Are you curious how many and what types of pets are popular in American families?
Dogs top the list. But more Americans are cat pet parents (2.1 cats per household) than dog pet parents (1.6 dogs per household)!
Look no further! I have all the statistics below…
Companion Animals
| Dogs | Cats | Birds | Horses | |
| Percent of households owning | 36.5% | 30.4% | 3.1% | 1.5% |
| Number of households owning | 43,346,000 | 36,117,000 | 3,671,000 | 1,780,000 |
| Average number owned per household | 1.6 | 2.1 | 2.3 | 2.7 |
| Total number in United States | 69,926,000 | 74,059,000 | 8,300,000 | 4,856,000 |
| Veterinary visits per household per year (mean) | 2.6 | 1.6 | 0.3 | 1.9 |
| Veterinary expenditure per household per year (mean) | $378 | $191 | $33 | $373 |
| Veterinary expenditure per animal (mean) | $227 | $90 | $14 | $133 |
Specialty and Exotic Animals
| Households | Population | |
| (in 1,000) | (in 1,000) | |
| Fish | 7,738 | 57,750 |
| Ferrets | 334 | 748 |
| Rabbits | 1,408 | 3,210 |
| Hamsters | 877 | 1,146 |
| Guinea Pigs | 847 | 1,362 |
| Gerbils | 234 | 468 |
| Other Rodents | 391 | 868 |
| Turtles | 1,320 | 2,297 |
| Snakes | 555 | 1,150 |
| Lizards | 726 | 1,119 |
| Other Reptiles | 365 | 732 |
| Poultry | 1,020 | 12,591 |
| Livestock | 661 | 5,045 |
| All others | 246 | 898 |
source (both charts): 2012 U.S. Pet Ownership & Demographics Sourcebook
Bottom line: Americans loves our pets!
Be well,
@SocialClaude
“Learn from the mistakes of others. You can never live long enough to make them all yourself.”
–Groucho Marx
