Groundwork

Pets · Metro area · New York

Pet stores in the Watertown-Fort Drum, NY metro area

The pet stores in the Watertown-Fort Drum, NY metro area, the household spending behind them and how the market ranks against other metro areas.

Groundwork market score · out of 100

Score 12 out of 100: Low

Ranked #378 of 382 scored metro areas
#11 of 13 scored metro areas based in New York

Listings
10
7 chain locations (70%)
Official establishments
4
Businesses with payroll, 2023
Household spending a year
$26.9M
On pets · $566 a household
Spending per listing
$2.7M
40% below the U.S.
Listings per 10k households
2.1
5% above the U.S.
Population, 2025
111,540
−3.9% since 2020

See the pet stores around any address in the Watertown-Fort Drum 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 Watertown-Fort Drum 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

The Groundwork market score for pet stores in the Watertown-Fort Drum metro area is 12 (low), #378 of 382 scored metro areas and #11 of 13 scored metro areas based in New York. That puts it in the bottom quarter of metro areas.

Households in the Watertown-Fort Drum metro area spend about $26.9M a year on pets, or $566 per household, 38% below the U.S. average. That is about $2.7M of household spending for each store on map listings, 40% below the U.S. figure of $4.5M. The spending figure covers all pets, not only pet stores.

There are 10 pet stores on map listings in the Watertown-Fort Drum metro area as of September 2026. 7 of them (70%) 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.

The official count of businesses with payroll classed as pet and pet supplies stores in the Watertown-Fort Drum metro area was 4 in 2023. That is one for every 11,902 households, against one for every 13,024 across the U.S. Population estimates put the population change in the Watertown-Fort Drum metro area from 2020 to 2025 at −3.9%, against +3.1% for the U.S.

How the Watertown-Fort Drum metro area compares

The same measures for New York 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 Watertown-Fort Drum, NY metro area compared with New York and the U.S.
MeasureWatertown-Fort Drum metro areaNew YorkU.S.
Listings per 10k households2.11.72.0
Spending per listing$2.7M$4M$4.5M
Households per official establishment11,90213,98313,024
Official establishment growth, 2019–2023n/a−20.3%−1.6%
Population growth, 2020–2025−3.9%−0.6%+3.1%
Spending per household on pets$566$701$909
Median household income$66,301$85,974$80,734
Groundwork market score1227

Official counts and lending

Businesses

Official establishments, 2019 to 2023
4
Employees, 2023
48
Annual payroll, 2023
$1.5M
One-person businesses, 2023
Not publishedNot published for this business type
Map listings, September 2026
107 chain locations
Listings at the U.S. rate for this spending
6The 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 Watertown-Fort Drum 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 Watertown-Fort Drum metro area

Population, 2025 estimate
111,540−3.9% since 2020
Households
47,606
Median age
37.4
Homes lived in by their owners
55%
Vehicles per household
1.6
Land area
1,268 sq. mi.
People per square mile
91
Median household income
$66,301+25.8% vs. 2015–2019, before inflation
Average household income
$86,210
Median home value
$188,200
Jobs located here
34,253
Daytime population
112,470Residents who don’t work, plus everyone whose job is here

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

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Pet stores across New York

Every New York market ranked →

The highest-scoring metro areas in New York for pet stores, numbered among those based in New York, with the Watertown-Fort Drum metro area marked.

Top metro areas in New York

Metro areas in New York ranked for pet stores by Groundwork market score
MarketScoreListingsPer 10k householdsSpending per listingPopulation growthU.S. rank
1New York-Newark-Jersey City, NY-NJ441,2691.7$4.4M+0.6%#238 of 382
2Binghamton, NY37151.5$3.9M−1.3%#289 of 382
3Utica-Rome, NY36191.6$3.7M−2.0%#296 of 382
4Albany-Schenectady-Troy, NY32671.7$3.9M+1.9%#320 of 382
5Kiryas Joel-Poughkeepsie-Newburgh, NY30552.2$3.4M+3.0%#329 of 382
6Syracuse, NY28612.2$2.8M−1.3%#339 of 382
7Glens Falls, NY23101.8$3.4M−1.9%#355 of 382
8Rochester, NY22821.8$3.4M−0.7%#359 of 382
9Ithaca, NY2171.6$3.9M−1.4%#364 of 382
10Buffalo-Cheektowaga, NY16992.0$3.1M−0.8%#377 of 382
11Watertown-Fort Drum, NY12102.1$2.7M−3.9%#378 of 382

Other business types in the Watertown-Fort Drum metro area

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

Questions

How many pet stores are in the Watertown-Fort Drum, NY metro area?

As of September 2026, map listings count 10 pet stores in the Watertown-Fort Drum metro area. 7 of them (70%) 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 Watertown-Fort Drum, NY metro area spend on pets?

About $26.9M a year, or $566 per household. That is 38% below the U.S. average (an index of 62, where 100 is the U.S. average). Spread across the 10 pet stores on map listings, it comes to $2.7M 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 47,606 households in the Watertown-Fort Drum metro area and national spending patterns by income.

How does the Watertown-Fort Drum, NY metro area compare with the U.S. for pet stores?

The Watertown-Fort Drum metro area has 2.1 pet stores per 10,000 households, 5% above the U.S. rate of 2.0. Spending per store is $2.7M, 40% below the U.S. figure of $4.5M. At the U.S. ratio of pet stores to household spending, the Watertown-Fort Drum metro area would have about 6, against 10 on map listings. There is one business with payroll in the industry for every 11,902 households, against one for every 13,024 across the U.S.

How fast is the Watertown-Fort Drum, NY metro area growing?

Population estimates put the Watertown-Fort Drum metro area at 111,540 people in 2025, down 3.9% since 2020, against +3.1% for the U.S. It has 47,606 households. The median household income in the Watertown-Fort Drum metro area is $66,301 a year, 18% below the U.S. median of $80,734. That rose 25.8% 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. 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 Watertown-Fort Drum metro area scores 12 for pet stores (low), #378 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 Watertown-Fort Drum 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 Watertown-Fort Drum metro area

Screening a site or an acquisition in the Watertown-Fort Drum 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 Watertown-Fort Drum 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.