There’s something to be said about the tangible effect our four-legged friends have on us on a daily basis.
In the Show Me State, pet ownership seems to be a rite of age, with more than 63% of residents owning either a dog or cat.
April 11 is National Pet Day, a day for people everywhere to love on their fur babies a little extra. But which states love their pets the most? BetMissouri.com, which also features all the latest coverage of Missouri sports betting issues, sought to find out.
BetMissouri.com used data from the American Veterinary Medical Association’s Pet Ownership and Demographics Sourcebook to calculate which states had the highest percentage of pet ownership.
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Pet-Loving States
| Rank |
State |
% of Pet Ownership |
| 1 |
Wyoming |
71.8 |
| 2 |
West Virginia |
71 |
| 3 |
Idaho |
70 |
| 4 |
Vermont |
70 |
| 5 |
Indiana |
69.2 |
| 6 |
Arkansas |
69 |
| 7 |
Mississippi |
65.5 |
| 8 |
Oklahoma |
65 |
| 9 |
Kentucky |
64.1 |
| 10 |
North Dakota |
63.7 |
| 11 |
Maine |
63.5 |
| 12 |
Missouri |
63.5 |
| 13 |
Washington |
63 |
| 14 |
Kansas |
62.8 |
| 15 |
Michigan |
62.4 |
| 16 |
Ohio |
62.4 |
| 17 |
Montana |
62 |
| 18 |
South Carolina |
62 |
| 19 |
Tennessee |
61.7 |
| 20 |
Pennsylvania |
60.6 |
| 21 |
New Mexico |
60 |
| 22 |
Alabama |
59.8 |
| 23 |
Oregon |
59.2 |
| 24 |
Iowa |
59 |
| 25 |
North Carolina |
59 |
| 26 |
Wisconsin |
59 |
| 27 |
Utah |
58.5 |
| 28 |
Texas |
58.2 |
| 29 |
Arizona |
58 |
| 30 |
Delaware |
57.9 |
| 31 |
Florida |
56 |
| 32 |
Virginia |
55.5 |
| 33 |
Louisiana |
54 |
| 34 |
Minnesota |
54 |
| 35 |
Nevada |
53 |
| 36 |
New Hampshire |
52 |
| 37 |
Nebraska |
51.3 |
| 38 |
Georgia |
51 |
| 39 |
Connecticut |
50 |
| 40 |
New York |
50 |
| 41 |
Massachusetts |
49 |
| 42 |
Illinois |
48.6 |
| 43 |
Maryland |
48.6 |
| 44 |
New Jersey |
47.4 |
| 45 |
Colorado |
47.2 |
| 46 |
South Dakota |
46 |
| 47 |
Rhode Island |
45.4 |
| 48 |
California |
40.1 |
| 49 |
*Alaska |
0 |
| 50 |
*Hawaii |
0 |
|
* — Limited information available on Alaska and Hawaii.
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Where Missouri Pet Ownership Stacks Up Nationally
Missouri is just outside the top 10 nationally when it comes to pet ownership, though the state ranks ahead of its western neighbor.
Sitting at 63.5%, Missouri is two spots ahead of Kansas, which has a 62.8% pet ownership rate, with the former sitting 12th nationally, while the latter ranks 14th.
The state ranks well ahead of Illinois, which finished 42nd at 48.6%, while Iowa came in 24th, with 59% of the Hawkeye State owning at least one pet.
The only neighboring state to finish with a higher percentage of pet owners was Arkansas, which is ranked sixth nationally at 69%.
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Author
Christopher Boan is a lead writer for BetMissouri.com, specializing in covering state issues. He has covered sports and sports betting in Arizona for more than seven years, including stops at ArizonaSports.com, the Tucson Weekly and the Green Valley News.
