Let’s take an international journey through the world of pet ownership!
Did you know that in the United States, seven out of every 10 households own a pet?¹ From unconditional love to emotional support, pets are a vital part of their owners’ lives. Many care for their pets as if they’re family members.
This is hardly limited to America, though. We’ve set out to compile the definitive list of pet ownership statistics in the U.S. (and worldwide) to show how the bond between humans and animals transcends continents and languages.
Read on to learn everything you need to know about what pet ownership looks like across the world. It’ll warm your heart—and it might just come in handy for your next trivia night.
Here are the topics we’ll cover:
Pet ownership has grown steadily in the U.S. over the years. While dogs are the most popular pet overall—woof woof, keep it up—there is plenty of diversity in pet ownership.
70% of U.S. households (90.5 million homes) owned a pet as of 2022.¹
69 million U.S. households have a pet dog, compared to 45.3 million with a cat.¹
3.5 million American households own a horse, and 2.9 million own a saltwater fish.¹
From March 2020 to May 2021 alone, roughly 1 in 5 U.S. households acquired a dog or cat.³
Pet ownership has steadily risen in the U.S: 56% of households owned a pet in 1988, compared to 67% as recently as 2019.¹
Let’s dive a bit deeper to see pet ownership trends by state.
When breaking down some stats by state, we find some particularly interesting details. Who knew that Californians loved pet insurance so much, or that residents of D.C. weren’t in much need of furry friends?
Wyoming is the #1 pet-owning state, with 72% of households owning at least one pet.²
Following WY, the top 10 states with the highest percentages of pet-owning households are: West Virginia (71%), Nebraska (70%), Vermont (70%), Idaho (70%), Arkansas (69%), Indiana (69%), Oklahoma (65%), Mississippi (65%), and Colorado (65%).²
Washington, D.C. (while not technically a state) has the lowest percentage of household pet ownership (38.2%), followed by Rhode Island (45.4%).²
Less than half of households own pets in the following states: South Dakota (46%), New Jersey (47%), Massachusetts (49%), and Illinois (49%).²
19.2% of all insured American pets reside in California.⁴
Now, let’s buckle up and take a ride through what pet ownership looks like around the world.
Looking at Asia, Europe, Latin America, and Oceania, we see that preferred pet companions vary quite a bit by country and region.
Spoiler alert: Reptiles are crushing it in the U.K., while dogs aren’t so popular in Turkey. Cats, meanwhile, are faring well in Europe—especially in France, where they’re about twice as common as pet dogs. C’est pas croyable!
As of 2020, 38% of all European Union households (88 million homes) owned at least one pet.⁵
There are roughly 110.15 million pet cats throughout Europe, making it the #1 household pet on the continent.⁵
In Europe, Turkey has the lowest percentage of households with a pet dog, at just 5%.⁵
Italy has roughly 1.37 million pet reptiles, making it the second-largest pet reptile population behind the U.K. (1.45 million) in the region.⁵
Italy also has the largest pet ornamental bird population in Europe (12.88 million).⁵
By total, ornamental birds are the most popular pet in Italy (12.88 million) ahead of dogs (8.3 million) and cats (7.93 million).⁵
By total, ornamental birds are the most common pet in Spain (6.99 million), ahead of dogs (6.73 million) and cats (3.8 million).⁵
With just 11% of households owning at least one pet cat, Spain also has the lowest percentage of cat ownership in Europe.⁵
Turkey has the second-largest pet ornamental bird population in Europe (11.2 million), while Spain has the third largest with 6.99 million.⁵
France has twice as many pet cats (15.1 million) as pet dogs (7.5 million).⁵
Among EU countries, Romania has the highest percentage of households with pet cats (47%).⁵
Among EU countries, Romania is also tied with Poland for the highest percentage of pet dogs (42%).⁵
In 2021, 33% of United Kingdom households (12.5 million) owned a pet dog, while 12.2 million owned a pet cat (27%), and 500,000 owned a pet pigeon (0.8%).⁶
32% of households in Asia-Pacific (APAC) countries* own a dog, compared to 26% who own cats.⁷
16% of Hong Kong households own a dog, compared to 47% in Thailand.⁷
In APAC, the Philippines has the highest rate of dog ownership (67%).⁷
Cats are the top pet in Indonesia, with 47% of households owning one.⁷
Japan has the lowest rate of pet ownership in APAC, where 72% of households don’t own any pets.⁷
15% of households in Vietnam own a pet goldfish, the highest percentage in APAC.⁷
As of 2020, 64% of New Zealand households owned a companion animal.⁸
Cats are the most popular pet in New Zealand, with 41% of households owning at least one.⁸
While only 9% of New Zealand households have pet fish, there are more pet fish (1.37 million) than cats (1.2 million) and dogs (851,000).⁸
61% of Australian households have a pet (5.9 million).⁹
Pets outnumber people in Australia — roughly 29 million pets vs. 25 million people.⁹
Roughly 40% of Australian households have at least one dog, followed by cats (27%), fish (11%), and birds (9%).⁹
As of 2019, Brazil has the world’s fourth-largest pet population with 132 million pets (including 77 million dogs and cats.)¹⁰
What country has no stray dogs?
The Netherlandsreduced its stray dog population to nearly zero in 2019. They accomplished this through a nation-wide collect, neuter, vaccinate, and return (CNVR) program, as well as through high taxes on any animal bought from stores. The latter encouraged more people to adopt from animal shelters.
Pet ownership in the United States
Seventy percent of U.S. households, or about 90.5 million families, own a pet, according to the 2021-2022 National Pet Owners Survey conducted by the American Pet Products Association (APPA). This is up from 56 percent of U.S. households in 1988, the first year the survey was conducted, and 67 percent in 2019.
Total pet industry expenditures in the U.S. totaled $123.6 billion, up 19 percent from $103.6 billion in 2020.
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If you’re a pet owner, it should be no secret that Americans are crazy about their pets. The word on the street is that ownership has increased in recent years and people are spending more time and money on their pets than ever before. But what do the numbers say?
Here, we’ll explore where pet ownership and the pet population stand in the U.S. and how it differs across states and demographics. (If youre interested in facisinating statistical data from pet owners who are specifically interested in pet insurance, check out our free 2019-2020 report covering breeds, pre-existing conditions, pet names, and more.)
