In the United States, nearly 87-million households feature at least one pet; this equates to two out of every three homes. According to the American Pet Products Association, pet ownership in the United States has been on a sharp rise in recent years, increasing from 56 percent of US households in 1988. The nation’s continued interest in companion animals can also be seen in the success of the pet insurance industry, which doubled in size between 2018 and 2021.
Pet ownership statistics can be influenced by a number of factors. For example, 53 percent of American households include at least one dog, which equates to nearly three out of four pet households. However, when looking at homes with annual incomes of $100,000 or more, which make up the bulk of pet households, dog ownership falls slightly to 63 percent. Cat ownership, meanwhile, falls from 50 percent to 40 percent when looking at this specific economic bracket.
One potential reason for this shift is the availability of more diverse pet options for households with higher annual incomes. For instance, there are approximately 1.6 million horse-owning households in the United States. The average horse owner has an annual income of $211,738, more than double the national average US income in 2021. Furthermore, the average horse-owning household has not one but six horses, despite each individual animal costing up to $325 per month in expenses, compared to $43 per month for a medium-sized dog.
Pet ownership statistics also vary between homeowners and renters. Unsurprisingly, renters are less likely than property owners to own pets. What is more interesting is the fact that 94 percent of homeowners have at least one pet, indicating that companion animals are virtually ubiquitous among American families who have the opportunity to own their home. Dogs are especially popular, with just under three out of five homeowners having one or more canine companions in the house. The Labrador retriever has long ranked as the nation’s most popular dog breed.
The importance of pets in American culture can be further appreciated by examining pet trends between 2016 and 2020. Due to various economic hardships, including the COVID pandemic, American households could not afford to have as many pets as in previous years. Single-dog households increased from 60 to 65 percent among dog owners, and single-cat homes grew from 53 to 56 percent. But as the overall number of pets decreased, the total number of households with at least one pet continued to climb, underscoring America’s close bond with companion animals.
Pet ownership statistics in America can also change based on gender, age, and ethnicity. The familiar adage “dog is man’s best friend” is true in America, with an estimated 71 percent of American men between the ages of 18 and 44 owning one or more canines, compared to 60 percent of women. Men also own more cats, at 37 to 33 percent, including 46 percent of millennial men. Millennials, born between 1981 and 1996, are the most active pet owners in general, with 75 percent of Americans aged 30 to 39 owning a dog.
Just under two-thirds of white American households include pets, compared to 61.4-percent of Hispanic households and 36.9-percent of African American households.
