Groundwork

Pets · Small-town market · South Carolina

Pet grooming and boarding businesses in the Murrells Inlet, SC area

The pet grooming and boarding businesses in the Murrells Inlet, SC area, the household spending behind them and how the market ranks against other small-town markets.

Groundwork market score · out of 100

Score 56 out of 100: Upper middle

Ranked #154 of 387 scored small-town markets
#5 of 6 scored small-town markets based in South Carolina

Listings
18
2 chain locations (11%)
Official establishments
5
Businesses with payroll, 2023
Household spending a year
$23.8M
On pets · $876 a household
Spending per listing
$1.3M
48% below the U.S.
Listings per 10k households
6.6
83% above the U.S.
Population, 2025
65,912
+3.8% since 2020

See the pet grooming and boarding businesses around any address in the Murrells Inlet 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 Murrells Inlet 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 Murrells Inlet area comes to about $23.8M a year: $876 per household, 4% below the U.S. average. That works out to $1.3M per business, 48% below the U.S. figure of $2.5M. The spending figure covers all pets, not only pet grooming and boarding businesses.

The Murrells Inlet area has 18 pet grooming and boarding businesses on map listings as of September 2026. 2 of them (11%) are chain locations, against 9% across the U.S. That is 6.6 per 10,000 households, 83% above the U.S. rate of 3.6.

The official count of businesses with payroll classed as pet care (except veterinary) in the Murrells Inlet area was 5 in 2023. That is one for every 5,426 households, against one for every 5,057 across the U.S. Since fiscal 2022, 1 SBA-backed loan worth $195K has gone to businesses classed as pet care (except veterinary) in the Murrells Inlet area.

Between 2020 and 2025, the population of the Murrells Inlet area grew 3.8%, faster than the U.S. (+3.1%). The Groundwork market score for pet grooming and boarding businesses in the Murrells Inlet area is 56 (upper middle), #154 of 387 scored small-town markets and #5 of 6 scored small-town markets based in South Carolina.

How the Murrells Inlet area compares

The same measures for South 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 Murrells Inlet, SC area compared with South Carolina and the U.S.
MeasureMurrells Inlet areaSouth CarolinaU.S.
Listings per 10k households6.64.13.6
Spending per listing$1.3M$2.1M$2.5M
Households per official establishment5,4264,8475,057
Official establishment growth, 2019–2023n/a+30.5%+25.2%
Population growth, 2020–2025+3.8%+8.5%+3.1%
Spending per household on pets$876$869$909
Median household income$68,713$69,324$80,734
Groundwork market score5651

Official counts and lending

Businesses

Official establishments, 2019 to 2023
5
Employees, 2023
63
Annual payroll, 2023
$1.8M
One-person businesses, 2023
Not publishedNot published for this business type
Map listings, September 2026
182 chain locations
Listings at the U.S. rate for this spending
9The U.S. ratio of listings to household spending, applied here

SBA-backed loans since fiscal 2022

Loans
1
Amount
$195K

SBA-backed loans to businesses classed as pet care (except veterinary) in the Murrells Inlet 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 Murrells Inlet area

Population, 2025 estimate
65,912+3.8% since 2020
Households
27,129
Median age
50.9
Homes lived in by their owners
84%
Vehicles per household
1.9
Land area
814 sq. mi.
People per square mile
80
Median household income
$68,713
Average household income
$100,202
Median home value
$289,500
Jobs located here
25,133
Daytime population
61,754Residents who don’t work, plus everyone whose job is here

Looking at a specific site in the Murrells Inlet 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 Murrells Inlet 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 South Carolina

Every South Carolina market ranked →

The highest-scoring small-town markets in South Carolina for pet grooming and boarding businesses, numbered among those based in South Carolina, with the Murrells Inlet area marked.

Top small-town markets in South Carolina

Small-town markets in South Carolina ranked for pet grooming and boarding businesses by Groundwork market score
MarketScoreListingsPer 10k householdsSpending per listingPopulation growthU.S. rank
1Greenwood, SC64123.2$2.3M+1.7%#87 of 387
2Seneca, SC62144.1$2M+6.3%#100 of 387
3Newberry, SC5874.6$1.7M+4.8%#139 of 387
4Orangeburg, SC57113.3$2.1M−0.9%#143 of 387
5Murrells Inlet, SC56186.6$1.3M+3.8%#154 of 387
6Gaffney, SC35125.4$1.3M+3.7%#315 of 387

Other business types in the Murrells Inlet 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 Murrells Inlet, SC area?

Map listings as of September 2026 show 18 pet grooming and boarding businesses in the Murrells Inlet area. 2 of them (11%) are chain locations. The listings count groomers, boarding, dog daycare and pet sitters. Official counts show 5 businesses with payroll classed as pet care (except veterinary) in 2023.

How much do households in the Murrells Inlet, SC area spend on pets?

About $23.8M a year, or $876 per household. That is 4% below the U.S. average (an index of 96, where 100 is the U.S. average). Spread across the 18 pet grooming and boarding businesses on map listings, it comes to $1.3M 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 27,129 households in the Murrells Inlet area and national spending patterns by income.

How does the Murrells Inlet, SC area compare with the U.S. for pet grooming and boarding businesses?

The Murrells Inlet area has 6.6 pet grooming and boarding businesses per 10,000 households, 83% above the U.S. rate of 3.6. Spending per business is $1.3M, 48% below the U.S. figure of $2.5M. At the U.S. ratio of pet grooming and boarding businesses to household spending, the Murrells Inlet area would have about 9, against 18 on map listings. There is one business with payroll in the industry for every 5,426 households, against one for every 5,057 across the U.S.

How fast is the Murrells Inlet, SC area growing?

Population estimates put the Murrells Inlet area at 65,912 people in 2025, up 3.8% since 2020, faster than the U.S. (+3.1%). It has 27,129 households. Median household income in the Murrells Inlet area is $68,713, 15% 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 Murrells Inlet area scores 56 for pet grooming and boarding businesses (upper middle), #154 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 Murrells Inlet 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 Murrells Inlet area

Screening a site or an acquisition in the Murrells Inlet 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 Murrells Inlet 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.