Groundwork

Pets · Small-town market · California

Veterinarians in the Sonora, CA area

How the Sonora, CA area compares with other small-town markets and the U.S. for veterinarians: competitors, household spending, official counts and growth.

Groundwork market score · out of 100

Score 55 out of 100: Upper middle

Ranked #159 of 398 scored small-town markets
#4 of 6 scored small-town markets based in California

Listings
9
1 chain location (11%)
Official establishments
8
Businesses with payroll, 2023
Household spending a year
$22M
On pets · $970 a household
Spending per listing
$2.4M
10% below the U.S.
Listings per 10k households
4.0
21% above the U.S.
Population, 2025
53,160
−4.0% since 2020

See the veterinarians around any address in the Sonora area

The site report maps the veterinarians 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 Sonora 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

Map listings as of September 2026 show 9 veterinarians in the Sonora area. One of them (11%) is a chain location, against 19% across the U.S. That is 4.0 per 10,000 households, 21% above the U.S. rate of 3.3.

Households in the Sonora area spend about $22M a year on pets, or $970 per household, 7% above the U.S. average. Spread across 9 veterinarians, that is $2.4M per clinic, 10% below the U.S. figure of $2.7M. That spending covers all pets, which veterinarians share with other businesses in the trade.

In 2023, official counts showed 8 businesses with payroll in the Sonora area classed as veterinary services. That is one for every 2,836 households, against one for every 3,767 across the U.S.

Population estimates show the Sonora area declined 4.0% from 2020 to 2025, against +3.1% for the U.S. The Groundwork market score for veterinarians in the Sonora area is 55 (upper middle), #159 of 398 scored small-town markets and #4 of 6 scored small-town markets based in California.

How the Sonora area compares

The same measures for California and the whole U.S. Spending per listing divides a year of household spending on all pets by the veterinarians counted, so it measures the demand for each competitor, not any business’s revenue. Households per establishment does the same with the official count.

Veterinarians in Sonora, CA area compared with California and the U.S.
MeasureSonora areaCaliforniaU.S.
Listings per 10k households4.03.03.3
Spending per listing$2.4M$3.8M$2.7M
Households per official establishment2,8363,9083,767
Official establishment growth, 2019–2023n/a+10.3%+6.8%
Population growth, 2020–2025−4.0%−0.4%+3.1%
Spending per household on pets$970$1,149$909
Median household income$77,404$99,122$80,734
Groundwork market score5568

Official counts and lending

Businesses

Official establishments, 2019 to 2023
8
Employees, 2023
112
Annual payroll, 2023
$4.7M
One-person businesses, 2023
Not publishedNot published for this business type
Map listings, September 2026
91 chain location
Listings at the U.S. rate for this spending
8The 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 veterinary services in the Sonora 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 Sonora area

Population, 2025 estimate
53,160−4.0% since 2020
Households
22,690
Median age
48.6
Homes lived in by their owners
74%
Vehicles per household
2.0
Land area
2,221 sq. mi.
People per square mile
25
Median household income
$77,404+28.8% vs. 2015–2019, before inflation
Average household income
$104,064
Median home value
$433,200
Jobs located here
16,129
Daytime population
40,598Residents who don’t work, plus everyone whose job is here

Looking at a specific site in the Sonora 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 veterinarians on map listings by name and distance.

Or open the report at the center of the Sonora area. Signed out, you see a blurred preview; on an account, each report is one action.

Free10 actions over 3 days, no card

Veterinarians across California

Every California market ranked →

The highest-scoring small-town markets in California for veterinarians, numbered among those based in California (a market based in another state is listed without a number), with the Sonora area marked.

Top small-town markets in California

Small-town markets in California ranked for veterinarians by Groundwork market score
MarketScoreListingsPer 10k householdsSpending per listingPopulation growthU.S. rank
1Clearlake, CA71103.7$2.3M−0.6%#57 of 398
2Eureka-Arcata, CA66183.3$2.6M−3.4%#89 of 398
3Red Bluff, CA6193.6$2.4M−1.7%#118 of 398
4Sonora, CA5594.0$2.4M−4.0%#159 of 398
Gardnerville Ranchos, NV-CA50125.5$2M+0.9%#204 of 398
5Truckee-Grass Valley, CA38307.0$1.5M−0.4%#282 of 398
6Ukiah, CA34205.7$1.6M−3.5%#313 of 398

Other business types in the Sonora area

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

Questions

How many veterinarians are in the Sonora, CA area?

There are 9 veterinarians on map listings in the Sonora area as of September 2026. One of them (11%) is a chain location. The listings count veterinary clinics and animal hospitals. Official counts show 8 businesses with payroll classed as veterinary services in 2023.

How much do households in the Sonora, CA area spend on pets?

About $22M a year, or $970 per household. That is 7% above the U.S. average (an index of 107, where 100 is the U.S. average). Spread across the 9 veterinarians on map listings, it comes to $2.4M per clinic. The spending figure covers all pets, not only veterinarians. It is estimated from the incomes of the 22,690 households in the Sonora area and national spending patterns by income.

How does the Sonora, CA area compare with the U.S. for veterinarians?

The Sonora area has 4.0 veterinarians per 10,000 households, 21% above the U.S. rate of 3.3. Spending per clinic is $2.4M, 10% below the U.S. figure of $2.7M. At the national ratio of veterinarians to household spending, the Sonora area would have about 8, against 9 on map listings. There is one business with payroll in the industry for every 2,836 households, against one for every 3,767 across the U.S.

How fast is the Sonora, CA area growing?

Population estimates put the Sonora area at 53,160 people in 2025, down 4.0% since 2020, against +3.1% for the U.S. It has 22,690 households. The median household income in the Sonora area is $77,404 a year, 4% below the U.S. median of $80,734. That rose 28.8% 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. 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 Sonora area scores 55 for veterinarians (upper middle), #159 of 398 scored small-town markets.

How can I see the market around a specific site?

Run a Groundwork site report on an address in the Sonora area. It maps the veterinarians 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 veterinarians · All 56 business types in the Sonora area

Screening a site or an acquisition in the Sonora 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 Sonora 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.