The American Veterinary Medical Association (AVMA) released new statistics on pet ownership in the United States and announced pet ownership is up, as is spending on pets.
The AVMA conducts this survey every five years. This year, 47,842 households were surveyed. The results showed an 26.5 million increase in pet ownership from 2001 to 2006 (pets include dogs, cats, birds and horses).
AVMA Statistics
The U.S. has 43 million homes with dogs and 37.5 million homes with cats. Cat owners generally have multiple pets — 2.2 per home, versus 1.7 for dogs.
Over 64% of those surveyed own more than one pet.
Some 48.7% of pet owners consider their pet family.
Pet owners spent $25.5 billion on veterinary services in 2006, an increase of $2 billion from 2001.
Women are the central caregivers to pets in a household.
Below are the states with the most and fewest pet-owning households. Not surprisingly, rural areas had more pets than urban locales.
Top five states:
Vermont, 74.5%
Idaho, 73.4%
Oregon 73.1%
Wyoming, 70.3%
New Mexico, 70.1%
Bottom five states:
District of Columbia, 20.2%
New York, 49.2%
New Jersey, 49.5%
Maryland, 50.2%
Massachusetts, 50.7%