WestwardAI Consulting

Local market data · Pet groomers · Chicago

AI for pet groomers in Chicago

The Chicago metro area had 717 pet groomers in 2022, the 3rd most of 384 US metros and 3% of all in the country. They employed 5,286 people at an average of $27,716 a year. 74% have fewer than 10 staff, so the same few people answer the phone, book, follow up and do the paperwork. Those are the jobs AI tools take on today.

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A free 30-minute call. You leave knowing which part of your pet groomer to hand to AI first, what we would build, and roughly how long it takes.

Pet groomers in Chicago vs the US

Chicago metroUnited States
Businesses71724,267
People employed5,286158,246
Average staff per business7.46.5
Average yearly pay per employee$27,716$27,149
Share with fewer than 10 staff74%79%

Pay here is about the same as the national average for pet groomers, so an hour of admin costs about what it does elsewhere. The average pet groomer here has 7.4 people on payroll, 13% higher than the US figure of 6.5.

How big pet groomers in Chicago are

Fewer than 5 staff395 (55%) US 59%
5 to 9134 (19%) US 20%
10 to 19116 (16%) US 14%
20 to 4965 (9%) US 7%
50 or more7 (1%) US 1%

Businesses with paid employees, by number of employees, March 2022.

Pet groomers by county in the Chicago area

Cook County has the most, with 319 of the metro's 717 (44%). Among the 10 big metros on this page, Chicago ranks 4th for average pay and 6th for the share of small firms.

CountyBusinessesEmployeesAvg pay
Cook County3192,500$29,391
DuPage County101785$24,341
Lake County84577$29,236
Will County60280$24,200
McHenry County49282$27,184
Kane County46490$27,316
Kendall County1376$18,921
Lake County13117$27,162
DeKalb County1250$21,900
Porter County11117$27,923
Grundy County63$45,333
Jasper County39$12,333

Census withholds pay where few firms would make it identifiable.

Where AI helps a pet groomer first

For a pet groomer, the best first jobs for AI are the ones that happen while you have a dog in the tub: answering calls and texts, rebooking regulars and keeping vaccine and coat notes straight. The grooming stays with you. AI handles the phone and paperwork around it.

What your team's admin hours cost in Chicago

Change any number. The starting values are the Chicago averages above; the hours and the share are yours to set.

Those hours cost you$36,400 a year

The share you would hand off$10,920 a year

Hours your team gets back840 a year

See what we would build for this

Guides for pet groomers, one job each

Pet groomers in other big metros

MetroBusinessesAvg payRank of 387
Los Angeles900$30,6102nd
New York1,228$30,4711st
Miami483$26,5276th
Dallas554$27,1325th
Houston414$27,61710th
Atlanta454$24,8917th
Washington453$27,6568th
Philadelphia431$25,4599th
Boston571$29,0044th

Where these numbers come from

From the U.S. Census Bureau, County Business Patterns 2022 (released 2024), industry code NAICS 812910 (Pet care services (except veterinary)), for the Chicago-Naperville-Elgin, IL-IN metro area (13 counties). It counts businesses with paid employees in March 2022, so solo owners with no payroll are not in it. Average pay is total yearly payroll divided by employees. The calculator uses 50 working weeks and 2,080 hours a year. Page checked 2026-11-12.

Find the hours your grooming shop can get back

A free 30-minute call. You leave knowing which part of your pet groomer to hand to AI first, what we would build, and roughly how long it takes.

Related businesses in Chicago

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