Pets · Metro area · Delaware
Pet stores in the Dover, DE metro area
How the Dover, DE 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 #284 of 382 scored metro areas
The only scored metro area based in Delaware
- Listings
- 21
- 10 chain locations (48%)
- Official establishments
- 7
- Businesses with payroll, 2023
- Household spending a year
- $62.9M
- On pets · $881 a household
- Spending per listing
- $3M
- 34% below the U.S.
- Listings per 10k households
- 2.9
- 45% above the U.S.
- Population, 2025
- 194,786
- +6.8% since 2020
See the pet stores around any address in the Dover 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 Dover 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
As of September 2026, map listings count 21 pet stores in the Dover metro area. 10 of them (48%) are chain locations, against 38% across the U.S. That comes to 2.9 for every 10,000 households, 45% above the U.S. rate of 2.0.
Households in the Dover metro area spend about $62.9M a year on pets, or $881 per household, 3% below the U.S. average. Spread across 21 pet stores, that is $3M per store, 34% below the U.S. figure of $4.5M. That spending covers all pets, which pet stores share with other businesses in the trade.
The official count of businesses with payroll classed as pet and pet supplies stores in the Dover metro area was 7 in 2023. That is one for every 10,203 households, against one for every 13,024 across the U.S.
Population estimates put the population change in the Dover metro area from 2020 to 2025 at +6.8%, faster than the U.S. (+3.1%). The Groundwork market score for pet stores in the Dover metro area is 38 (lower middle), #284 of 382 scored metro areas and the only scored metro area based in Delaware.
How the Dover metro area compares
The same measures for Delaware 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 | Dover metro area | Delaware | U.S. |
|---|---|---|---|
| Listings per 10k households | 2.9 | 2.4 | 2.0 |
| Spending per listing | $3M | $4.1M | $4.5M |
| Households per official establishment | 10,203 | 8,205 | 13,024 |
| Official establishment growth, 2019–2023 | n/a | −15.5% | −1.6% |
| Population growth, 2020–2025 | +6.8% | +6.9% | +3.1% |
| Spending per household on pets | $881 | $980 | $909 |
| Median household income | $74,477 | $84,954 | $80,734 |
| Groundwork market score | 38 | 47 |
Official counts and lending
Businesses
- Official establishments, 2019 to 2023
- 7
- Employees, 2023
- 100
- Annual payroll, 2023
- $2.4M
- One-person businesses, 2023
- Not publishedNot published for this business type
- Map listings, September 2026
- 2110 chain locations
- Listings at the U.S. rate for this spending
- 14The U.S. ratio of listings to household spending, applied here
SBA-backed loans since fiscal 2022
- Loans
- 0
- Amount
- $0
SBA-backed loans to businesses classed as pet and pet supplies stores in the Dover 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 Dover metro area
- Population, 2025 estimate
- 194,786+6.8% since 2020
- Households
- 71,424
- Median age
- 39.6
- Homes lived in by their owners
- 73%
- Vehicles per household
- 1.9
- Land area
- 586 sq. mi.
- People per square mile
- 320
- Median household income
- $74,477+22.3% vs. 2015–2019, before inflation
- Average household income
- $92,801
- Median home value
- $316,600
- Jobs located here
- 66,799
- Daytime population
- 177,320Residents who don’t work, plus everyone whose job is here
Looking at a specific site in the Dover 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 Dover 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 Delaware
Every Delaware market ranked →The highest-scoring metro areas in Delaware for pet stores, numbered among those based in Delaware (a market based in another state is listed without a number), with the Dover metro area marked.
Top metro areas in Delaware
| Market | Score | Listings | Per 10k households | Spending per listing | Population growth | U.S. rank |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| 1Dover, DE | 38 | 21 | 2.9 | $3M | +6.8% | #284 of 382 |
| Philadelphia-Camden-Wilmington, PA-NJ-DE-MD | 32 | 467 | 1.9 | $4M | +1.4% | #319 of 382 |
Other business types in the Dover 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 businesses58
- Veterinarians76
- Pet grooming and boarding50
- Pet stores38
Child care
Clothing and laundry
Home services
Real estate
Funeral services
Questions
How many pet stores are in the Dover, DE metro area?
The Dover metro area has 21 pet stores on map listings as of September 2026. 10 of them (48%) are chain locations. The listings count pet stores. Official counts show 7 businesses with payroll classed as pet and pet supplies stores in 2023.
How much do households in the Dover, DE metro area spend on pets?
About $62.9M a year, or $881 per household. That is 3% below the U.S. average (an index of 97, where 100 is the U.S. average). Spread across the 21 pet stores on map listings, it comes to $3M per store. The spending figure covers all pets, not only pet stores. It is estimated from the incomes of the 71,424 households in the Dover metro area and national spending patterns by income.
How does the Dover, DE metro area compare with the U.S. for pet stores?
The Dover metro area has 2.9 pet stores per 10,000 households, 45% above the U.S. rate of 2.0. Spending per store is $3M, 34% below the U.S. figure of $4.5M. At the national ratio of pet stores to household spending, the Dover metro area would have about 14, against 21 on map listings. There is one business with payroll in the industry for every 10,203 households, against one for every 13,024 across the U.S.
How fast is the Dover, DE metro area growing?
Population estimates put the Dover metro area at 194,786 people in 2025, up 6.8% since 2020, faster than the U.S. (+3.1%). It has 71,424 households. Median household income in the Dover metro area is $74,477, 8% below the U.S. median of $80,734. Against the 2015–2019 survey, the median rose 22.3%, 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 Dover metro area scores 38 for pet stores (lower middle), #284 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 Dover 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 Dover metro area
Screening a site or an acquisition in the Dover 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 Dover 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.