Pets · Metro area · California
Pet stores in the San Diego-Chula Vista-Carlsbad, CA metro area
How the San Diego-Chula Vista-Carlsbad, CA metro area compares with other metro areas and the U.S. for pet stores: competitors, household spending, official counts and growth.
Groundwork market score · out of 100
Score 43 out of 100: Lower middle
Ranked #249 of 382 scored metro areas
#18 of 23 scored metro areas based in California
- Listings
- 320
- 138 chain locations (43%)
- Official establishments
- 129
- −3.7% since 2019
- Household spending a year
- $1.4B
- On pets · $1,187 a household
- Spending per listing
- $4.3M
- 4% below the U.S.
- Listings per 10k households
- 2.7
- 35% above the U.S.
- Population, 2025
- 3,282,248
- −0.6% since 2020
See the pet stores around any address in the San Diego-Chula Vista-Carlsbad metro area
The site report maps the pet stores 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 San Diego-Chula Vista-Carlsbad 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
Household spending on pets in the San Diego-Chula Vista-Carlsbad metro area comes to about $1.4B a year: $1,187 per household, 31% above the U.S. average. That works out to $4.3M per store, 4% below the U.S. figure of $4.5M. The spending figure covers all pets, not only pet stores.
The San Diego-Chula Vista-Carlsbad metro area has 320 pet stores on map listings as of September 2026. Of those, 138 are chain locations, or 43%, against 38% across the U.S. That is 2.7 per 10,000 households, 35% above the U.S. rate of 2.0.
In 2023, official counts showed 129 businesses with payroll in the San Diego-Chula Vista-Carlsbad metro area classed as pet and pet supplies stores, down 3.7% from 2019. That is one for every 9,080 households, against one for every 13,024 across the U.S. Since fiscal 2022, 8 SBA-backed loans worth $5.6M have gone to businesses classed as pet and pet supplies stores in the San Diego-Chula Vista-Carlsbad metro area.
Between 2020 and 2025, the population of the San Diego-Chula Vista-Carlsbad metro area declined 0.6%, against +3.1% for the U.S. The Groundwork market score for pet stores in the San Diego-Chula Vista-Carlsbad metro area is 43 (lower middle), #249 of 382 scored metro areas and #18 of 23 scored metro areas based in California.
How the San Diego-Chula Vista-Carlsbad metro area compares
The same measures for California and the whole U.S. Spending per listing divides a year of household spending on all pets by the pet stores 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 | San Diego-Chula Vista-Carlsbad metro area | California | U.S. |
|---|---|---|---|
| Listings per 10k households | 2.7 | 2.2 | 2.0 |
| Spending per listing | $4.3M | $5.1M | $4.5M |
| Households per official establishment | 9,080 | 11,619 | 13,024 |
| Official establishment growth, 2019–2023 | −3.7% | −2.4% | −1.6% |
| Population growth, 2020–2025 | −0.6% | −0.4% | +3.1% |
| Spending per household on pets | $1,187 | $1,149 | $909 |
| Median household income | $106,268 | $99,122 | $80,734 |
| Groundwork market score | 43 | 55 |
Official counts and lending
Businesses
- Official establishments, 2019 to 2023
- 129−3.7% over the period
- Employees, 2023
- 1,552
- Annual payroll, 2023
- $58.3M
- One-person businesses, 2023
- Not publishedNot published for this business type
- Map listings, September 2026
- 320138 chain locations
- Listings at the U.S. rate for this spending
- 307The U.S. ratio of listings to household spending, applied here
SBA-backed loans since fiscal 2022
- Loans
- 8
- Amount
- $5.6M
SBA-backed loans to businesses classed as pet and pet supplies stores in the San Diego-Chula Vista-Carlsbad 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 San Diego-Chula Vista-Carlsbad metro area
- Population, 2025 estimate
- 3,282,248−0.6% since 2020
- Households
- 1,171,278
- Median age
- 38.9
- Homes lived in by their owners
- 55%
- Vehicles per household
- 1.9
- Land area
- 4,211 sq. mi.
- People per square mile
- 781
- Median household income
- $106,268+34.6% vs. 2015–2019, before inflation
- Average household income
- $141,250
- Median home value
- $854,700
- Jobs located here
- 1,516,991
- Daytime population
- 3,269,716Residents who don’t work, plus everyone whose job is here
Looking at a specific site in the San Diego-Chula Vista-Carlsbad 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 stores on map listings by name and distance.
Or open the report at the center of the San Diego-Chula Vista-Carlsbad metro area. Signed out, you see a blurred preview; on an account, each report is one action.
Free10 actions over 3 days, no cardPet stores across California
Every California market ranked →The highest-scoring metro areas in California for pet stores, numbered among those based in California, with the San Diego-Chula Vista-Carlsbad metro area marked.
Top metro areas in California
| Market | Score | Listings | Per 10k households | Spending per listing | Population growth | U.S. rank |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| 1Stockton-Lodi, CA | 84 | 43 | 1.8 | $6.1M | +5.5% | #8 of 382 |
| 2Fresno, CA | 77 | 60 | 1.6 | $5.9M | +3.2% | #17 of 382 |
| 3San Jose-Sunnyvale-Santa Clara, CA | 75 | 97 | 1.4 | $10.4M | −0.6% | #20 of 382 |
| 4Napa, CA | 75 | 6 | 1.2 | $10.2M | −3.3% | #21 of 382 |
| 5Visalia, CA | 72 | 22 | 1.5 | $5.9M | +2.4% | #42 of 382 |
| 6Bakersfield-Delano, CA | 69 | 56 | 2.0 | $4.7M | +2.3% | #63 of 382 |
| 7Modesto, CA | 68 | 34 | 1.9 | $5.2M | +0.7% | #70 of 382 |
| 8San Francisco-Oakland-Fremont, CA | 65 | 327 | 1.9 | $7.3M | −2.4% | #81 of 382 |
| 9Sacramento-Roseville-Folsom, CA | 65 | 185 | 2.1 | $5.3M | +3.2% | #84 of 382 |
| 10Vallejo, CA | 60 | 31 | 2.0 | $5.8M | +0.6% | #119 of 382 |
| 18San Diego-Chula Vista-Carlsbad, CA | 43 | 320 | 2.7 | $4.3M | −0.6% | #249 of 382 |
Other business types in the San Diego-Chula Vista-Carlsbad 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 businesses56
- Veterinarians59
- Pet grooming and boarding54
- Pet stores43
Child care
Clothing and laundry
Home services
Real estate
Funeral services
Questions
How many pet stores are in the San Diego-Chula Vista-Carlsbad, CA metro area?
Map listings as of September 2026 show 320 pet stores in the San Diego-Chula Vista-Carlsbad metro area. 138 of them (43%) are chain locations. The listings count pet stores. Official counts show 129 businesses with payroll classed as pet and pet supplies stores in 2023, down 3.7% from 2019.
How much do households in the San Diego-Chula Vista-Carlsbad, CA metro area spend on pets?
About $1.4B a year, or $1,187 per household. That is 31% above the U.S. average (an index of 131, where 100 is the U.S. average). Spread across the 320 pet stores on map listings, it comes to $4.3M per store. That spending covers all pets, which pet stores share with other businesses in the trade. It is estimated from the incomes of the 1,171,278 households in the San Diego-Chula Vista-Carlsbad metro area and national spending patterns by income.
How does the San Diego-Chula Vista-Carlsbad, CA metro area compare with the U.S. for pet stores?
The San Diego-Chula Vista-Carlsbad metro area has 2.7 pet stores per 10,000 households, 35% above the U.S. rate of 2.0. Spending per store is $4.3M, 4% below the U.S. figure of $4.5M. At the U.S. ratio of pet stores to household spending, the San Diego-Chula Vista-Carlsbad metro area would have about 307, against 320 on map listings. There is one business with payroll in the industry for every 9,080 households, against one for every 13,024 across the U.S. The official count fell 3.7% from 2019 to 2023, against −1.6% for the U.S.
How fast is the San Diego-Chula Vista-Carlsbad, CA metro area growing?
Population estimates put the San Diego-Chula Vista-Carlsbad metro area at 3,282,248 people in 2025, down 0.6% since 2020, against +3.1% for the U.S. It has 1,171,278 households. The median household income in the San Diego-Chula Vista-Carlsbad metro area is $106,268 a year, 32% above the U.S. median of $80,734. That rose 34.6% 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. The San Diego-Chula Vista-Carlsbad metro area scores 43 for pet stores (lower middle), #249 of 382 scored metro areas.
How can I see the market around a specific site?
Run a Groundwork site report on an address in the San Diego-Chula Vista-Carlsbad metro area. It maps the pet stores 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 stores · All 56 business types in the San Diego-Chula Vista-Carlsbad metro area
Screening a site or an acquisition in the San Diego-Chula Vista-Carlsbad 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 San Diego-Chula Vista-Carlsbad 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.