Groundwork

Pets · Metro area · Georgia

Pet stores in the Athens-Clarke County, GA metro area

Competitor counts, household spending and official business counts for pet stores in the Athens-Clarke County, GA metro area, set against other metro areas and the U.S.

Groundwork market score · out of 100

Score 54 out of 100: Upper middle

Ranked #165 of 382 scored metro areas
#10 of 14 scored metro areas based in Georgia

Listings
18
6 chain locations (33%)
Official establishments
6
Businesses with payroll, 2023
Household spending a year
$74M
On pets · $859 a household
Spending per listing
$4.1M
9% below the U.S.
Listings per 10k households
2.1
5% above the U.S.
Population, 2025
224,148
+3.9% since 2020

See the pet stores around any address in the Athens-Clarke County 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 Athens-Clarke County 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 18 pet stores in the Athens-Clarke County metro area. 6 of them (33%) are chain locations, against 38% across the U.S. Per 10,000 households, that is 2.1, 5% above the U.S. rate of 2.0.

At $859 per household (5% below the U.S. average), households in the Athens-Clarke County metro area spend about $74M a year on pets. That is about $4.1M of household spending for each store on map listings, 9% 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 Athens-Clarke County metro area was 6 in 2023. That is one for every 14,350 households, against one for every 13,024 across the U.S.

Population estimates put the population change in the Athens-Clarke County metro area from 2020 to 2025 at +3.9%, faster than the U.S. (+3.1%). The Athens-Clarke County metro area scores 54 (upper middle) on the Groundwork market score for pet stores, ranking #165 of 382 scored metro areas and #10 of 14 scored metro areas based in Georgia.

How the Athens-Clarke County metro area compares

The same measures for Georgia 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 Athens-Clarke County, GA metro area compared with Georgia and the U.S.
MeasureAthens-Clarke County metro areaGeorgiaU.S.
Listings per 10k households2.11.82.0
Spending per listing$4.1M$5.3M$4.5M
Households per official establishment14,35014,92413,024
Official establishment growth, 2019–2023n/a+4.2%−1.6%
Population growth, 2020–2025+3.9%+5.3%+3.1%
Spending per household on pets$859$936$909
Median household income$65,608$77,353$80,734
Groundwork market score5476

Official counts and lending

Businesses

Official establishments, 2019 to 2023
6
Employees, 2023
89
Annual payroll, 2023
$1.7M
One-person businesses, 2023
Not publishedNot published for this business type
Map listings, September 2026
186 chain locations
Listings at the U.S. rate for this spending
16The 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 Athens-Clarke County 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 Athens-Clarke County metro area

Population, 2025 estimate
224,148+3.9% since 2020
Households
86,101
Median age
36.7
Homes lived in by their owners
56%
Vehicles per household
2.0
Land area
1,025 sq. mi.
People per square mile
215
Median household income
$65,608+39.0% vs. 2015–2019, before inflation
Average household income
$94,551
Median home value
$310,200
Jobs located here
94,787
Daytime population
224,908Residents who don’t work, plus everyone whose job is here

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

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Pet stores across Georgia

Every Georgia market ranked →

The highest-scoring metro areas in Georgia for pet stores, numbered among those based in Georgia (a market based in another state is listed without a number), with the Athens-Clarke County metro area marked.

Top metro areas in Georgia

Metro areas in Georgia ranked for pet stores by Groundwork market score
MarketScoreListingsPer 10k householdsSpending per listingPopulation growthU.S. rank
1Augusta-Richmond County, GA-SC77281.2$7.2M+4.7%#16 of 382
2Gainesville, GA76111.5$6.4M+11.4%#19 of 382
3Atlanta-Sandy Springs-Roswell, GA744261.8$5.6M+5.9%#27 of 382
4Savannah, GA72311.9$4.8M+8.1%#44 of 382
Chattanooga, TN-GA71361.6$5.7M+5.3%#46 of 382
5Brunswick-St. Simons, GA6781.7$5M+4.4%#74 of 382
6Dalton, GA6681.5$5.3M+3.5%#77 of 382
7Columbus, GA-AL60181.4$5.6M−1.3%#120 of 382
8Hinesville, GA5651.7$4.6M+12.6%#147 of 382
9Macon-Bibb County, GA54151.7$4.7M+2.1%#162 of 382
10Athens-Clarke County, GA54182.1$4.1M+3.9%#165 of 382

Other business types in the Athens-Clarke County metro area

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

Questions

How many pet stores are in the Athens-Clarke County, GA metro area?

There are 18 pet stores on map listings in the Athens-Clarke County metro area as of September 2026. 6 of them (33%) are chain locations. The listings count pet stores. Official counts show 6 businesses with payroll classed as pet and pet supplies stores in 2023.

How much do households in the Athens-Clarke County, GA metro area spend on pets?

About $74M a year, or $859 per household. That is 5% below the U.S. average (an index of 95, where 100 is the U.S. average). Spread across the 18 pet stores on map listings, it comes to $4.1M per store. The spending figure covers all pets, not only pet stores. It is estimated from the incomes of the 86,101 households in the Athens-Clarke County metro area and national spending patterns by income.

How does the Athens-Clarke County, GA metro area compare with the U.S. for pet stores?

The Athens-Clarke County metro area has 2.1 pet stores per 10,000 households, 5% above the U.S. rate of 2.0. Spending per store is $4.1M, 9% below the U.S. figure of $4.5M. At the national ratio of pet stores to household spending, the Athens-Clarke County metro area would have about 16, against 18 on map listings. There is one business with payroll in the industry for every 14,350 households, against one for every 13,024 across the U.S.

How fast is the Athens-Clarke County, GA metro area growing?

Population estimates put the Athens-Clarke County metro area at 224,148 people in 2025, up 3.9% since 2020, faster than the U.S. (+3.1%). It has 86,101 households. Median household income in the Athens-Clarke County metro area is $65,608, 19% below the U.S. median of $80,734. Against the 2015–2019 survey, the median rose 39.0%, 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 Athens-Clarke County metro area scores 54 for pet stores (upper middle), #165 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 Athens-Clarke County 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 Athens-Clarke County metro area

Screening a site or an acquisition in the Athens-Clarke County 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 Athens-Clarke County 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.