Pet ownership continues to go up and up as the years go by. Only 58% of households had a pet in 1988. Now almost 67% do. Below we’ve summarized the best dog owner statistics we could find.
Top Statistics for Dog Owners
- 85 million homes (67% of U.S. Households) own a pet according to a survey conducted by the American Pet Products Association (APPA).
- Here’s a breakdown of what kinds of pets those households owned in 2019:
- 63.4 million owned dogs
- 42.7 million owned cats
- 11.5 million owned freshwater fish
- 5.7 million owned birds
- 5.4 million owned small animals (e.g. hamsters, guinea pigs, chinchillas)
- 4.5 million owned reptiles
- [Editor’s note – heck ya! One of our favorites though we haven’t written about them yet]
- 1.6 million owned saltwater fish
- 1.6 million owned horses
- Only 58 percent of households owned a pet in 1988 (APPA).
- In 2019, pet owners spent $95.7 billion dollars on their pets (APPA).
- The $95 billion broke down as follows (APPA):
- $36.9 billion on pet food and treats (38.5%)
- $29.3 billion on Vet expenses and supplies (30.6%)
- $19.2 billion on new animals, supplies, and over the counter medicine (20%)
- [Editor’s note – A bit of an unlikely group, ha!]
- $10.3 billion on miscellaneous (10.7%)
- The APPA further broke those expenses down into these average annual expenses for 2019 (APPA)
- $426 were spent annually on dogs and $214 on cats for vet visits that involved surgery
- $212 for dogs and $160 for cats were spent annually on regular vet visits
- $259 was spent on dog food and $228 was spent on cat food
- Owners spent $76 on dog treats and $58 on cat treats
- Kennel boarding cost dog owners $229 in 2019 and $120 for cat owners over the course of the year
- Vitamins cost a whopping $58 for dogs and $54 for cats in 2019
- Dog owners spent about $73 in 2019 on dog grooming
- Cat owners spent $43 on cat grooming in 2019
- In 2019, toy expenditures came in last for dog owners with $48 spent on dogs and $31 spent on cats
- The average U.S. Household owns 1.6 dogs, 1.8 cats, 2.1 birds, and 2.1 horses (Source – American Veterinary Medical Association).
- The average dog owner visits a vet 2.4 times a year (AMVA).
- The average cat owner visits a vet 1.3 times a year (AMVA).
- The average bird owner visits a vet 0.3 times a year (AMVA).
- The average horse owner visits a vet 1.6 times a year (AMVA).
- U.S. Households own the following special or exotic animals (AMVA):
- 76,323 fish
- 501 ferrets
- 2,244 rabbits
- 6,032 reptiles
- 1,786 pet livestock (e.g. pot belly pig, adopted goats)
- 15,637 pet poultry (backyard chickens, ducks, etc.)
- 3,521 other mammals (e.g. guinea pigs, hamsters, rats, etc.)
- According to the ASPCA, pet owners give up 6.5 million pets to shelters (ASPCA).
- 3.3 million are dogs
- 3.2 million are cats
- Pet owners gave up 7.2 million pets to shelters in 2011 so this number is on a downward trend with more dogs being kept (ASPCA).
- Pet owners adopt 3.2 million animals each year (50% are dogs and 50% are cats) (ASPCA).
- Shelters successfully return over 710,000 strays to their owners every year (ASPCA).
- Almost half of pet owners find their dogs or cats through word of mouth (APPA).
- 34% of dogs are bought from breeders (APPA/ASPCA).
- 1/3 of cats are taken in as strays (APPA/ASPCA).
- Pet owners rehome their pets most often because of aggressive pets, other problem behaviors, health problems that they can’t handle, or the animal grew too large (APPA/ASPCA).
- The U.S. Census Bureau reported that almost half of U.S. Households own a pet (U.S. Census). See chart below for detailed breakdown by average household income.
- Over 2.8 million pets were insured by their pet owners (NAPHIA).
- Pet insurance coverage for pet owners has been increasing over 22% for the past 5 years through the end of 2019 (NAPHIA).
- 45% of pet owners buy birthday presents for their pet (Harris Poll).
- Almost a third of pet owners cook for their pets either occasionally or often (Harris Poll).
- Republicans own dogs more than 10% more often than democrats (Harris Poll).
- 71% of pet owners let their pet sleep in their beds (Harris Poll).
- Millennial pet owners are the most likely to dress up their pets (31% vs 19% for Gen X and 14% for Baby Boomers) (Harris Poll).
- 95% of pet owners consider their pet to be family (Harris Poll).