Spending on Pet Care Services Doubled in Last Decade

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America Counts: Stories Behind the Numbers

Dogs being walked.

Spending on Pet Care Services
Doubled in Last Decade

Do you need a dog walker for Rocky, a cat sitter for Bella or training for Buddy?

Half (about 60 million) of American households own pets and the amount of money they spend on their four-legged friends is evidence of the growing need for time-saving pet care services.

With over 100,000 pet care service businesses, this industry increased its number of establishments by more than 60% since 2007, for both employer businesses and self-employed (nonemployer) businesses.

The number of people employed in pet care services rose sharply from 2007 to 2017. Excluding the self-employed, the number of workers grew from 52,855 paid employees to 111,384, a 111% increase, according to County Business Patterns data.

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Among employer establishments in the pet care service industry, 42% provide pet grooming services and 28% provide pet boarding services, according to the 2012 Economic Census.

Average annual sales, not accounting for operating expenses, are among the highest for other pet care services ($393,000) and animal training ($373,000).

Graph of Pet Services Sales

To learn more about the pet care services industry, including how:

  • Pet care services are big business for small business
  • Pet ownership rates increase with household income

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