South Dakota and Wyoming rank in the top 10 and Nebraska in the bottom 10 when it comes to the percentage of households with a pet.
That’s according to the American Veterinary Medical Association, which puts out its U.S. Pet Ownership & Demographics Sourcebook every 5 years.
South Dakota ranks #3…with 65.6% of households having pets…while Wyoming is 10th at 61.8%. Nebraska, on the other hand, is 5th from the bottom at 51.3%.
The sourcebook says there are about 70-million pet dogs and 74.1-million pet cats in the country…both numbers down from 5 years ago, likely reflecting the impact of the recession. The percentage of Wyo households with pets dropped nearly 9 points.
The top pet-owning states are Vermont at 71% of households having pets and New Mexico at 67.6%. On the bottom are Massachusetts, New York, and New Jersey…all under 51%. Washington, DC, is far under that…with just 21.9% of households having pets.