More people in the United States are choosing to parent their pets, increasing the demand for pet-friendly cities. Recent statistics show that the majority of people consider their pet's health an important factor when purchasing a home. Therefore, Forbes Advisor Best cities for pet owners.
List of best cities for pet owners in 2024
81 of the most populous cities were evaluated by Forbes Advisor on various metrics and the results were obtained. Therefore, the top-ranked cities are perfect for pet parents looking for affordable veterinary services and convenient access to veterinarians. Plus, these cities have plenty of pet-friendly locations.
Here are the best cities for pet owners in the United States in 2024.
- Kansas City, Missouri: Kansas City stands out as the ultimate choice for pet owners across the country, largely because it ranks second in veterinary costs for dogs and cats.
- Nashville, Tennessee: According to Food Advisor, Nashville is the second best city in the country for pet owners. It also ranks fourth with Louisville, Kentucky and Oklahoma City for having the lowest average veterinary costs for dogs and cats.
- Albuquerque, New Mexico: Albuquerque takes the No. 3 spot for having plenty of spaces that welcome pets.
- Raleigh, North Carolina: In terms of ease of access to veterinary services, pet owners in Raleigh have the fourth most accessible veterinary services in the country.
- Wichita, Kansas: Although Wichita ranks No. 5 on this list, Wichita pet parents have some of the most affordable veterinary care for their dogs and cats in the nation.
Forbes Advisor created this list by evaluating data from the 100 most populous cities in the United States. However, only 81 of these cities had data available.
We evaluated these cities across four key categories. These include the cost of veterinary treatment for dogs, the cost of veterinary treatment for cats, access to veterinary services, and the number of pet-friendly locations available in the city. In addition, Forbes Advisor considered 13 metrics that serve as a basis for comparing cities.
