Pets · Small-town market · Michigan
Pet stores in the Big Rapids, MI area
How the Big Rapids, 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
Not scored
The score needs at least 5 listings; this market has 3.
- Listings
- 3
- 1 chain location (33%)
- Official establishments
- n/a
- Fewer than 3, or not published
- Household spending a year
- $11.9M
- On pets · $712 a household
- Spending per listing
- $4M
- 12% below the U.S.
- Listings per 10k households
- 1.8
- 10% below the U.S.
- Population, 2025
- 42,320
- +4.7% since 2020
See the pet stores around any address in the Big Rapids 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 Big Rapids 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
At $712 per household (22% below the U.S. average), households in the Big Rapids area spend about $11.9M a year on pets. That works out to $4M per store, 12% below the U.S. figure of $4.5M. The spending figure covers all pets, not only pet stores.
The Big Rapids area has 3 pet stores on map listings as of September 2026. Per 10,000 households, that is 1.8, 10% below the U.S. rate of 2.0.
Official counts don’t publish a figure for pet and pet supplies stores in the Big Rapids area, since they leave out counts under 3. Since fiscal 2022, 1 SBA-backed loan worth $25K has gone to businesses classed as pet and pet supplies stores in the Big Rapids area.
Population estimates put the population change in the Big Rapids area from 2020 to 2025 at +4.7%, faster than the U.S. (+3.1%). With 3 pet stores on map listings, the Big Rapids area isn’t given a market score: the score needs at least 5, since one listing more or less would swing it.
How the Big Rapids 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 | Big Rapids area | Michigan | U.S. |
|---|---|---|---|
| Listings per 10k households | 1.8 | 1.8 | 2.0 |
| Spending per listing | $4M | $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 | +4.7% | +0.6% | +3.1% |
| Spending per household on pets | $712 | $843 | $909 |
| Median household income | $60,951 | $72,875 | $80,734 |
| Groundwork market score | Not scored | 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
- 31 chain location
- Listings at the U.S. rate for this spending
- 3The U.S. ratio of listings to household spending, applied here
SBA-backed loans since fiscal 2022
- Loans
- 1
- Amount
- $25K
SBA-backed loans to businesses classed as pet and pet supplies stores in the Big Rapids 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 Big Rapids area
- Population, 2025 estimate
- 42,320+4.7% since 2020
- Households
- 16,708
- Median age
- 41.6
- Homes lived in by their owners
- 77%
- Vehicles per household
- 1.9
- Land area
- 555 sq. mi.
- People per square mile
- 74
- Median household income
- $60,951+35.4% vs. 2015–2019, before inflation
- Average household income
- $74,230
- Median home value
- $178,900
- Jobs located here
- 11,143
- Daytime population
- 38,247Residents who don’t work, plus everyone whose job is here
Looking at a specific site in the Big Rapids 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 Big Rapids 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 Big Rapids 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 |
| Big Rapids, MI | Not scored | 3 | 1.8 | $4M | +4.7% |
Other business types in the Big Rapids 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 businesses49
- Veterinarians41
- Pet grooming and boarding38
- Pet stores
Child care
Clothing and laundry
Home services
Real estate
Funeral services
Questions
How many pet stores are in the Big Rapids, MI area?
Map listings as of September 2026 show 3 pet stores in the Big Rapids area. The listings count pet stores. No official count is published for pet and pet supplies stores in the Big Rapids area: counts under 3 are left out.
How much do households in the Big Rapids, MI area spend on pets?
About $11.9M a year, or $712 per household. That is 22% below the U.S. average (an index of 78, where 100 is the U.S. average). Spread across the 3 pet stores on map listings, it comes to $4M 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 16,708 households in the Big Rapids area and national spending patterns by income.
How does the Big Rapids, MI area compare with the U.S. for pet stores?
The Big Rapids area has 1.8 pet stores per 10,000 households, 10% below the U.S. rate of 2.0. Spending per store is $4M, 12% below the U.S. figure of $4.5M. The count on map listings matches the U.S. ratio of pet stores to household spending.
How fast is the Big Rapids, MI area growing?
Population estimates put the Big Rapids area at 42,320 people in 2025, up 4.7% since 2020, faster than the U.S. (+3.1%). It has 16,708 households. The median household income in the Big Rapids area is $60,951 a year, 25% below the U.S. median of $80,734. That rose 35.4% 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 Big Rapids area has no market score for pet stores: the score needs at least 5 on map listings, and it has 3.
How can I see the market around a specific site?
Run a Groundwork site report on an address in the Big Rapids 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 Big Rapids area
Screening a site or an acquisition in the Big Rapids 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 Big Rapids 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.