Looking to move to a new city or plan a trip with your furry friend? For animal lovers, nothing but the best will do for our four-legged family members. That’s why we’ve done all the research to help you find the perfect destination. From the number of dog parks per capita to the average cost of veterinary care, we’ve crunched all the numbers to help you find a city where your pet is safe and welcome and has plenty of places to play.
To help you find the ideal destination for your next adventure, the experts at Revival Animal Health have ranked the top 20 pet-friendly cities in the U.S for 2020. Before we get to the full list, here’s a quick look at the top 10:
St. Louis, MO
Portland, OR
Norfolk, VA
Tampa, FL
Arlington, TX
Miami, FL
Boston, MA
Orlando, FL
Oakland, CA
Pittsburgh, PA
Keep reading to learn how we crunched the numbers and see the full breakdown by city.
How We Calculated the Most Pet-Friendly Cities in the US
To determine the most pet-friendly cities in the US, we ranked cities based on the following attributes:
Cost: Cost of ownership, including pet insurance and unexpected costs.
Veterinary Care: Number of vets per capita.
Amenities: Walkability, the number of dog parks per capita.
We then evaluated these attributes for each city by consulting a variety of data sources, including the Bureau of Labor Statistics, the Trust for Public Land, Walkscore.com, and the American Veterinary Medical Association (AVMA).
100 cities in America were ranked and assigned unique score points for each attribute. We then added the numbers to create a final score for each city. Finally, cities with the highest overall scores were named the most pet-friendly cities in the US.
Interested in seeing these cities’ raw points for each attribute? Continue reading to find out how the top cities compare for cost of pet ownership, access to veterinary care, and access to pet-friendly amenities.
1. St. Louis, MO
Cost of Pet Ownership: 21.1
Access to Veterinary Care: 21.4
Access to Pet-Friendly Amenities: 13.1
Total: 55.7
2. Portland, OR
Cost of Pet Ownership: 19.4
Access to Veterinary Care: 10.7
Access to Pet-Friendly Amenities: 21.4
Total: 51.5
3. Norfolk, VA
Cost of Pet Ownership: 15.8
Access to Veterinary Care: 17.9
Access to Pet-Friendly Amenities: 15.8
Total: 49.4
4. Tampa, FL
Cost of Pet Ownership: 17.5
Access to Veterinary Care: 17.9
Access to Pet-Friendly Amenities: 13.7
Total: 49.1
5. Arlington, TX
Cost of Pet Ownership: 19.6
Access to Veterinary Care: 21.4
Access to Pet-Friendly Amenities: 7.7
Total: 48.8
6. Miami, FL
Cost of Pet Ownership: 17.5
Access to Veterinary Care: 14.3
Access to Pet-Friendly Amenities: 12.8
Total: 44.6
7. Boston, MA
Cost of Pet Ownership: 13.4
Access to Veterinary Care: 14.3
Access to Pet-Friendly Amenities: 16.7
Total: 44.3
8. Orlando, FL
Cost of Pet Ownership: 19.6
Access to Veterinary Care: 14.3
Access to Pet-Friendly Amenities: 9.5
43.4
9. Oakland, CA
Cost of Pet Ownership: 10.1
Access to Veterinary Care: 14.3
Access to Pet-Friendly Amenities: 19.0
Total: 43.4
10. Pittsburgh, PA
Cost of Pet Ownership: 14
Access to Veterinary Care: 14.3
Access to Pet-Friendly Amenities: 15.2
43.4
11. Washington, DC
Cost of Pet Ownership: 8
Access to Veterinary Care: 17.9
Access to Pet-Friendly Amenities: 14.9
Total: 40.8
12. Boise, ID
Cost of Pet Ownership: 17.3
Access to Veterinary Care: 7.1
Access to Pet-Friendly Amenities: 16.1
Total: 40.5
13. Henderson, NV
Cost of Pet Ownership: 17.5
Access to Veterinary Care: 10.7
Access to Pet-Friendly Amenities: 12.2
Total: 40.5
14. St. Paul, MN
Cost of Pet Ownership: 17.9
Access to Veterinary Care: 10.7
Access to Pet-Friendly Amenities: 11.3
Total: 39.9
15. Seattle, WA
Cost of Pet Ownership: 13.7
Access to Veterinary Care: 10.7
Access to Pet-Friendly Amenities: 14.9
Total: 39.3
16. Denver, CO
Cost of Pet Ownership: 11.9
Access to Veterinary Care: 14.3
Access to Pet-Friendly Amenities: 13.1
Total: 39.3
17. Paradise, NV
Cost of Pet Ownership: 17.5
Access to Veterinary Care: 14.3
Access to Pet-Friendly Amenities: 7.4
Total: 39.3
18. Richmond, VA
Cost of Pet Ownership: 13.7
Access to Veterinary Care: 10.7
Access to Pet-Friendly Amenities: 13.4
Total: 37.8
19. Kansas City, MO
Cost of Pet Ownership: 21.1
Access to Veterinary Care: 10.7
Access to Pet-Friendly Amenities: 5.7
Total: 37.5
20. Detroit, MI
Cost of Pet Ownership: 17.5
Access to Veterinary Care: 10.7
Access to Pet-Friendly Amenities: 9.2
Total: 37.5
In Summary, Pet Care Can Be Fun, Easy, and Affordable
With the infrastructure and amenities of a pet-friendly city, you and your furry companion can live comfortably, enjoy great veterinary care, and have easy access to all kinds of fun activities. So, when you plan your big move or a trip to one of the cities above, rest assured that your pet will be healthy and happy in their new home or vacation destination.
Have additional questions about our research and rankings? Do you have stories and pictures from a pet-friendly city that you want to share with our Paw Squad? We’d love to hear from you. If you need help, call us at 800.786.4751 or visit our Contact Us page.
Sources
American Veterinary Medical Association. “Where the (not-so) wild things are: AVMA releases data on top, bottom states for dog, cat and overall pet ownership.” www.avma.org. 12 July 2020.
Bureau of Labor Statistics. “Occupational Employment Statisics. “https://www.bls.gov. 12 July 2020.
Trust for Public Land. “Dog park rankings for the 100 largest U. S. cities, 2019” www.tpl.org. 12 July 2020.
