Pet care and grooming businesses in Kentucky: 376 locations, +1.0% jobs
Official counts for pet care and grooming businesses in Kentucky, 2026 Q1: how many there are, whether they are adding jobs, what they pay, and how Kentucky compares with the other states. From the Bureau of Labor Statistics and the Census Bureau, refreshed each quarter.
Kentucky against the country · 2026 Q1
| Kentucky | United States | |
|---|---|---|
| Pet care and grooming businesses with employees | 376 | 28,651 |
| Per 100,000 residents | 8.2 | 8.4 |
| Jobs | 1,955 | 198,925 |
| Jobs, year over year | +1.0% | +2.5% |
| Locations, year over year | +4.2% | +3.5% |
| Average weekly wage | $507 | $603 |
| Rank among states, density | 30 of 50 | |
| Rank among states, job growth | 35 of 50 |
What the numbers say
Kentucky has 376 pet care and grooming businesses with payroll, employing 1,955 people. At 8.2 per 100,000 residents the market is close to the national average, number 30 among the 50 states with published data. Jobs grew +1.0% over the year, behind the national +2.5%. Locations grew faster than jobs, which usually means more and smaller operators entering: the kind of market where the cheapest service gets crowded first.
Average pay at pet care and grooming businesses in Kentucky is $507 a week, 16% below the national figure of $603. Budget labor from this number, not from a national guide.
Over five years, from 2021 to 2025, the number of pet care and grooming businesses in Kentucky moved +43.1%, from 260 to 372.
Pet care and grooming businesses in Kentucky, annual average
- 2021260
- 2022299
- 2023315
- 2024348
- 2025372
Jobs at pet care and grooming businesses in Kentucky
- 20211,488
- 20221,770
- 20231,900
- 20241,920
- 20252,000
What counts as "pet care and grooming businesses" here
Pet care services except veterinary: grooming, boarding, training, sitting and daycare for pets. The code is NAICS 812910. BLS counts establishments that report payroll, so a one-person business with no employees is not in these figures; in trades with many solo operators the true number of businesses is higher.
Before you open one in Kentucky
A statewide figure tells you which way the wind blows. It does not tell you whether the corner you are looking at has the households, the income and the gap in competition to support one more. A counts the pet care and grooming businesses within reach of one address in Kentucky, reads the county trend from the same BLS table, and scores the plan. The saturation check does a city-level version for free.
Questions people ask
How many pet care and grooming businesses are there in Kentucky?
BLS counted 376 pet care and grooming businesses with employees in Kentucky in 2026 Q1, employing 1,955 people. Owner-only businesses with no payroll are not in that count. That is 8.2 per 100,000 residents, against 8.4 nationally.
Are pet care and grooming businesses growing in Kentucky?
Yes. Jobs at pet care and grooming businesses in Kentucky changed +1.0% over the year to 2026 Q1, and the number of locations changed +4.2%. That ranks Kentucky 35 of 50 states for job growth in this business type. Over five years the location count moved +43.1%.
Is Kentucky a crowded market for pet care and grooming businesses?
Kentucky has 8.2 pet care and grooming businesses per 100,000 residents, close to the national average, ranking 30 of 50 states. Density is a statewide average; a Neur report counts the competitors around one address.
Pet care and grooming businesses in every state
Densest first. The number is pet care and grooming businesses per 100,000 residents in 2026 Q1.
Other business types in Kentucky
Source: U.S. Bureau of Labor Statistics, Quarterly Census of Employment and Wages, private sector, NAICS 812910, 2026 Q1 (quarterly) and annual averages (five-year series); U.S. Census Bureau, American Community Survey 1-year population estimates. This page is generated from those feeds and rewritten when a new quarter publishes. All 14 business types in Kentucky · Growth ranking for Kentucky · Pet care and grooming businesses by state