Does your city have doggy daycare, or cat cafes? Are there enough parks for your pooch, or boutiques for your boxer?
Does your city have doggy daycare, or cat cafes? Are there enough parks for your pooch, or boutiques for your boxer?
Americans love their pets, in fact, they loved them to the tune of $104 billion in 2020.
There are around 48 million pet dogs in the U.S., 25 million pet cats, 2.8 million pet birds and about 700,000 horses, according to the American Veterinary Medical Association. Other pets include fish, ferrets, rabbits, reptiles, pet livestock (we’re talking goats, pigs and sheep, right?) and pet poultry (that’s chickens and such).
Pets cost money, even if you don’t indulge them with fancy restaurant lunches or spa treatments. Basic expenses for a dog add up to nearly $1,400 annually and about $1,150 for a cat, according to the ASPCA. And that doesn’t include other costs such as emergency vet care, training or spaying.
The first dog park in the U.S. was established in Berkeley, Calif., in 1979, and today there are as many as 774 dog parks in cities around the country, according to the Trust for Public Land, and the dog park is one of the fastest growing amenities in park systems of the largest U.S. cities.
New York has a whopping 140 dog parks, while Boise, Idaho has the most per capita, with 6.7 dog parks per 100,000 residents, according to the Trust for Public Land.
San Diego doesn’t just have several dog beaches, but also a handful of cat cafes. New Orleans has a Mardi Gras parade just for dogs. Colorado Springs, Colo., boasts a 25-acre off-leash dog park with a creek, an agility area and even a washing station for dirty dogs. And Las Vegas has more dog-friendly hotels than you can throw a stick at, some with doggy concierges and canine room service.
A doggy diner.
To find which cities are the most pet-friendly, WalletHub compared the 100 most populated cities across three key dimensions:
Pet budget: this includes costs of veterinary care, pet sitting and dog insurancePet health and wellness, which includes the number per capita of vets, trainers, pet sitters, animal shelters, dog-friendly restaurants and shops as well as pet-friendliness of the rental market and animal protection laws; Outdoor pet-friendliness, which includes things like weather, dog parks, dog-friendly trails and walk score. Each city was scored on these criteria and ranked. Here are the most pet-friendly cities in America.
1. Scottsdale, Ariz.
Pet budget rank: 71Pet health & wellness rank: 1Outdoor pet-friendliness rank: 32. Tampa, Fla.
Pet budget rank: 42Pet health & wellness rank: 5Outdoor pet-friendliness rank: 133. Orlando
Pet budget rank: 31Pet health & wellness rank: 3Outdoor pet-friendliness rank: 344. Las Vegas
Pet budget rank: 32Pet health & wellness rank: 34Outdoor pet-friendliness rank: 15. Birmingham, Ala.
Pet budget rank: 9Pet health & wellness rank: 15Outdoor pet-friendliness rank: 776. St. Louis
Pet budget rank: 18Pet health & wellness rank: 16Outdoor pet-friendliness rank: 397. St. Petersburg, Fla.
Pet budget rank: 42Pet health & wellness rank: 9Outdoor pet-friendliness rank: 298. Cincinnati
Pet budget rank: 19Pet health & wellness rank: 20Outdoor pet-friendliness rank: 389. San Diego
Pet budget rank: 92Pet health & wellness rank: 2Outdoor pet-friendliness rank: 810. New Orleans
Pet budget rank: 34Pet health & wellness rank: 10Outdoor pet-friendliness rank: 4411. Pittsburgh
Pet budget rank: 22Pet health & wellness rank: 46Outdoor pet-friendliness rank: 2012. Atlanta
Pet budget rank: 25Pet health & wellness rank: 11Outdoor pet-friendliness rank: 5613. Boise, Idaho
Pet budget rank: 38Pet health & wellness rank: 48Outdoor pet-friendliness rank: 1214. Albuquerque
Pet budget rank: 16Pet health & wellness rank: 83Outdoor pet-friendliness rank: 715. Austin, Texas
Pet budget rank: 51Pet health & wellness rank: 6Outdoor pet-friendliness rank: 6416. Denver
Pet budget rank: 60Pet health & wellness rank: 7Outdoor pet-friendliness rank: 3117. Seattle
Pet budget rank: 70Pet health & wellness rank: 18Outdoor pet-friendliness rank: 1118. Colorado Springs, Colo.
Pet budget rank: 53Pet health & wellness rank: 26Outdoor pet-friendliness rank: 2219. Portland, Ore.
Pet budget rank: 76Pet health & wellness rank: 21Outdoor pet-friendliness rank: 420. Plano, Texas
Pet budget rank: 81Pet health & wellness rank: 4Outdoor pet-friendliness rank: 3221. Lincoln, Neb.
Pet budget rank: 4Pet health & wellness rank: 67Outdoor pet-friendliness rank: 6922. Phoenix
Pet budget rank: 40Pet health & wellness rank: 63Outdoor pet-friendliness rank: 1923. Miami
Pet budget rank: 36Pet health & wellness rank: 19Outdoor pet-friendliness rank: 5724. Omaha, Neb.
Pet budget rank: 23Pet health & wellness rank: 30Outdoor pet-friendliness rank: 5225. Sacramento, Calif.
Pet budget rank: 83Pet health & wellness rank: 14Outdoor pet-friendliness rank: 1726. Madison, Wis.
Pet budget rank: 52Pet health & wellness rank: 38Outdoor pet-friendliness rank: 3027. Tulsa, Okla.
Pet budget rank: 15Pet health & wellness rank: 58Outdoor pet-friendliness rank: 5028. Minneapolis
Pet budget rank: 63Pet health & wellness rank: 25Outdoor pet-friendliness rank: 2529. Raleigh, N.C.
Pet budget rank: 21Pet health & wellness rank: 35Outdoor pet-friendliness rank: 6030. Tucson, Ariz.
Pet budget rank: 48Pet health & wellness rank: 42Outdoor pet-friendliness rank: 40See the ranking of all 100 cities and the methodology for this study at Wallet Hub.