain locations make up 33% of them, against 9% across the U.S. That is 2.0 per 10,000 households, 44% below the U.S. rate of 3.6.

The official count of businesses with payroll classed as pet care (except veterinary) in the State College metro area was 8 in 2023. That is one for every 7,377 households, against one for every 5,057 across the U.S.

Population estimates put the population change in the State College metro area from 2020 to 2025 at −0.4%, against +3.1% for the U.S. The Groundwork market score for pet grooming and boarding businesses in the State College metro area is 54 (upper middle), #163 of 386 scored metro areas and #1 of 16 scored metro areas based in Pennsylvania.

How the State College metro area compares

The same measures for Pennsylvania 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 State College, PA metro area compared with Pennsylvania and the U.S.
MeasureState College metro areaPennsylvaniaU.S.
Listings per 10k households2.03.93.6
Spending per listing$3.1M$1.7M$2.5M
Households per official establishment7,3775,3505,057
Official establishment growth, 2019–2023n/a+17.9%+25.2%
Population growth, 2020–2025−0.4%+0.5%+3.1%
Spending per household on pets$629$647$909
Median household income$74,291$77,971$80,734
Groundwork market score5422

Official counts and lending

Businesses

Official establishments, 2019 to 2023
8
Employees, 2023
42
Annual payroll, 2023
$953K
One-person businesses, 2023
Not publishedNot published for this business type
Map listings, September 2026
124 chain locations
Listings at the U.S. rate for this spending
15The 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 State College 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 State College metro area

Population, 2025 estimate
157,393−0.4% since 2020
Households
59,013
Median age
38.2
Homes lived in by their owners
62%
Vehicles per household
1.7
Land area
1,107 sq. mi.
People per square mile
143
Median household income
$74,291+23.0% vs. 2015–2019, before inflation
Average household income
$100,987
Median home value
$323,500
Jobs located here
66,922
Daytime population
170,905Residents who don’t work, plus everyone whose job is here

Looking at a specific site in the State College 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 State College metro area. Signed out, you see a blurred preview; on an account, each report is one action.

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Pet grooming and boarding across Pennsylvania

Every Pennsylvania market ranked →

The highest-scoring metro areas in Pennsylvania for pet grooming and boarding businesses, numbered among those based in Pennsylvania, with the State College metro area marked.

Top metro areas in Pennsylvania

Metro areas in Pennsylvania ranked for pet grooming and boarding businesses by Groundwork market score
MarketScoreListingsPer 10k householdsSpending per listingPopulation growthU.S. rank
1State College, PA54122.0$3.1M−0.4%#163 of 386
2Philadelphia-Camden-Wilmington, PA-NJ-DE-MD477423.0$2.5M+1.4%#222 of 386
3Allentown-Bethlehem-Easton, PA-NJ371313.9$1.7M+3.0%#296 of 386
4Lancaster, PA34713.3$2M+1.9%#308 of 386
5Gettysburg, PA33163.9$1.7M+3.6%#318 of 386
6Chambersburg, PA31284.4$1.4M+3.0%#323 of 386
7Reading, PA31784.8$1.3M+2.7%#324 of 386
8Lebanon, PA30376.5$958K+2.2%#332 of 386
9Harrisburg-Carlisle, PA261074.3$1.5M+4.2%#351 of 386
10Johnstown, PA26213.8$1.4M−3.2%#352 of 386

Other business types in the State College metro area

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

Questions

How many pet grooming and boarding businesses are in the State College, PA metro area?

As of September 2026, map listings count 12 pet grooming and boarding businesses in the State College metro area. 4 of them (33%) are chain locations. The listings count groomers, boarding, dog daycare and pet sitters. Official counts show 8 businesses with payroll classed as pet care (except veterinary) in 2023.

How much do households in the State College, PA metro area spend on pets?

About $37.1M a year, or $629 per household. That is 31% below the U.S. average (an index of 69, where 100 is the U.S. average). Spread across the 12 pet grooming and boarding businesses on map listings, it comes to $3.1M 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 59,013 households in the State College metro area and national spending patterns by income.

How does the State College, PA metro area compare with the U.S. for pet grooming and boarding businesses?

The State College metro area has 2.0 pet grooming and boarding businesses per 10,000 households, 44% below the U.S. rate of 3.6. Spending per business is $3.1M, 22% above the U.S. figure of $2.5M. At the U.S. ratio of pet grooming and boarding businesses to household spending, the State College metro area would have about 15, against 12 on map listings. There is one business with payroll in the industry for every 7,377 households, against one for every 5,057 across the U.S.

How fast is the State College, PA metro area growing?

Population estimates put the State College metro area at 157,393 people in 2025, down 0.4% since 2020, against +3.1% for the U.S. It has 59,013 households. Median household income in the State College metro area is $74,291, 8% below the U.S. median of $80,734. Against the 2015–2019 survey, the median rose 23.0%, 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. The State College metro area scores 54 for pet grooming and boarding businesses (upper middle), #163 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 State College 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 State College metro area

Screening a site or an acquisition in the State College 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 State College 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.