Pets · County · North Carolina
Veterinarians in McDowell County, NC
How McDowell County, NC compares with other counties and the U.S. for veterinarians: competitors, household spending, official counts and growth.
Groundwork market score
Not scored
The score needs at least 5 listings; this market has 3.
- Listings
- 3
- 0 chain locations (0%)
- Official establishments
- 4
- Businesses with payroll, 2023
- Household spending a year
- $14M
- On pets · $749 a household
- Spending per listing
- $4.7M
- 71% above the U.S.
- Listings per 10k households
- 1.6
- 52% below the U.S.
- Population, 2025
- 45,198
- +1.5% since 2020
See the veterinarians around any address in McDowell County
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 McDowell County. Signed out, you see a blurred preview; on an account, each report is one action.
Free10 actions over 3 days, no cardSurvey 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 3 veterinarians in McDowell County. That is 1.6 per 10,000 households, 52% below the U.S. rate of 3.3.
Household spending on pets in McDowell County comes to about $14M a year: $749 per household, 18% below the U.S. average. That is about $4.7M of household spending for each clinic on map listings, 71% above the U.S. figure of $2.7M. That spending covers all pets, which veterinarians share with other businesses in the trade.
Official counts show 4 businesses with payroll classed as veterinary services in McDowell County in 2023. That is one for every 4,660 households, against one for every 3,767 across the U.S.
Population estimates put the population change in McDowell County from 2020 to 2025 at +1.5%, slower than the U.S. (+3.1%). With 3 veterinarians on map listings, McDowell County isn’t given a market score: the score needs at least 5, since one listing more or less would swing it.
How McDowell County compares
The same measures for North Carolina 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.
| Measure | McDowell County | North Carolina | U.S. |
|---|---|---|---|
| Listings per 10k households | 1.6 | 3.5 | 3.3 |
| Spending per listing | $4.7M | $2.6M | $2.7M |
| Households per official establishment | 4,660 | 3,502 | 3,767 |
| Official establishment growth, 2019–2023 | n/a | +10.3% | +6.8% |
| Population growth, 2020–2025 | +1.5% | +7.2% | +3.1% |
| Spending per household on pets | $749 | $899 | $909 |
| Median household income | $57,168 | $72,388 | $80,734 |
| Groundwork market score | Not scored | 56 |
Official counts and lending
Businesses
- Official establishments, 2019 to 2023
- 3 → 4
- Employees, 2023
- 56
- Annual payroll, 2023
- $2.5M
- One-person businesses, 2023
- Not publishedNot published for this business type
- Map listings, September 2026
- 30 chain locations
- Listings at the U.S. rate for this spending
- 5The 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 McDowell 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 McDowell County
- Population, 2025 estimate
- 45,198+1.5% since 2020
- Households
- 18,638
- Median age
- 44.7
- Homes lived in by their owners
- 76%
- Vehicles per household
- 2.0
- Land area
- 440 sq. mi.
- People per square mile
- 102
- Median household income
- $57,168+31.0% vs. 2015–2019, before inflation
- Average household income
- $72,753
- Median home value
- $171,100
- Jobs located here
- 15,917
- Daytime population
- 39,859Residents who don’t work, plus everyone whose job is here
Looking at a specific site in McDowell 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 veterinarians on map listings by name and distance.
Or open the report at the center of McDowell County. Signed out, you see a blurred preview; on an account, each report is one action.
Free10 actions over 3 days, no cardVeterinarians across North Carolina
Every North Carolina market ranked →The highest-scoring counties in North Carolina for veterinarians, numbered among those based in North Carolina, with McDowell County marked.
Top counties in North Carolina
| Market | Score | Listings | Per 10k households | Spending per listing | Population growth | U.S. rank |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| 1Brunswick County, NC | 89 | 15 | 2.2 | $4.2M | +26.5% | #17 of 1,485 |
| 2Harnett County, NC | 88 | 7 | 1.4 | $6.1M | +12.3% | #18 of 1,485 |
| 3Lincoln County, NC | 87 | 9 | 2.4 | $3.9M | +13.2% | #28 of 1,485 |
| 4Johnston County, NC | 81 | 23 | 2.7 | $3.5M | +17.9% | #74 of 1,485 |
| 5Davidson County, NC | 80 | 17 | 2.4 | $3.3M | +6.6% | #92 of 1,485 |
| 6Union County, NC | 80 | 30 | 3.6 | $3.1M | +11.7% | #96 of 1,485 |
| 7Nash County, NC | 76 | 8 | 2.1 | $3.9M | +3.9% | #142 of 1,485 |
| 8Franklin County, NC | 76 | 9 | 3.2 | $2.7M | +18.8% | #156 of 1,485 |
| 9Mecklenburg County, NC | 76 | 179 | 3.8 | $2.7M | +10.5% | #161 of 1,485 |
| 10Rowan County, NC | 75 | 17 | 2.9 | $2.8M | +5.6% | #185 of 1,485 |
| McDowell County, NC | Not scored | 3 | 1.6 | $4.7M | +1.5% |
Other business types in McDowell County
Each with its Groundwork market score here, out of 100, where it has one.
Food and drink
Groceries and convenience
Auto
Beauty and personal care
Fitness and classes
Health care
Pets
- Pet businesses66
- Veterinarians
- Pet grooming and boarding28
- Pet stores
Child care
Clothing and laundry
Home services
Real estate
Funeral services
Questions
How many veterinarians are in McDowell County, NC?
There are 3 veterinarians on map listings in McDowell County as of September 2026. The listings count veterinary clinics and animal hospitals. Official counts show 4 businesses with payroll classed as veterinary services in 2023.
How much do households in McDowell County, NC spend on pets?
About $14M a year, or $749 per household. That is 18% below the U.S. average (an index of 82, where 100 is the U.S. average). Spread across the 3 veterinarians on map listings, it comes to $4.7M per clinic. The spending figure covers all pets, not only veterinarians. It is estimated from the incomes of the 18,638 households in McDowell County and national spending patterns by income.
How does McDowell County, NC compare with the U.S. for veterinarians?
McDowell County has 1.6 veterinarians per 10,000 households, 52% below the U.S. rate of 3.3. Spending per clinic is $4.7M, 71% above the U.S. figure of $2.7M. At the national ratio of veterinarians to household spending, McDowell County would have about 5, against 3 on map listings. There is one business with payroll in the industry for every 4,660 households, against one for every 3,767 across the U.S.
How fast is McDowell County, NC growing?
Population estimates put McDowell County at 45,198 people in 2025, up 1.5% since 2020, slower than the U.S. (+3.1%). It has 18,638 households. The median household income in McDowell County is $57,168 a year, 29% below the U.S. median of $80,734. That rose 31.0% 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. McDowell County has no market score for veterinarians: the score needs at least 5 on map listings, and it has 3.
How can I see the market around a specific site?
Run a Groundwork site report on an address in McDowell County. 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 McDowell County
Screening a site or an acquisition in McDowell 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 McDowell 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.