Groundwork

Pets · Metro area · Pennsylvania

Pet stores in the Harrisburg-Carlisle, PA metro area

Competitor counts, household spending and official business counts for pet stores in the Harrisburg-Carlisle, PA metro area, set against other metro areas and the U.S.

Groundwork market score · out of 100

Score 46 out of 100: Lower middle

Ranked #225 of 382 scored metro areas
#2 of 16 scored metro areas based in Pennsylvania

Listings
46
19 chain locations (41%)
Official establishments
11
Businesses with payroll, 2023
Household spending a year
$159.7M
On pets · $649 a household
Spending per listing
$3.5M
23% below the U.S.
Listings per 10k households
1.9
5% below the U.S.
Population, 2025
617,427
+4.2% since 2020

See the pet stores around any address in the Harrisburg-Carlisle 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 Harrisburg-Carlisle 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

As of September 2026, map listings count 46 pet stores in the Harrisburg-Carlisle metro area. Of those, 19 are chain locations, or 41%, against 38% across the U.S. That comes to 1.9 for every 10,000 households, 5% below the U.S. rate of 2.0.

Households in the Harrisburg-Carlisle metro area spend about $159.7M a year on pets, or $649 per household, 29% below the U.S. average. That works out to $3.5M per store, 23% below the U.S. figure of $4.5M. That spending covers all pets, which pet stores share with other businesses in the trade.

Official counts show 11 businesses with payroll classed as pet and pet supplies stores in the Harrisburg-Carlisle metro area in 2023. That is one for every 22,371 households, against one for every 13,024 across the U.S.

Population estimates put the population change in the Harrisburg-Carlisle metro area from 2020 to 2025 at +4.2%, faster than the U.S. (+3.1%). For pet stores, the Harrisburg-Carlisle metro area has a Groundwork market score of 46 (lower middle): #225 of 382 scored metro areas and #2 of 16 scored metro areas based in Pennsylvania.

How the Harrisburg-Carlisle metro area 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 Harrisburg-Carlisle, PA metro area compared with Pennsylvania and the U.S.
MeasureHarrisburg-Carlisle metro areaPennsylvaniaU.S.
Listings per 10k households1.92.12.0
Spending per listing$3.5M$3.1M$4.5M
Households per official establishment22,37113,70113,024
Official establishment growth, 2019–2023n/a−14.1%−1.6%
Population growth, 2020–2025+4.2%+0.5%+3.1%
Spending per household on pets$649$647$909
Median household income$80,919$77,971$80,734
Groundwork market score4618

Official counts and lending

Businesses

Official establishments, 2019 to 2023
11
Employees, 2023
169
Annual payroll, 2023
$4.9M
One-person businesses, 2023
Not publishedNot published for this business type
Map listings, September 2026
4619 chain locations
Listings at the U.S. rate for this spending
35The 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 Harrisburg-Carlisle 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 Harrisburg-Carlisle metro area

Population, 2025 estimate
617,427+4.2% since 2020
Households
246,084
Median age
40.7
Homes lived in by their owners
68%
Vehicles per household
1.8
Land area
1,622 sq. mi.
People per square mile
373
Median household income
$80,919+24.7% vs. 2015–2019, before inflation
Average household income
$106,040
Median home value
$253,100
Jobs located here
349,053
Daytime population
676,005Residents who don’t work, plus everyone whose job is here

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

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Pet stores across Pennsylvania

Every Pennsylvania market ranked →

The highest-scoring metro areas in Pennsylvania for pet stores, numbered among those based in Pennsylvania, with the Harrisburg-Carlisle metro area marked.

Top metro areas in Pennsylvania

Metro areas in Pennsylvania ranked for pet stores by Groundwork market score
MarketScoreListingsPer 10k householdsSpending per listingPopulation growthU.S. rank
1Williamsport, PA4651.1$5.2M−1.3%#218 of 382
2Harrisburg-Carlisle, PA46461.9$3.5M+4.2%#225 of 382
3Erie, PA39131.2$4.8M−1.8%#268 of 382
4Gettysburg, PA3371.7$3.8M+3.6%#314 of 382
5Chambersburg, PA33142.2$2.8M+3.0%#317 of 382
6Philadelphia-Camden-Wilmington, PA-NJ-DE-MD324671.9$4M+1.4%#319 of 382
7Lebanon, PA32152.6$2.4M+2.2%#323 of 382
8Lancaster, PA29653.1$2.2M+1.9%#337 of 382
9York-Hanover, PA27522.9$2.3M+3.6%#345 of 382
10Allentown-Bethlehem-Easton, PA-NJ26862.5$2.7M+3.0%#347 of 382

Other business types in the Harrisburg-Carlisle metro area

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

Questions

How many pet stores are in the Harrisburg-Carlisle, PA metro area?

The Harrisburg-Carlisle metro area has 46 pet stores on map listings as of September 2026. 19 of them (41%) are chain locations. The listings count pet stores. Official counts show 11 businesses with payroll classed as pet and pet supplies stores in 2023.

How much do households in the Harrisburg-Carlisle, PA metro area spend on pets?

About $159.7M a year, or $649 per household. That is 29% below the U.S. average (an index of 71, where 100 is the U.S. average). Spread across the 46 pet stores on map listings, it comes to $3.5M per store. The spending figure covers all pets, not only pet stores. It is estimated from the incomes of the 246,084 households in the Harrisburg-Carlisle metro area and national spending patterns by income.

How does the Harrisburg-Carlisle, PA metro area compare with the U.S. for pet stores?

The Harrisburg-Carlisle metro area has 1.9 pet stores per 10,000 households, 5% below the U.S. rate of 2.0. Spending per store is $3.5M, 23% below the U.S. figure of $4.5M. At the national ratio of pet stores to household spending, the Harrisburg-Carlisle metro area would have about 35, against 46 on map listings. There is one business with payroll in the industry for every 22,371 households, against one for every 13,024 across the U.S.

How fast is the Harrisburg-Carlisle, PA metro area growing?

Population estimates put the Harrisburg-Carlisle metro area at 617,427 people in 2025, up 4.2% since 2020, faster than the U.S. (+3.1%). It has 246,084 households. Median household income in the Harrisburg-Carlisle metro area is $80,919, in line with the U.S. median of $80,734. Against the 2015–2019 survey, the median rose 24.7%, 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 Harrisburg-Carlisle metro area scores 46 for pet stores (lower middle), #225 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 Harrisburg-Carlisle 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 Harrisburg-Carlisle metro area

Screening a site or an acquisition in the Harrisburg-Carlisle 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 Harrisburg-Carlisle 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.