Groundwork

Pets · Metro area · Connecticut

Pet stores in the New Haven, CT metro area

How the New Haven, CT 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 38 out of 100: Lower middle

Ranked #280 of 382 scored metro areas
#1 of 5 scored metro areas based in Connecticut

Listings
48
16 chain locations (33%)
Official establishments
14
Businesses with payroll, 2023
Household spending a year
$162.9M
On pets · $706 a household
Spending per listing
$3.4M
25% below the U.S.
Listings per 10k households
2.1
5% above the U.S.
Population, 2025
578,741
+2.5% since 2020

See the pet stores around any address in the New Haven 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 New Haven 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

As of September 2026, map listings count 48 pet stores in the New Haven metro area. 16 of them (33%) are chain locations, against 38% across the U.S. That comes to 2.1 for every 10,000 households, 5% above the U.S. rate of 2.0.

Household spending on pets in the New Haven metro area comes to about $162.9M a year: $706 per household, 22% below the U.S. average. That works out to $3.4M per store, 25% below 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 14 businesses with payroll classed as pet and pet supplies stores in the New Haven metro area in 2023. That is one for every 16,477 households, against one for every 13,024 across the U.S. Since fiscal 2022, 1 SBA-backed loan worth $100K has gone to businesses classed as pet and pet supplies stores in the New Haven metro area.

Between 2020 and 2025, the population of the New Haven metro area grew 2.5%, slower than the U.S. (+3.1%). The New Haven metro area scores 38 (lower middle) on the Groundwork market score for pet stores, ranking #280 of 382 scored metro areas and #1 of 5 scored metro areas based in Connecticut.

How the New Haven metro area compares

The same measures for Connecticut 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 New Haven, CT metro area compared with Connecticut and the U.S.
MeasureNew Haven metro areaConnecticutU.S.
Listings per 10k households2.12.32.0
Spending per listing$3.4M$3.2M$4.5M
Households per official establishment16,47711,56513,024
Official establishment growth, 2019–2023n/a−22.5%−1.6%
Population growth, 2020–2025+2.5%+3.0%+3.1%
Spending per household on pets$706$742$909
Median household income$88,197$95,781$80,734
Groundwork market score3823

Official counts and lending

Businesses

Official establishments, 2019 to 2023
14
Employees, 2023
255
Annual payroll, 2023
$6.9M
One-person businesses, 2023
Not publishedNot published for this business type
Map listings, September 2026
4816 chain locations
Listings at the U.S. rate for this spending
36The U.S. ratio of listings to household spending, applied here

SBA-backed loans since fiscal 2022

Loans
1
Amount
$100K

SBA-backed loans to businesses classed as pet and pet supplies stores in the New Haven 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 New Haven metro area

Population, 2025 estimate
578,741+2.5% since 2020
Households
230,673
Median age
41.7
Homes lived in by their owners
61%
Vehicles per household
1.6
Land area
367 sq. mi.
People per square mile
1,554
Median household income
$88,197
Average household income
$121,518
Median home value
$353,100
Jobs located here
298,580
Daytime population
597,614Residents who don’t work, plus everyone whose job is here

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

Free10 actions over 3 days, no card

Pet stores across Connecticut

Every Connecticut market ranked →

The highest-scoring metro areas in Connecticut for pet stores, numbered among those based in Connecticut, with the New Haven metro area marked.

Top metro areas in Connecticut

Metro areas in Connecticut ranked for pet stores by Groundwork market score
MarketScoreListingsPer 10k householdsSpending per listingPopulation growthU.S. rank
1New Haven, CT38482.1$3.4M+2.5%#280 of 382
2Waterbury-Shelton, CT33402.2$3.1M+3.2%#316 of 382
3Bridgeport-Stamford-Danbury, CT311012.8$2.9M+3.7%#326 of 382
4Hartford-West Hartford-East Hartford, CT271012.2$3.4M+3.0%#341 of 382
5Norwich-New London-Willimantic, CT19262.2$3M+2.0%#370 of 382

Other business types in the New Haven metro area

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

Questions

How many pet stores are in the New Haven, CT metro area?

The New Haven metro area has 48 pet stores on map listings as of September 2026. 16 of them (33%) are chain locations. The listings count pet stores. Official counts show 14 businesses with payroll classed as pet and pet supplies stores in 2023.

How much do households in the New Haven, CT metro area spend on pets?

About $162.9M a year, or $706 per household. That is 22% below the U.S. average (an index of 78, where 100 is the U.S. average). Spread across the 48 pet stores on map listings, it comes to $3.4M per store. The spending figure covers all pets, not only pet stores. It is estimated from the incomes of the 230,673 households in the New Haven metro area and national spending patterns by income.

How does the New Haven, CT metro area compare with the U.S. for pet stores?

The New Haven metro area has 2.1 pet stores per 10,000 households, 5% above the U.S. rate of 2.0. Spending per store is $3.4M, 25% below the U.S. figure of $4.5M. At the national ratio of pet stores to household spending, the New Haven metro area would have about 36, against 48 on map listings. There is one business with payroll in the industry for every 16,477 households, against one for every 13,024 across the U.S.

How fast is the New Haven, CT metro area growing?

Population estimates put the New Haven metro area at 578,741 people in 2025, up 2.5% since 2020, slower than the U.S. (+3.1%). It has 230,673 households. Median household income in the New Haven metro area is $88,197, 9% 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 New Haven metro area scores 38 for pet stores (lower middle), #280 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 New Haven 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 New Haven metro area

Screening a site or an acquisition in the New Haven 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 New Haven 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.