Groundwork

Pets · County · Pennsylvania

Pet stores in Dauphin County, PA

How Dauphin County, PA compares with other counties and the U.S. for pet stores: competitors, household spending, official counts and growth.

Groundwork market score · out of 100

Score 54 out of 100: Upper middle

Ranked #413 of 974 scored counties
#2 of 45 scored counties in Pennsylvania

Listings
19
7 chain locations (37%)
Official establishments
5
Businesses with payroll, 2023
Household spending a year
$75.8M
On pets · $624 a household
Spending per listing
$4M
12% below the U.S.
Listings per 10k households
1.6
20% below the U.S.
Population, 2025
293,351
+2.3% since 2020

See the pet stores around any address in Dauphin County

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 Dauphin County. Signed out, you see a blurred preview; on an account, each report is one action.

Free10 actions over 3 days, no card

Survey estimates 2020–2024 · population estimates 2025 · official business counts 2023 · map listings September 2026 · Data credits · How we measure

What this means

Households in Dauphin County spend about $75.8M a year on pets, or $624 per household, 31% below the U.S. average. That is about $4M of household spending for each store on map listings, 12% below the U.S. figure of $4.5M. The spending figure covers all pets, not only pet stores.

Dauphin County has 19 pet stores on map listings as of September 2026. Of those, 7 are chain locations, or 37%, against 38% across the U.S. That comes to 1.6 for every 10,000 households, 20% below the U.S. rate of 2.0.

In 2023, official counts showed 5 businesses with payroll in Dauphin County classed as pet and pet supplies stores. That is one for every 24,272 households, against one for every 13,024 across the U.S.

Population estimates show Dauphin County grew 2.3% from 2020 to 2025, slower than the U.S. (+3.1%). For pet stores, Dauphin County has a Groundwork market score of 54 (upper middle): #413 of 974 scored counties and #2 of 45 scored counties in Pennsylvania.

How Dauphin County compares

The same measures for Pennsylvania 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 Dauphin County, PA compared with Pennsylvania and the U.S.
MeasureDauphin CountyPennsylvaniaU.S.
Listings per 10k households1.62.12.0
Spending per listing$4M$3.1M$4.5M
Households per official establishment24,27213,70113,024
Official establishment growth, 2019–2023n/a−14.1%−1.6%
Population growth, 2020–2025+2.3%+0.5%+3.1%
Spending per household on pets$624$647$909
Median household income$76,242$77,971$80,734
Groundwork market score5418

Official counts and lending

Businesses

Official establishments, 2019 to 2023
8 → 5
Employees, 2023
75
Annual payroll, 2023
$2.1M
One-person businesses, 2023
Not publishedNot published for this business type
Map listings, September 2026
197 chain locations
Listings at the U.S. rate for this spending
17The 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 Dauphin County, 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 Dauphin County

Population, 2025 estimate
293,351+2.3% since 2020
Households
121,358
Median age
39.9
Homes lived in by their owners
63%
Vehicles per household
1.7
Land area
525 sq. mi.
People per square mile
552
Median household income
$76,242+25.6% vs. 2015–2019, before inflation
Average household income
$101,388
Median home value
$236,400
Jobs located here
201,933
Daytime population
355,122Residents who don’t work, plus everyone whose job is here

Looking at a specific site in Dauphin County?

These figures cover the whole county. 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 Dauphin County. Signed out, you see a blurred preview; on an account, each report is one action.

Free10 actions over 3 days, no card

Pet stores across Pennsylvania

Every Pennsylvania market ranked →

The highest-scoring counties in Pennsylvania for pet stores, numbered among those based in Pennsylvania, with Dauphin County marked.

Top counties in Pennsylvania

Counties in Pennsylvania ranked for pet stores by Groundwork market score
MarketScoreListingsPer 10k householdsSpending per listingPopulation growthU.S. rank
1Philadelphia County, PA55661.0$5.9M−1.6%#393 of 974
2Dauphin County, PA54191.6$4M+2.3%#413 of 974
3Lycoming County, PA5151.1$5.2M−1.3%#453 of 974
4Cumberland County, PA50242.3$3M+6.5%#489 of 974
5Lackawanna County, PA49121.4$4.3M+0.5%#497 of 974
6Montgomery County, PA48742.2$3.7M+2.4%#524 of 974
7Erie County, PA46131.2$4.8M−1.8%#547 of 974
8Chester County, PA43492.4$3.6M+4.2%#604 of 974
9Adams County, PA4171.7$3.8M+3.6%#636 of 974
10Franklin County, PA41142.2$2.8M+3.0%#641 of 974

Other business types in Dauphin County

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

Questions

How many pet stores are in Dauphin County, PA?

Map listings as of September 2026 show 19 pet stores in Dauphin County. 7 of them (37%) are chain locations. The listings count pet stores. Official counts show 5 businesses with payroll classed as pet and pet supplies stores in 2023.

How much do households in Dauphin County, PA spend on pets?

About $75.8M a year, or $624 per household. That is 31% below the U.S. average (an index of 69, where 100 is the U.S. average). Spread across the 19 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 121,358 households in Dauphin County and national spending patterns by income.

How does Dauphin County, PA compare with the U.S. for pet stores?

Dauphin County has 1.6 pet stores per 10,000 households, 20% below the U.S. rate of 2.0. Spending per store is $4M, 12% below the U.S. figure of $4.5M. At the U.S. ratio of pet stores to household spending, Dauphin County would have about 17, against 19 on map listings. There is one business with payroll in the industry for every 24,272 households, against one for every 13,024 across the U.S.

How fast is Dauphin County, PA growing?

Population estimates put Dauphin County at 293,351 people in 2025, up 2.3% since 2020, slower than the U.S. (+3.1%). It has 121,358 households. The median household income in Dauphin County is $76,242 a year, 6% below the U.S. median of $80,734. That rose 25.6% 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. Dauphin County scores 54 for pet stores (upper middle), #413 of 974 scored counties.

How can I see the market around a specific site?

Run a Groundwork site report on an address in Dauphin County. 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 Dauphin County

Screening a site or an acquisition in Dauphin County?

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 Dauphin County. 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.