An estimated ** million households in the United States owned at least one dog according to a 2024/25 pet owners survey, making them the most widely owned type of pet across the U.S. at this time. Cats and freshwater fish ranked in second and third places, with around ** million and ** million households owning such pets, respectively. Freshwater vs. salt water fish Freshwater fish spend most or all their lives in fresh water. Fresh water’s main difference to salt water is the level of salinity. Freshwater fish have a range of physiological adaptations to enable them to live in such conditions. As the statistic makes clear, Americans keep a large number of freshwater aquatic species at home as pets. American pet owners In 2023, around ** percent of all households in the United States owned a pet. This is a decrease from 2020, but still around a ** percent increase from 1988. It is no surprise that as more and more households own pets, pet industry expenditure has also witnessed steady growth. Expenditure reached over *** billion U.S. dollars in 2022, almost a sixfold increase from 1998. The majority of pet product sales are still made in brick-and-mortar stores, despite the rise and evolution of e-commerce in the United States.

According to a national pet owners survey, there was a total of approximately 95.6 million cats living in households in the United States in 2017. In the same year, some 68 percent of all U.S. households owned at least one pet.

Increasing pet expenditure

Whilst the number of households owning cats, and pets in general, has remained relatively consistent over the last few years, pet industry expenditure has steadily grown. Consumers are expected to spend a record breaking 75.38 billion U.S. dollars on their pets in 2019. The majority of pet market revenue comes from food sales, followed by veterinary care costs.

Shopping location preferences

When it comes to shopping locations, most consumers still purchase their pet products in physical retail stores. However, the number of consumers buying pet products online is on the rise. Dry cat food was the number one pet product bought online by cat owners in the United States in 2018.

In the United States, more than half of the population reported owning a pet in 2011. This number has been quite steady since then. Today there are more than 90 million cats in the United States, while the number of dogs is just below the 90 million-mark. Freshwater fish are the most common pet with almost 140 million nationwide in 2018, followed by the aforementioned cats and dogs.   Pet expenses    When it comes to expenses, fish are generally considered low maintenance compared to other pets. Dogs especially require high expense, particularly for kennel boarding while their owners are away. However, the highest costs for dog owners are due to surgical vet visits, reported at almost double the expense for cats in 2019. Lower life expectancy could be a factor - around 11 years for a medium-sized dog, compared with 12 to 15 years for cats.  
  Pet food  

Food is currently the largest expense for cat owners, and the second highest for dogs, not even including treats. Despite the convenience of buying pet food online, or while already grocery shopping in a supermarket, food store, or wholesale club, the highest share of pet food sales comes from pet specialty chains. With many owners are willing to make the extra trip for their pets, chain shops Pet Smart and PetCo make up almost half the market for pet companies in the United States.

Vermont was the leading state in terms of cat ownership, with some ** percent of households owning a pet cat in 2025. In comparison, around ** percent of households in Wisconsin were cat owners that year. Cat ownership in the U.S. There are almost ** million households in the U.S. that own a cat. Cats are the second most popular type of pets, only surpassed by dogs, which are owned by about ** million households. The average accident and illness insurance premium for a cat in the U.S. amounts to approximately *** U.S. dollars annually. The costs of insurance largely depend on the type of cat. The largest cat insurance claims paid in Canada and in the U.S. are made for a sphynx. A total claim amount of approximately ****** U.S. dollars is paid annually to treat various conditions for this breed. In comparison, a total claim amount of slightly under ****** U.S. dollars is paid for domestic short hairs at the age of 4. American pet food companies The global pet food market has shown a growing trajectory for over a decade. The market reached sales of approximately *** billion U.S. dollars in 2022. The U.S. company Freshpet is the fourth fastest-growing pet food company worldwide, with an annual growth rate of about ** percent. The U.S. companies General Mills and Tuffy’s Pet Foods are also among the top ten fastest-growing pet food companies worldwide, with annual growth rates of approximately ** and ** percent, respectively. The German company Bewital petfood GmbH & Co. KG ranks in first place, with an annual growth rate of almost 100 percent. The leading pet food company in the U.S. is Mars Petcare Inc., with **** billion U.S. dollars in revenue. Nestlé Purina PetCare follows closely in second place with just under **** billion U.S. dollars in revenue.

According to a 2017 survey, Millennial males in the United States were more likely to be cat and/or dog owners than their female counterparts. Some 48 percent of male Millennial survey respondents stated that they owned a cat and 71 percent owned a dog. In comparison, 35 and 62 percent of female respondents were cat and/or dog owners, respectively.

Pet ownership rates in the United States

In 2019, 67 percent of all households in the United States owned a pet . This is over a ten percent increase from 1988. Almost 50 percent of surveyed American pet-owning households had a dog in 2017 , making it the most popular type of pet to own in the United States. Cats and freshwater fish were the second and third most popular type of pet, with a 38 and 10 percent share of the vote respectively.

Number of pets owned

Freshwater fish were the most kept pet in the United States in 2017/18 in terms of volume. In total, Americans were estimated to own approximately 139.3 million of the aquatic animals in that year. This large volume is no surprise when considering their small size and minor cost increases when owning more than one fish as a pet. Cats and dogs were the second and third most owned pets, with around 94.2 and 89.7 million living in U.S. households respectively.

Surveyed dog owners in the United States stated that they spent, on average, 442 U.S. dollars on pet food per year in 2020. In comparison, cat-owning respondents claimed to spend an average of 329 U.S. dollars on pet food on an annual basis.

Pet ownership in the United States In 2019/20, dogs and cats were the most popular American household pets. There were approximately 63.4 million dog-owning households and 42.7 million cat-owning households in the United States. Other pets living in U.S. households included freshwater fish, saltwater fish, birds, reptiles, and horses. Due to the onset of the coronavirus pandemic in 2020 and the increased time spent at home, many Americans reported acquiring new pets. In a recent survey carried out in December 2020, 10 percent of respondents in the United States reported acquiring a new pet as a result of the coronavirus pandemic.

Pet expenditures in the United States As Americans increasingly acquired more and more pets over the years, pet industry expenditure in the United States increased at an impressive rate, growing by over 500 percent between 1994 and 2020. Pet food and treats captured the biggest share of pet industry sales, followed by veterinary services and related products. In terms of pet food, the dry dog food segment generated the highest amount of sales, with around 5.3 billion U.S. dollars generated in 2020.

********* percent of households in the United States owned one or more pets in 2023/2024. Household penetration rates for pet-ownership have increased by ** percent since the beginning of the survey period in 1988. What kinds of pets do Americans prefer? There were estimated to be around ** million dog-owning households in the United States according to a recent survey, making dogs the most popular kind of pets in American homes. Cats and freshwater fish ranked in second and third places, respectively. Horses and saltwater fish were the least popular types of animals to keep, with around *** million households owning each type of pet. How much do Americans spend on their pets? Total pet industry expenditure reached around ***** billion U.S. dollars in 2022, an increase from the previous year. As well as regular expenses such as food and vet costs, households were estimated to spend around *** billion U.S. dollars on Valentine's Day gifts for their pets in 2023.

During a survey conducted in 2024, it was revealed that millennials represented the biggest share of pet owners in the United States (** percent), followed in second place by Generation X (** percent). Baby Boomer's came in third, representing some ** percent of pet owners. Pet ownership in the United States Despite some fluctuations, household penetration rates for pet ownership in the United States have generally increased over the years, going from ** percent in 1988 to approximately ** percent in 2023. With millennials constituting the largest group of pet owners in the United States, they also constituted the generational group that planned to spend the most on their pets during the holidays in 2020, with an average spending of ** U.S. dollars, compared to only ** U.S. dollars of average planned spending on pets for Baby Boomers. Pet expenditure in the U.S. Pet food and treats constituted the highest selling category for pet products in the United States, with total food and treats sales reaching **** billion U.S. dollars in 2022. Vet care and product sales were the second biggest pet market category that year, generating around **** billion U.S. dollars in sales. Generally, average annual pet expenditure was higher for dog owners than for cat owners across all pet market categories in 2020.

Idaho had the highest dog ownership rate in the United States (U.S.), with ** percent of households owning a dog in 2025. In Tennessee, around ** percent of households were dog owners in that year. Dog food industry in the U.S. The sales value of dog food in the U.S. amounts to a total of approximately **** billion U.S. dollars annually, excluding treats. Among the various dog food categories, dry dog food makes up the largest share of sales, with just under ***** billion U.S. dollars. The leading dog biscuit, treat, and beverage vendor in the U.S. in terms of sales is Big Heart Pet Brands, which generates sales of over * billion U.S. dollars annually. The sales of Big Heart Pet Brands are more than twice as much as those of its biggest competitor, Nestlé Purina PetCare. The leading frozen and refrigerated dog food vendors in the U.S. is Freshpet. The company dominates the market by a considerable margin. Dog ownership in the U.S. Nationwide, approximately ** million U.S. households own at least one dog. Dogs are the most widely owned type of pet among American households. Within the last 12 years, the number of dog-owning households grew by more than ** percent. In general, there has been an increase in the household penetration rate of pet ownership in the U.S. during the last 35 years. In 2023, about ********** of households owned at least one pet. Since the state of Idaho has the highest percentage share of dog owners among U.S. states, it is unsurprising that its state capital, the city of Boise, has the largest number of dog parks per 100,000 residents in the country. There are *** off-leash dog parks per 100,000 residents in Boise, Idaho.

In the 52 weeks ending on August 7, 2022, almost 1.9 billion units of wet cat food were sold in the United States. This was over twice the sales volume of wet dog food within the same period.

U.S. pet market sales

In 2021, total U.S. pet market sales amounted to over 12 billion U.S. dollars. Specifically, pet food & treats, as well as vet care & products, generated the highest overall sales numbers: in the United States, food & treat sales amounted to 50 billion U.S. dollars, while vet care & products generated roughly 34 billion.

Leading pet stores

As of March 2022, there were several pet specialty chains to be found on North American soil, such as PETCO, Pet Valu, Petland, etcetera. PetSmart, a superstore chain founded in Arizona, United States, had the highest number of outlets on the entire continent, namely over 1,600. PetSmart Inc. was additionally the leading pet store company in terms of market share (based on revenue): in 2022, the company accounted for just under one-third of the U.S. pet store market.

How many dogs are there in the US? According to a pet owners survey, there were approximately 89.7 million dogs owned in the United States in 2017. This is an increase of over 20 million since the beginning of the survey period in 2000, when around 68 million dogs were owned in the United States.

Why has this figure increased?

The resident population of the United States has also increased significantly within this time period. It is, therefore, no surprise that the number of dogs owned in U.S. households has also increased, especially when considering that the household penetration rate for dog-ownership reached almost 50 percent in recent years.

The dog food market in the United States

The large number of dogs owned by Americans creates a lucrative market for pet food brands and retailers. Pedigree, the leading dry dog food name brand in the U.S., had sales amounting to around 550 million U.S. dollars in 2017. Pedigree also led the pack in the wet dog food category , with sales of around 240 million U.S. dollars in the same year.

This statistic displays the share of pet owning households who feed their cat and/or dog wet food in the United States from 2010 to 2018. Some 29.8 percent of households reported feeding their dog wet food in 2010, this figure increased to 40.3 percent by 2018.

Hungary had the highest share of dog-owning households in the European Union, with almost half of the population owning at least one dog in 2023. Other countries, like Poland and Romania, had a little more than a third of households with at least one pet dog. Pet ownership in Europe Germany had the highest pet dog population in Europe, with more than ten million dogs in 2022. In comparison, Romania had approximately 4.2 million dogs in that same year. However, pet dog ownership was more prevalent among Romanian households, where 43 percent of households owned at least one dog in 2022, compared to only 21 percent of German households who were dog owners in that same year. In the last decade, both the number of pet cats and pet dogs increased significantly in Europe. Pet food trade Due to a growing pet population in the European continent, the pet industry flourished, and pet food trade is one indicator of that growth. The import value of cat and dog food more than tripled in the last decade, increasing from 480 million U.S. dollars in 2011 to over 1.5 billion U.S. dollars in 2021. European exports of pet food followed a similar trend, reflecting a general expansion in pet food industry and trade in Europe.

Cats and dogs are European households’ favorite animals to keep, although more unconventional choices such as reptiles and small mammals are chosen as pets in high numbers too. In 2023, the population of pet cats in Europe was over 129 million. Germany and France were the two countries where the number of cats was the highest. What about dogs? The number of dogs in Europe was lower than the number of cats, although dogs are a constant presence for a considerable share of Europeans as well. In 2022, about one in four households in Europe owned at least one pet dog. Dog ownership per household showed a slight increase compared to previous years and the number of dogs in Europe generally increased as well. Pet care in Europe Pets are invaluable companions to us all, but also predictably tied to a valuable industry. Fressnapf, headquartered in Germany, was the leading pet care retailer in Europe based on turnover. UK-based Pets at Home ranked in second place among pet care retailers. Typically, pet care products consist of pet food as well as accessories and veterinary supplies.

Are cats winning the battle against dogs? If dogs are man’s best friend, it seems that the small feline has a big space in French people’s households. In 2022, a third of households owned a cat in France, whereas ** percent of them declared owning a pet dog. This is a cat’s world   Similarly, there were more cat owners in Belgium, in Denmark and Germany, than dog owners. Although this may be true, in Spain and the United Kingdom, people were more frequently dog owners than cat owners. Nonetheless, in the U.K the number of pet cats was on the rise, there were ** million cats registered in 2021-2022. Cat-ching!   In the United Kingdom, the lifetime cost of keeping a cat was ****** British pounds, which was slightly higher than the cost of keeping a dog. On the opposite side, in the United States, annual expenses for cats were lower than expenses for dogs. Pet owners are keen to celebrate with their animals as a significant share makes the effort to purchase gifts for them on special occasions.

In 2024, according to a nationwide survey, there were estimated to be around 8.9 million cats in Canadian households. In the same year, there were approximately 8.3 million pet dogs in the country. Annual pet care costs in Canada Taking care of a pet cat cost Canadian pet owners an average of 2,542 Canadian dollars per cat in 2021. Annual expenses, such as professional dental care, food and, pet health insurance, were among the most expensive for this type of pet. The estimated yearly cost of caring for pet canines was over 1,000 Canadian dollars higher than feline-related expenses in 2022. On average, dog food and health insurance for dogs were significantly more expensive than cat food and insurance. Pet stores in Canada Ontario, Canada's largest province by population, was home to over 770 pet and pet supplies stores in 2021. Quebec, which is the largest province by area, had roughly 500 stores. In the same year, there was a total of less than ten pet stores in Yukon and the Northwest Territories, both of which are large, but sparsely populated federal territories of Canada.

Some 65 percent of American dog owners and 45 percent of American cat owners are either highly or somewhat concerned about the safety of animal treats and chew toys given to their pets, according to a 2019 survey.

This statistic shows cat and dog litter sales in the United States from 2016 to 2019. In the 52 weeks ending October 6, 2019, the cat and dog litter category had sales totaling approximately 2.14 billion U.S. dollars, an increase from around 1.99 billion U.S. dollars the previous year.

Over ******* youth-aged cats were registered as adopted from shelters and rescues in the United States in 2021. In comparison, around ******* youth-aged dogs were adopted.

This statistic displays the share of dog and cat owners who use pet foods in the United States it 2023, by claim. Some 14 percent of survey respondents who own dogs stated that they currently used grain-free pet food.