Pets · Small-town market · Michigan
Pet stores in the Alpena, MI area
How the Alpena, MI area compares with other small-town markets and the U.S. for pet stores: competitors, household spending, official counts and growth.
Groundwork market score · out of 100
Score 20 out of 100: Low
Ranked #205 of 220 scored small-town markets
#12 of 12 scored small-town markets based in Michigan
- Listings
- 5
- 1 chain location (20%)
- Official establishments
- n/a
- Fewer than 3, or not published
- Household spending a year
- $9.1M
- On pets · $696 a household
- Spending per listing
- $1.8M
- 60% below the U.S.
- Listings per 10k households
- 3.8
- 90% above the U.S.
- Population, 2025
- 28,853
- −0.1% since 2020
See the pet stores around any address in the Alpena 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 Alpena 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
The Groundwork market score for pet stores in the Alpena area is 20 (low), #205 of 220 scored small-town markets and #12 of 12 scored small-town markets based in Michigan. That puts it in the bottom quarter of small-town markets.
Households in the Alpena area spend about $9.1M a year on pets, or $696 per household, 23% below the U.S. average. That is about $1.8M of household spending for each store on map listings, 60% below the U.S. figure of $4.5M. The spending figure covers all pets, not only pet stores.
The Alpena area has 5 pet stores on map listings as of September 2026. One of them (20%) is a chain location, against 38% across the U.S. That is 3.8 per 10,000 households, 90% above the U.S. rate of 2.0.
Official counts don’t publish a figure for pet and pet supplies stores in the Alpena area, since they leave out counts under 3. Since fiscal 2022, 1 SBA-backed loan worth $105K has gone to businesses classed as pet and pet supplies stores in the Alpena area. Population estimates put the population change in the Alpena area from 2020 to 2025 at −0.1%, against +3.1% for the U.S.
How the Alpena area compares
The same measures for Michigan 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 | Alpena area | Michigan | U.S. |
|---|---|---|---|
| Listings per 10k households | 3.8 | 1.8 | 2.0 |
| Spending per listing | $1.8M | $4.6M | $4.5M |
| Households per official establishment | n/a | 13,960 | 13,024 |
| Official establishment growth, 2019–2023 | n/a | −3.6% | −1.6% |
| Population growth, 2020–2025 | −0.1% | +0.6% | +3.1% |
| Spending per household on pets | $696 | $843 | $909 |
| Median household income | $53,950 | $72,875 | $80,734 |
| Groundwork market score | 20 | 46 |
Official counts and lending
Businesses
- Official establishments, 2019 to 2023
- n/a
- Employees, 2023
- n/a
- Annual payroll, 2023
- n/a
- One-person businesses, 2023
- Not publishedNot published for this business type
- Map listings, September 2026
- 51 chain location
- Listings at the U.S. rate for this spending
- 2The U.S. ratio of listings to household spending, applied here
SBA-backed loans since fiscal 2022
- Loans
- 1
- Amount
- $105K
SBA-backed loans to businesses classed as pet and pet supplies stores in the Alpena 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 Alpena area
- Population, 2025 estimate
- 28,853−0.1% since 2020
- Households
- 13,019
- Median age
- 47.4
- Homes lived in by their owners
- 80%
- Vehicles per household
- 1.7
- Land area
- 572 sq. mi.
- People per square mile
- 50
- Median household income
- $53,950+24.4% vs. 2015–2019, before inflation
- Average household income
- $74,418
- Median home value
- $153,900
- Jobs located here
- 11,363
- Daytime population
- 29,194Residents who don’t work, plus everyone whose job is here
Looking at a specific site in the Alpena 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 Alpena 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 Michigan
Every Michigan market ranked →The highest-scoring small-town markets in Michigan for pet stores, numbered among those based in Michigan (a market based in another state is listed without a number), with the Alpena area marked.
Top small-town markets in Michigan
| Market | Score | Listings | Per 10k households | Spending per listing | Population growth | U.S. rank |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| 1Holland, MI | 74 | 11 | 2.4 | $3.6M | +2.1% | #23 of 220 |
| 2Adrian, MI | 58 | 10 | 2.6 | $3.1M | −1.6% | #70 of 220 |
| 3Marquette, MI | 48 | 7 | 2.5 | $3M | +2.3% | #111 of 220 |
| 4Sturgis, MI | 45 | 6 | 2.5 | $2.9M | +0.1% | #125 of 220 |
| 5Owosso, MI | 44 | 8 | 2.8 | $2.7M | −0.4% | #136 of 220 |
| Marinette, WI-MI | 44 | 8 | 2.7 | $2.7M | +0.3% | #137 of 220 |
| 6Mount Pleasant, MI | 41 | 6 | 2.4 | $2.9M | +0.3% | #152 of 220 |
| 7Cadillac, MI | 36 | 7 | 3.6 | $2.1M | +2.0% | #172 of 220 |
| 8Petoskey, MI | 34 | 6 | 3.9 | $2.2M | −1.0% | #175 of 220 |
| 9Hillsdale, MI | 29 | 7 | 3.9 | $1.9M | 0.0% | #186 of 220 |
| 12Alpena, MI | 20 | 5 | 3.8 | $1.8M | −0.1% | #205 of 220 |
Other business types in the Alpena 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 businesses20
- Veterinarians34
- Pet grooming and boarding15
- Pet stores20
Child care
Clothing and laundry
Home services
Real estate
Funeral services
Questions
How many pet stores are in the Alpena, MI area?
Map listings as of September 2026 show 5 pet stores in the Alpena area. One of them (20%) is a chain location. The listings count pet stores. No official count is published for pet and pet supplies stores in the Alpena area: counts under 3 are left out.
How much do households in the Alpena, MI area spend on pets?
About $9.1M a year, or $696 per household. That is 23% below the U.S. average (an index of 77, where 100 is the U.S. average). Spread across the 5 pet stores on map listings, it comes to $1.8M 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 13,019 households in the Alpena area and national spending patterns by income.
How does the Alpena, MI area compare with the U.S. for pet stores?
The Alpena area has 3.8 pet stores per 10,000 households, 90% above the U.S. rate of 2.0. Spending per store is $1.8M, 60% below the U.S. figure of $4.5M. At the U.S. ratio of pet stores to household spending, the Alpena area would have about 2, against 5 on map listings.
How fast is the Alpena, MI area growing?
Population estimates put the Alpena area at 28,853 people in 2025, down 0.1% since 2020, against +3.1% for the U.S. It has 13,019 households. The median household income in the Alpena area is $53,950 a year, 33% below the U.S. median of $80,734. That rose 24.4% 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 Alpena area scores 20 for pet stores (low), #205 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 Alpena 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 Alpena area
Screening a site or an acquisition in the Alpena 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 Alpena 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.