Groundwork

Pets · Small-town market · Hawaii

Pet stores in the Hilo-Kailua, HI area

Competitor counts, household spending and official business counts for pet stores in the Hilo-Kailua, HI area, set against other small-town markets and the U.S.

Groundwork market score · out of 100

Score 91 out of 100: Very high

Ranked #3 of 220 scored small-town markets
The only scored small-town market based in Hawaii

Listings
17
3 chain locations (18%)
Official establishments
4
Businesses with payroll, 2023
Household spending a year
$73.3M
On pets · $990 a household
Spending per listing
$4.3M
5% below the U.S.
Listings per 10k households
2.3
15% above the U.S.
Population, 2025
210,043
+4.6% since 2020

See the pet stores around any address in the Hilo-Kailua 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 Hilo-Kailua 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

For pet stores, the Hilo-Kailua area has a Groundwork market score of 91 (very high): #3 of 220 scored small-town markets and the only scored small-town market based in Hawaii. That puts it in the top 10% of small-town markets for pet stores.

At $990 per household (9% above the U.S. average), households in the Hilo-Kailua area spend about $73.3M a year on pets. That is about $4.3M of household spending for each store on map listings, 5% below the U.S. figure of $4.5M. The spending figure covers all pets, not only pet stores.

The Hilo-Kailua area has 17 pet stores on map listings as of September 2026. Chain locations make up 18% of them, against 38% across the U.S. That is 2.3 per 10,000 households, 15% above the U.S. rate of 2.0.

Official counts show 4 businesses with payroll classed as pet and pet supplies stores in the Hilo-Kailua area in 2023. That is one for every 18,518 households, against one for every 13,024 across the U.S. Population estimates put the population change in the Hilo-Kailua area from 2020 to 2025 at +4.6%, faster than the U.S. (+3.1%).

How the Hilo-Kailua area compares

The same measures for Hawaii 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 Hilo-Kailua, HI area compared with Hawaii and the U.S.
MeasureHilo-Kailua areaHawaiiU.S.
Listings per 10k households2.31.82.0
Spending per listing$4.3M$6.5M$4.5M
Households per official establishment18,51814,92313,024
Official establishment growth, 2019–2023n/a−10.8%−1.6%
Population growth, 2020–2025+4.6%−1.3%+3.1%
Spending per household on pets$990$1,140$909
Median household income$78,639$100,389$80,734
Groundwork market score9171

Official counts and lending

Businesses

Official establishments, 2019 to 2023
4
Employees, 2023
36
Annual payroll, 2023
$1.2M
One-person businesses, 2023
Not publishedNot published for this business type
Map listings, September 2026
173 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 Hilo-Kailua 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 Hilo-Kailua area

Population, 2025 estimate
210,043+4.6% since 2020
Households
74,072
Median age
44.6
Homes lived in by their owners
74%
Vehicles per household
2.0
Land area
4,028 sq. mi.
People per square mile
51
Median household income
$78,639+26.0% vs. 2015–2019, before inflation
Average household income
$106,737
Median home value
$519,300
Jobs located here
69,607
Daytime population
224,838Residents who don’t work, plus everyone whose job is here

Looking at a specific site in the Hilo-Kailua area?

These figures cover the whole small-town market. 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 Hilo-Kailua area. Signed out, you see a blurred preview; on an account, each report is one action.

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Other business types in the Hilo-Kailua area

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

Funeral services

Questions

How many pet stores are in the Hilo-Kailua, HI area?

Map listings as of September 2026 show 17 pet stores in the Hilo-Kailua area. 3 of them (18%) are chain locations. The listings count pet stores. Official counts show 4 businesses with payroll classed as pet and pet supplies stores in 2023.

How much do households in the Hilo-Kailua, HI area spend on pets?

About $73.3M a year, or $990 per household. That is 9% above the U.S. average (an index of 109, where 100 is the U.S. average). Spread across the 17 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 74,072 households in the Hilo-Kailua area and national spending patterns by income.

How does the Hilo-Kailua, HI area compare with the U.S. for pet stores?

The Hilo-Kailua area has 2.3 pet stores per 10,000 households, 15% above the U.S. rate of 2.0. Spending per store is $4.3M, 5% below the U.S. figure of $4.5M. At the U.S. ratio of pet stores to household spending, the Hilo-Kailua area would have about 16, against 17 on map listings. There is one business with payroll in the industry for every 18,518 households, against one for every 13,024 across the U.S.

How fast is the Hilo-Kailua, HI area growing?

Population estimates put the Hilo-Kailua area at 210,043 people in 2025, up 4.6% since 2020, faster than the U.S. (+3.1%). It has 74,072 households. The median household income in the Hilo-Kailua area is $78,639 a year, 3% below the U.S. median of $80,734. That rose 26.0% 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. A small-town market is a town of 10,000 to 50,000 people and the county or counties tied to it by commuting. 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 Hilo-Kailua area scores 91 for pet stores (very high), #3 of 220 scored small-town markets.

How can I see the market around a specific site?

Run a Groundwork site report on an address in the Hilo-Kailua 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 Hilo-Kailua area

Screening a site or an acquisition in the Hilo-Kailua 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 Hilo-Kailua area. Signed out, you see a blurred preview; on an account, each report is one action.

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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.