Groundwork

Pets · Metro area · California

Pet stores in the San Francisco-Oakland-Fremont, CA metro area

How the San Francisco-Oakland-Fremont, 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 65 out of 100: Upper middle

Ranked #81 of 382 scored metro areas
#8 of 23 scored metro areas based in California

Listings
327
127 chain locations (39%)
Official establishments
142
−10.7% since 2019
Household spending a year
$2.4B
On pets · $1,364 a household
Spending per listing
$7.3M
61% above the U.S.
Listings per 10k households
1.9
5% below the U.S.
Population, 2025
4,630,041
−2.4% since 2020

See the pet stores around any address in the San Francisco-Oakland-Fremont 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 Francisco-Oakland-Fremont 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

Map listings as of September 2026 show 327 pet stores in the San Francisco-Oakland-Fremont metro area. 127 of them (39%) are chain locations, against 38% across the U.S. That is 1.9 per 10,000 households, 5% below the U.S. rate of 2.0.

Household spending on pets in the San Francisco-Oakland-Fremont metro area comes to about $2.4B a year: $1,364 per household, 50% above the U.S. average. Spread across 327 pet stores, that is $7.3M per store, 61% above the U.S. figure of $4.5M. That spending covers all pets, which pet stores share with other businesses in the trade.

Official counts show 142 businesses with payroll classed as pet and pet supplies stores in the San Francisco-Oakland-Fremont metro area in 2023, down 10.7% from 2019. That is one for every 12,282 households, against one for every 13,024 across the U.S. Since fiscal 2022, 9 SBA-backed loans worth $4.3M have gone to businesses classed as pet and pet supplies stores in the San Francisco-Oakland-Fremont metro area.

Population estimates put the population change in the San Francisco-Oakland-Fremont metro area from 2020 to 2025 at −2.4%, against +3.1% for the U.S. The Groundwork market score for pet stores in the San Francisco-Oakland-Fremont metro area is 65 (upper middle), #81 of 382 scored metro areas and #8 of 23 scored metro areas based in California. That puts it in the top quarter of metro areas.

How the San Francisco-Oakland-Fremont 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.

Pet stores in San Francisco-Oakland-Fremont, CA metro area compared with California and the U.S.
MeasureSan Francisco-Oakland-Fremont metro areaCaliforniaU.S.
Listings per 10k households1.92.22.0
Spending per listing$7.3M$5.1M$4.5M
Households per official establishment12,28211,61913,024
Official establishment growth, 2019–2023−10.7%−2.4%−1.6%
Population growth, 2020–2025−2.4%−0.4%+3.1%
Spending per household on pets$1,364$1,149$909
Median household income$136,027$99,122$80,734
Groundwork market score6555

Official counts and lending

Businesses

Official establishments, 2019 to 2023
142−10.7% over the period
Employees, 2023
1,971
Annual payroll, 2023
$71.7M
One-person businesses, 2023
Not publishedNot published for this business type
Map listings, September 2026
327127 chain locations
Listings at the U.S. rate for this spending
526The U.S. ratio of listings to household spending, applied here

SBA-backed loans since fiscal 2022

Loans
9
Amount
$4.3M

SBA-backed loans to businesses classed as pet and pet supplies stores in the San Francisco-Oakland-Fremont 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 Francisco-Oakland-Fremont metro area

Population, 2025 estimate
4,630,041−2.4% since 2020
Households
1,744,070
Median age
41.3
Homes lived in by their owners
55%
Vehicles per household
1.7
Land area
2,470 sq. mi.
People per square mile
1,881
Median household income
$136,027+28.3% vs. 2015–2019, before inflation
Average household income
$194,370
Median home value
$1,140,700
Jobs located here
2,497,939
Daytime population
4,885,603Residents who don’t work, plus everyone whose job is here

Looking at a specific site in the San Francisco-Oakland-Fremont 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 Francisco-Oakland-Fremont metro area. Signed out, you see a blurred preview; on an account, each report is one action.

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Pet 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 Francisco-Oakland-Fremont metro area marked.

Top metro areas in California

Metro areas in California ranked for pet stores by Groundwork market score
MarketScoreListingsPer 10k householdsSpending per listingPopulation growthU.S. rank
1Stockton-Lodi, CA84431.8$6.1M+5.5%#8 of 382
2Fresno, CA77601.6$5.9M+3.2%#17 of 382
3San Jose-Sunnyvale-Santa Clara, CA75971.4$10.4M−0.6%#20 of 382
4Napa, CA7561.2$10.2M−3.3%#21 of 382
5Visalia, CA72221.5$5.9M+2.4%#42 of 382
6Bakersfield-Delano, CA69562.0$4.7M+2.3%#63 of 382
7Modesto, CA68341.9$5.2M+0.7%#70 of 382
8San Francisco-Oakland-Fremont, CA653271.9$7.3M−2.4%#81 of 382
9Sacramento-Roseville-Folsom, CA651852.1$5.3M+3.2%#84 of 382
10Vallejo, CA60312.0$5.8M+0.6%#119 of 382

Other business types in the San Francisco-Oakland-Fremont metro area

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

Questions

How many pet stores are in the San Francisco-Oakland-Fremont, CA metro area?

There are 327 pet stores on map listings in the San Francisco-Oakland-Fremont metro area as of September 2026. 127 of them (39%) are chain locations. The listings count pet stores. Official counts show 142 businesses with payroll classed as pet and pet supplies stores in 2023, down 10.7% from 2019.

How much do households in the San Francisco-Oakland-Fremont, CA metro area spend on pets?

About $2.4B a year, or $1,364 per household. That is 50% above the U.S. average (an index of 150, where 100 is the U.S. average). Spread across the 327 pet stores on map listings, it comes to $7.3M per store. The spending figure covers all pets, not only pet stores. It is estimated from the incomes of the 1,744,070 households in the San Francisco-Oakland-Fremont metro area and national spending patterns by income.

How does the San Francisco-Oakland-Fremont, CA metro area compare with the U.S. for pet stores?

The San Francisco-Oakland-Fremont metro area has 1.9 pet stores per 10,000 households, 5% below the U.S. rate of 2.0. Spending per store is $7.3M, 61% above the U.S. figure of $4.5M. At the national ratio of pet stores to household spending, the San Francisco-Oakland-Fremont metro area would have about 526, against 327 on map listings. There is one business with payroll in the industry for every 12,282 households, against one for every 13,024 across the U.S. The official count fell 10.7% from 2019 to 2023, against −1.6% for the U.S.

How fast is the San Francisco-Oakland-Fremont, CA metro area growing?

Population estimates put the San Francisco-Oakland-Fremont metro area at 4,630,041 people in 2025, down 2.4% since 2020, against +3.1% for the U.S. It has 1,744,070 households. Median household income in the San Francisco-Oakland-Fremont metro area is $136,027, 68% above the U.S. median of $80,734. Against the 2015–2019 survey, the median rose 28.3%, 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 Francisco-Oakland-Fremont metro area scores 65 for pet stores (upper middle), #81 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 Francisco-Oakland-Fremont 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 Francisco-Oakland-Fremont metro area

Screening a site or an acquisition in the San Francisco-Oakland-Fremont 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 Francisco-Oakland-Fremont 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.