Groundwork

Pets · Metro area · Virginia

Pet grooming and boarding businesses in the Virginia Beach-Chesapeake-Norfolk, VA-NC metro area

Competitor counts, household spending and official business counts for pet grooming and boarding businesses in the Virginia Beach-Chesapeake-Norfolk, VA-NC metro area, set against other metro areas and the U.S.

Groundwork market score · out of 100

Score 58 out of 100: Upper middle

Ranked #134 of 386 scored metro areas
#3 of 9 scored metro areas based in Virginia

Listings
231
20 chain locations (9%)
Official establishments
162
+61.9% since 2019
Household spending a year
$678.6M
On pets · $959 a household
Spending per listing
$2.9M
15% above the U.S.
Listings per 10k households
3.3
8% below the U.S.
Population, 2025
1,797,213
+0.9% since 2020

See the pet grooming and boarding businesses around any address in the Virginia Beach-Chesapeake-Norfolk 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 Virginia Beach-Chesapeake-Norfolk 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

At $959 per household (5% above the U.S. average), households in the Virginia Beach-Chesapeake-Norfolk metro area spend about $678.6M a year on pets. Spread across 231 pet grooming and boarding businesses, that is $2.9M per business, 15% above the U.S. figure of $2.5M. The spending figure covers all pets, not only pet grooming and boarding businesses.

The Virginia Beach-Chesapeake-Norfolk metro area has 231 pet grooming and boarding businesses on map listings as of September 2026. 20 of them (9%) are chain locations, against 9% across the U.S. Per 10,000 households, that is 3.3, 8% below the U.S. rate of 3.6.

The official count of businesses with payroll classed as pet care (except veterinary) in the Virginia Beach-Chesapeake-Norfolk metro area was 162 in 2023, up 61.9% from 2019. That is one for every 4,367 households, against one for every 5,057 across the U.S. Since fiscal 2022, 8 SBA-backed loans worth $9.2M have gone to businesses classed as pet care (except veterinary) in the Virginia Beach-Chesapeake-Norfolk metro area.

Between 2020 and 2025, the population of the Virginia Beach-Chesapeake-Norfolk metro area grew 0.9%, slower than the U.S. (+3.1%). The Virginia Beach-Chesapeake-Norfolk metro area scores 58 (upper middle) on the Groundwork market score for pet grooming and boarding businesses, ranking #134 of 386 scored metro areas and #3 of 9 scored metro areas based in Virginia.

How the Virginia Beach-Chesapeake-Norfolk metro area compares

The same measures for Virginia 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 Virginia Beach-Chesapeake-Norfolk, VA-NC metro area compared with Virginia and the U.S.
MeasureVirginia Beach-Chesapeake-Norfolk metro areaVirginiaU.S.
Listings per 10k households3.33.33.6
Spending per listing$2.9M$3.2M$2.5M
Households per official establishment4,3674,4055,057
Official establishment growth, 2019–2023+61.9%+25.0%+25.2%
Population growth, 2020–2025+0.9%+2.8%+3.1%
Spending per household on pets$959$1,056$909
Median household income$82,330$93,170$80,734
Groundwork market score5867

Official counts and lending

Businesses

Official establishments, 2019 to 2023
162+61.9% over the period
Employees, 2023
1,036
Annual payroll, 2023
$28.7M
One-person businesses, 2023
Not publishedNot published for this business type
Map listings, September 2026
23120 chain locations
Listings at the U.S. rate for this spending
267The U.S. ratio of listings to household spending, applied here

SBA-backed loans since fiscal 2022

Loans
8
Amount
$9.2M

SBA-backed loans to businesses classed as pet care (except veterinary) in the Virginia Beach-Chesapeake-Norfolk 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 Virginia Beach-Chesapeake-Norfolk metro area

Population, 2025 estimate
1,797,213+0.9% since 2020
Households
707,408
Median age
39.1
Homes lived in by their owners
63%
Vehicles per household
1.8
Land area
3,202 sq. mi.
People per square mile
558
Median household income
$82,330
Average household income
$108,120
Median home value
$340,900
Jobs located here
729,464
Daytime population
1,773,219Residents who don’t work, plus everyone whose job is here

Looking at a specific site in the Virginia Beach-Chesapeake-Norfolk 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.

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Pet grooming and boarding across Virginia

Every Virginia market ranked →

The highest-scoring metro areas in Virginia for pet grooming and boarding businesses, numbered among those based in Virginia (a market based in another state is listed without a number), with the Virginia Beach-Chesapeake-Norfolk metro area marked.

Top metro areas in Virginia

Metro areas in Virginia ranked for pet grooming and boarding businesses by Groundwork market score
MarketScoreListingsPer 10k householdsSpending per listingPopulation growthU.S. rank
Washington-Arlington-Alexandria, DC-VA-MD-WV796422.7$4.6M+3.3%#11 of 386
1Richmond, VA721512.8$3.5M+5.5%#43 of 386
2Charlottesville, VA67283.1$3.4M+3.1%#62 of 386
3Virginia Beach-Chesapeake-Norfolk, VA-NC582313.3$2.9M+0.9%#134 of 386
4Winchester, VA-WV58244.3$2.3M+6.5%#140 of 386
5Harrisonburg, VA57204.0$2.2M+3.5%#143 of 386
6Blacksburg-Christiansburg-Radford, VA51213.0$2.8M−0.1%#188 of 386
Kingsport-Bristol, TN-VA51483.7$2.1M+2.3%#194 of 386
7Roanoke, VA44534.0$2.1M+0.4%#249 of 386
8Lynchburg, VA41414.0$2.1M+2.9%#270 of 386

Other business types in the Virginia Beach-Chesapeake-Norfolk 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 Virginia Beach-Chesapeake-Norfolk, VA-NC metro area?

Map listings as of September 2026 show 231 pet grooming and boarding businesses in the Virginia Beach-Chesapeake-Norfolk metro area. 20 of them (9%) are chain locations. The listings count groomers, boarding, dog daycare and pet sitters. Official counts show 162 businesses with payroll classed as pet care (except veterinary) in 2023, up 61.9% from 2019.

How much do households in the Virginia Beach-Chesapeake-Norfolk, VA-NC metro area spend on pets?

About $678.6M a year, or $959 per household. That is 5% above the U.S. average (an index of 105, where 100 is the U.S. average). Spread across the 231 pet grooming and boarding businesses on map listings, it comes to $2.9M 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 707,408 households in the Virginia Beach-Chesapeake-Norfolk metro area and national spending patterns by income.

How does the Virginia Beach-Chesapeake-Norfolk, VA-NC metro area compare with the U.S. for pet grooming and boarding businesses?

The Virginia Beach-Chesapeake-Norfolk metro area has 3.3 pet grooming and boarding businesses per 10,000 households, 8% below the U.S. rate of 3.6. Spending per business is $2.9M, 15% above the U.S. figure of $2.5M. At the U.S. ratio of pet grooming and boarding businesses to household spending, the Virginia Beach-Chesapeake-Norfolk metro area would have about 267, against 231 on map listings. There is one business with payroll in the industry for every 4,367 households, against one for every 5,057 across the U.S. The official count rose 61.9% from 2019 to 2023, against +25.2% for the U.S.

How fast is the Virginia Beach-Chesapeake-Norfolk, VA-NC metro area growing?

Population estimates put the Virginia Beach-Chesapeake-Norfolk metro area at 1,797,213 people in 2025, up 0.9% since 2020, slower than the U.S. (+3.1%). It has 707,408 households. Median household income in the Virginia Beach-Chesapeake-Norfolk metro area is $82,330, 2% above 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 Virginia Beach-Chesapeake-Norfolk metro area scores 58 for pet grooming and boarding businesses (upper middle), #134 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 Virginia Beach-Chesapeake-Norfolk 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 Virginia Beach-Chesapeake-Norfolk metro area

Screening a site or an acquisition in the Virginia Beach-Chesapeake-Norfolk 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 Virginia Beach-Chesapeake-Norfolk 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.