Groundwork

Pets · Metro area · Pennsylvania

Pet stores in the Pittsburgh, PA metro area

The pet stores in the Pittsburgh, PA metro area, the household spending behind them and how the market ranks against other metro areas.

Groundwork market score · out of 100

Score 22 out of 100: Low

Ranked #360 of 382 scored metro areas
#12 of 16 scored metro areas based in Pennsylvania

Listings
222
87 chain locations (39%)
Official establishments
78
−1.3% since 2019
Household spending a year
$674.1M
On pets · $635 a household
Spending per listing
$3M
33% below the U.S.
Listings per 10k households
2.1
5% above the U.S.
Population, 2025
2,421,992
−1.3% since 2020

See the pet stores around any address in the Pittsburgh 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 Pittsburgh metro area. 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

The Groundwork market score for pet stores in the Pittsburgh metro area is 22 (low), #360 of 382 scored metro areas and #12 of 16 scored metro areas based in Pennsylvania. That puts it in the bottom quarter of metro areas.

Households in the Pittsburgh metro area spend about $674.1M a year on pets, or $635 per household, 30% below the U.S. average. That is about $3M of household spending for each store on map listings, 33% below the U.S. figure of $4.5M. The spending figure covers all pets, not only pet stores.

The Pittsburgh metro area has 222 pet stores on map listings as of September 2026. 87 of them (39%) are chain locations, against 38% across the U.S. That is 2.1 per 10,000 households, 5% above the U.S. rate of 2.0.

In 2023, official counts showed 78 businesses with payroll in the Pittsburgh metro area classed as pet and pet supplies stores, down 1.3% from 2019. That is one for every 13,612 households, against one for every 13,024 across the U.S. Since fiscal 2022, 4 SBA-backed loans worth $4.3M have gone to businesses classed as pet and pet supplies stores in the Pittsburgh metro area. Between 2020 and 2025, the population of the Pittsburgh metro area declined 1.3%, against +3.1% for the U.S.

How the Pittsburgh 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 Pittsburgh, PA metro area compared with Pennsylvania and the U.S.
MeasurePittsburgh metro areaPennsylvaniaU.S.
Listings per 10k households2.12.12.0
Spending per listing$3M$3.1M$4.5M
Households per official establishment13,61213,70113,024
Official establishment growth, 2019–2023−1.3%−14.1%−1.6%
Population growth, 2020–2025−1.3%+0.5%+3.1%
Spending per household on pets$635$647$909
Median household income$75,762$77,971$80,734
Groundwork market score2218

Official counts and lending

Businesses

Official establishments, 2019 to 2023
78−1.3% over the period
Employees, 2023
1,042
Annual payroll, 2023
$27.4M
One-person businesses, 2023
Not publishedNot published for this business type
Map listings, September 2026
22287 chain locations
Listings at the U.S. rate for this spending
149The U.S. ratio of listings to household spending, applied here

SBA-backed loans since fiscal 2022

Loans
4
Amount
$4.3M

SBA-backed loans to businesses classed as pet and pet supplies stores in the Pittsburgh 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 Pittsburgh metro area

Population, 2025 estimate
2,421,992−1.3% since 2020
Households
1,061,705
Median age
43.8
Homes lived in by their owners
71%
Vehicles per household
1.6
Land area
5,640 sq. mi.
People per square mile
433
Median household income
$75,762
Average household income
$103,604
Median home value
$215,000
Jobs located here
1,169,523
Daytime population
2,467,515Residents who don’t work, plus everyone whose job is here

Looking at a specific site in the Pittsburgh 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 Pittsburgh 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 Pittsburgh 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
12Pittsburgh, PA222222.1$3M−1.3%#360 of 382

Other business types in the Pittsburgh metro area

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

Questions

How many pet stores are in the Pittsburgh, PA metro area?

Map listings as of September 2026 show 222 pet stores in the Pittsburgh metro area. 87 of them (39%) are chain locations. The listings count pet stores. Official counts show 78 businesses with payroll classed as pet and pet supplies stores in 2023, down 1.3% from 2019.

How much do households in the Pittsburgh, PA metro area spend on pets?

About $674.1M a year, or $635 per household. That is 30% below the U.S. average (an index of 70, where 100 is the U.S. average). Spread across the 222 pet stores on map listings, it comes to $3M 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 1,061,705 households in the Pittsburgh metro area and national spending patterns by income.

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

The Pittsburgh metro area has 2.1 pet stores per 10,000 households, 5% above the U.S. rate of 2.0. Spending per store is $3M, 33% below the U.S. figure of $4.5M. At the U.S. ratio of pet stores to household spending, the Pittsburgh metro area would have about 149, against 222 on map listings. There is one business with payroll in the industry for every 13,612 households, against one for every 13,024 across the U.S. The official count fell 1.3% from 2019 to 2023, against −1.6% for the U.S.

How fast is the Pittsburgh, PA metro area growing?

Population estimates put the Pittsburgh metro area at 2,421,992 people in 2025, down 1.3% since 2020, against +3.1% for the U.S. It has 1,061,705 households. The median household income in the Pittsburgh metro area is $75,762 a year, 6% below the U.S. median of $80,734.

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 Pittsburgh metro area scores 22 for pet stores (low), #360 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 Pittsburgh 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 Pittsburgh metro area

Screening a site or an acquisition in the Pittsburgh 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 Pittsburgh 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.