Pets enrich our lives, and for most pet parents, the environment in which their furry companions live in is important. Some states in the U.S. are not as pet-friendly as others and in this article, you will discover the top five pet-friendly states and also the five worst states to own a pet.
So if you are a pet parent and you are considering where to settle and be happiest with your pets, hopefully, we can be of assistance. Maybe you already live in one of these states, read on and confirm your good fortune.
What factors determine the rankings?
Pettable considered five factors when coming up with the rankings. These factors were:
Pet ownership Stats
For pets to be truly happy and comfortable, they need loving and nurturing owners. This is why it comes as no surprise that states with a high percentage of households that own pets are considered to be more pet-friendly than states with lower percentages. It is also more likely that there will be more pet services in these states and easier to find pet-friendly rental properties.
Anti-cruelty laws
These laws are designed to protect pets from falling into the wrong hands and 40 states have enacted anti-cruelty laws. Owning and taking care of a pet is a major undertaking, so for a state to be considered pet-friendly, the right type of legislation has to be in place to protect our pets from neglect and cruelty.
No-kill shelters
These shelters do not euthanize healthy animals just because the shelter is full. To meet no-kill requirements shelters have to save at least 90% of animals in their care. The more No-kill shelters that a state has, determine their level of pet-friendliness.
Save Rate
Save rates show how successfully rescued animals are adopted. The implication behind this rate is that the community is welcoming of pets, so naturally, the higher the saving rate, the more pet-friendly the state.
Pet-Friendly rental options
As pet owners, we can all agree that you should be able to live with your pet. This is not always possible because some properties do not allow pets, which puts a cap on the number of pet lovers able to adopt. That is why, the more pet-friendly rental properties a state has, the more that state is a pet-friendly environment.
The Top 5 Pet-friendly States in the U.S
5: Alabama
Percentage of households that own pets: 60% which ranks them 20th in the country
They have anti-cruelty laws
Pet-Friendly rentals: Alabama ranks in the top 7
4: North Carolina
Pet ownership rate: 58,6% with a ranking of 24
Pet-friendly rental options: It’s the highest-ranking state for large and small dogs and ranks 9th for cats
3: Tennessee
Pet ownership rate: 62%
Pet-friendly rental options: 4th highest in the country (73% of rental properties allow small dogs and 68% allow cats).
3: Mississippi
Pet ownership rate: 65%, ranking at number 7 nationally.
Pet-friendly rental options: Mississippi ranks 3rd for cats and large dogs
Unfortunately, they rank 36th for the animal save rate.
2: Indiana
Pet ownership rate: 69.2%, they rank 5th in the country
Pet-friendly rental options: They rank in the top 10 (46% of properties allow large dogs & 65% allow small dogs and cats).
They rank 39th for No-kill shelters and 30 for save rates.
1: Arizona
Arizona is declared the best state to own a pet in the U.S and here is why:
Pet ownership rate: 69%
Pet-friendly rental options: Nearly 50% of rental properties allow large dogs and over 70% permit small dogs
Arizona needs to improve its No-kill shelter game and improve its save rate because in these areas they are average.
On the flip side, some states are considered as being the worst when it comes to pet ownership. Some of these states do not have anti-cruelty laws which did not help their rankings; however, some of them do well in animal saving and no-kill shelters.
The Top 5 Worst States
5: California
Pet ownership rate: 40% which is the lowest in the country.
Pet-friendly rental options: 14% accept large dogs and 42% permit smaller dogs.
Less than 50% of shelters are no-kill and animal savings rates are below the national average
4: Massachusetts
Pet ownership rate: Less than 50%
Save rate: Over 84%
They rank 45 for no-kill shelters
Pet-friendly rental options: Massachusetts ranks 18th for most cat-friendly, 32 for large dogs, and 33 for small dogs.
3: Hawaii
Pet ownership rate: 58%
Pet-friendly rental options: Only 20% permit small dogs. Hawaii is the worst pet rental state.
They rank 44th for no-kill shelters and 45th for save rates.
3: New Jersey
Pet ownership rate: 47.4%
They have no anti-cruelty laws
New Jersey does rank high for no-kill shelters (16th) and save rate (15th).
2: Connecticut
Pet ownership rate: They rank 37th in the country
Like New Jersey, they don’t have anti-cruelty animal laws
Their no-kill shelter and save rates are above average
Pet-friendly rental options: A third of rental properties permit small dogs. 10% allow large dogs
1: Rhode Island
Unfortunately, Rhode Island has been declared the worst state for pets, and here are some of the reasons why:
Pet ownership: They rank 44th with 45.4%
Pet-friendly rental options: The majority of rental properties do not allow pets
Rhode Island does have above average animal save rates and no-kill shelters
Conclusion
The list is complete and there you have it. Arizona is the best state to own a pet and Rhode Island is the worst. The key takeaway is that Americans are in love with pets and testament to that is the fact that nearly 60% of U.S households own a pet. Special mention goes to New Hampshire which has the highest save rate in the country at 92.6%.
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