During a survey conducted in 2024, it was revealed that millennials represented the biggest share of pet owners in the United States (32 percent), followed in second place by Generation X (24 percent). Baby Boomer's came in third, representing some 24 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 56 percent in 1988 to approximately 66 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 51 U.S. dollars, compared to only 28 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 58.1 billion U.S. dollars in 2022. Vet care and product sales were the second biggest pet market category that year, generating around 35.9 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.

The share of households owning a pet in the United Kingdom remained relatively stable between 2012 and 2018, hovering around an estimated percentage of 47 to 45 percent. However, pet ownership levels peaked to an unprecedented high of 62 percent in 2022, likely as a result of the coronavirus pandemic and increased time spent at home. In 2023, this figure shrank to 57 percent.

Pet ownership in the UK With more than half of UK households owning at least one pet in 2021/22, dogs and cats were the most common household pets in that year, with an estimated 13 million dogs and 12 million cats living in homes. As of 2020, the United Kingdom was the second highest-ranking European country in terms of its dog population, preceded only by Germany.

Consumer spending on pets in the UK As the pet population in the United Kingdom increased in size, so did consumer spending on pet food and pet-related products and services. Spending on pets and related products reached almost eight billion British pounds in 2020, a notable increase from a mere 2.9 billion British pounds in 2005. Among the most expensive pet-related expenditures are veterinary and pet services, which constituted almost four billion British pounds in 2020.

Wyoming had the highest pet ownership rate in the United States, with 72 percent of households owning a pet in 2024. West Virginia came in second place with a 71 percent pet ownership rate. In comparison, Colorado's pet ownership rate that year was 65 percent.

This statistic shows the average share of pet ownership worldwide as of 2023, by pet type. Across all surveyed countries, dogs and cats are the most popular pet type around the world.

An estimated 65.1 million households in the United States owned at least one dog according to a 2023/24 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 46.5 million and 11.1 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 66 percent of all households in the United States owned a pet. This is a decrease from 2020, but still around a 10 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 136 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.

Sixty six percent of households in the United States owned one or more pets in 2023. Household penetration rates for pet-ownership have increased by 10 percent since the beginning of the survey period in 1988.

What kinds of pets do Americans prefer?

There were estimated to be around 65 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 2.2 million households owning each type of pet.

How much do Americans spend on their pets?

Total pet industry expenditure reached around 136.8 billion U.S. dollars in 2022, an increase on the previous year. As well as regular expenses such as food and vet costs, households were estimated spend around 1.7 billion U.S. dollars on Valentine's Day gifts for their pets in 2023.

The coronavirus (COVID-19) pandemic has affected many industries in significant ways, including the pet industry. During a survey carried out in February 2022, 14 percent of respondents in the United States reported acquiring a new pet. This is an increase of four percent compared to December 2020, when 10 percent of respondents reported getting a new pet.

Pet ownership during the pandemic With nationwide lockdowns forcing people to spend most of their time confined at home, approximately 70 percent of Americans from all generations surveyed in 2020 reported spending more time with their pets as a result of social distancing regulations. Additionally, the pandemic had its impact on the economic situation of millions of people who may have struggled with precarious work or part-time employment that was discontinued due to lockdowns, which made many pet owners concerned about the affordability of pet food and products. In fact, younger generations like Gen Z and Millennials in the United States were more likely than Baby Boomers to be worried about pet expenses during the coronavirus pandemic in 2020.

Pet industry in the United States Pet industry expenditure in the United States has witnessed remarkable growth over the years and was forecast to reach nearly 110 billion U.S. dollars in 2021, up from less than half that figure only ten years prior when it was approximately 51 billion U.S. dollars in 2011. Among the most prominent players in the U.S. pet industry are pet food companies Mars Petcare Inc. and Nestlé Purina Petcare, generating 18 billion and 14 billion U.S. dollars in revenues, respectively.

This statistic shows the share of pet owners in the population of selected countries all over the world as of 2016. During the survey, 66 percent of respondents in Argentina stated they own a dog, while 32 percent said they own a cat.

According to a survey of UK pet owners carried out in March 2022, around 87 percent of dog owners stated that owning a pet made them mentally healthier. Figures were lower for cat and rabbit owners, at around 82 and 78 percent, respectively.

This statistic shows the share of pet owners in the United States in 2017, broken down by ethnicity. According to the report, 70 percent of Caucasians own a pet in the United States.

As of December 2024, around 41.2 percent of pet owners in China were born between 1990 and 1999. Meanwhile, the share of pet owners born after 2000 had increased from 10.1 percent in 2023 to 25.6 percent in 2024.

Cat and dog owners do not only differ in the type of pets they choose but also the leisure activities that they take part in. According to the source, when looking at data from 2017 and 2018, dog owners were more likely to engage in active activities such as exercise, jogging, and going to sporting events. Comparatively, cat owners were more interested in reading books, surfing the internet, and listening to music.

The statistic shows the share of Americans who currently own a pet as of May 2015, by region. During the survey, about 66 percent of Americans living in the West, reported owning at least one pet.

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.

According to a survey conducted by Rakuten Insight on pets owned in January 2022 in India, dogs were the most popular pets, with a share of 68 percent. Cats were the second most popular pets, with a share of 34 percent.

This statistic shows the share of Indonesian respondents of a Rakuten Insight survey who were pet owners, broken down by type of pet, as of June 2018. During the period surveyed, the most popular pet amongst the pet owners in Indonesia were cats, with 37 percent of respondents who were pet owners owning a cat. In comparison, 15.5 percent of respondents who were pet owners owned a dog.

According to a 2022 survey, 35 percent of cat and dog owners around the world had set up social media accounts for their pets. Furthermore, 34 percent of owners said they enjoyed positive reactions shared about their furry friends on online platforms.

This statistic shows the share of pet owners in the United States in 2017, broken down by generation. The generation with the largest share of pet owners are Millennials, 35 percent of whom own a pet.

As of August 2024, the majority of pet owners in China were women. Meanwhile, the share of male pet owners had increased from around 21 percent in 2021, to nearly 40 percent in 2024.

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.