Pet Statistics (2026): 40 Sourced Figures

This page collects figures on pets in the United States. It covers how many households own pets, what owners spend, how many pets are insured, what happens in shelters and who provides veterinary care. Every number links to the document that first published it. The main sources are the American Pet Products Association (APPA), the North American Pet Health Insurance Association (NAPHIA), the ASPCA, the US Bureau of Labor Statistics (BLS) and a public company filing. For more data pages on other markets, see the StatWharf research directory.

Method

The data window runs from 2022 to the third quarter of 2026. Most figures describe calendar year 2025. StatWharf used primary sources only. These are industry bodies (APPA, NAPHIA), the ASPCA and the Shelter Animals Count data it publishes, the BLS, and an SEC filing. BLS household spending data is read from the series that the Federal Reserve Bank of St. Louis distributes. Statistics aggregators and blogs that re-quote other sources were excluded. Each figure was checked against its source in October 2026. StatWharf dropped each figure that did not appear on its primary source. No value on this page is modeled, estimated or calculated by StatWharf.

Several popular questions have no primary source. StatWharf found no government agency or industry body that publishes an average cost for pet euthanasia or for a pet sitter per day. Figures on those costs found online come from vendor price lists or blogs, so this page leaves them out. The AVMA Pet Ownership and Demographics Sourcebook was not reachable at the check date. Its dog and cat population counts appear on this page only where NAPHIA cites them.

Pet ownership

APPA runs the National Pet Owners Survey. Its 2026 State of the Industry Report draws on the 2025 edition of that survey. The dog and cat population counts come from a 2025 AVMA survey that NAPHIA cites in its own report.

Dog ownership rose from 51% of households in 2024 to 53% in 2025. APPA describes this as about 4 million more dog-owning households in one year. APPA also reports that cat ownership grew 5% year over year. It names Gen Z and Millennials as the main drivers. Gen X dog ownership rose 12% in the same period, according to the same release.

There are two different ways to count pets. APPA counts households. The AVMA figures that NAPHIA cites count animals. A household with two dogs counts once in the first measure and twice in the second. The two measures therefore do not compare directly.

Pet spending

APPA publishes total US pet industry expenditures each year. The figures cover sales to consumers in four categories. The BLS Consumer Expenditure Survey measures pet spending from the household side. Its figure is an average across all US consumer units, including those with no pet.

APPA’s “other services” category covers boarding, grooming, insurance, training, pet sitting, pet walking and all other services outside veterinary care. APPA projects vet care and product sales of US$42.4 billion in 2026. Its May 2026 release says that roughly 2 points of the projected 4.4% growth for 2026 come from inflation. It also reports that 22% of pet owners spent less on their pets in 2025.

One labeling point needs care. APPA’s trends page shows the category split under the heading “2025 actual sales”, while a line below it refers to 2024. The State of the Industry page and the May 2026 release both give US$158 billion for 2025. This page follows those two documents.

The BLS figure is not the cost of owning one pet. It is the mean spending of all consumer units, and many of them own no pet. Spending per pet-owning household is therefore higher than US$880. The BLS series shows a large rise from 2022 to 2023 and a flat 2024.

Pet insurance

NAPHIA’s annual State of the Industry Report is compiled by Willis Towers Watson. NAPHIA estimates that its data covers about 99% of written pet health insurance premium in the US and Canada. The 2026 report describes calendar year 2025. Premium figures are in-force figures at December 31, 2025.

The penetration rates use a base of 163.6 million US dogs and cats. NAPHIA reports that the number of insured US pets grew 9.0% in 2025. Premium grew faster than the number of pets. NAPHIA attributes this to a consistent rise in average premium each year. The accident and illness premium for a US dog was US$625 in 2021 and US$836 in 2025. An accident-only plan for a dog averaged US$190 in 2025. California held 18.1% of insured US pets, the largest share of any state.

Shelters, adoption and abandonment

Shelter Animals Count collects intake and outcome data from US shelters and rescues. It joined the ASPCA in 2025. The ASPCA publishes the national estimates below. They are estimates based on full-year data from reporting organizations, and figures vary by state.

Intake in 2025 was 2.8 million dogs and 3 million cats. The euthanasia rate fell from 10% in 2019 to 8% in 2025. The ASPCA reports that dog euthanasia fell nearly 7% and cat euthanasia fell 2% compared with 2024. The ASPCA also reports that dogs, especially large dogs, stay longer in shelters than they did five years ago. It names staff and veterinarian shortages as added pressures on shelters.

Owner surrender is the closest measured figure to “pet abandonment”. It covers pets that owners bring to a shelter. Strays are a separate intake route, and the data does not show how many strays were once owned. The ASPCA links surrender to gaps in access to veterinary care, pet-friendly housing and behavioral support.

Veterinary workforce and online pet retail

The BLS Occupational Outlook Handbook reports pay, jobs and projected growth for veterinary occupations. Chewy, a listed online pet retailer, reports its customer base in quarterly SEC filings.

The BLS projects about 3,100 openings for veterinarians and about 13,400 openings for veterinary technologists and technicians each year over the decade. Veterinary technicians outnumber veterinarians in the BLS job counts. Chewy reported net sales of US$3.33 billion for the quarter, up 7.3% year over year. Chewy defines an Autoship customer as one with an order shipped through its subscription program in the preceding 364 days. The figures describe one company, not the whole pet retail market.

What the figures show

Three points stand out. First, pet ownership is broad and stable. APPA counts 95 million pet-owning households, and dog ownership rose to 53% in 2025. Spending grew 3.7% in the same year, while more owners reported cutting back.

Second, veterinary care is the second largest spending category after food. Vet care and product sales reached US$41.0 billion in 2025. At the same time, insurance covers only 4.27% of US dogs and cats. Most owners still pay vet bills directly.

Third, the clinical workforce is small relative to the pet population. The BLS counts about 91,100 veterinarian jobs for about 87.3 million dogs and 76.3 million cats. Shelters also report veterinarian shortages. Clinics with fixed staff need efficient scheduling, records, reminders and insurance claim handling to see more patients.

Where to go next

Veterinary practices that want to handle more appointments with the same staff are able to review the veterinary practice management software comparison. It sets out practice-type fit, diagnostics and payment integrations, and published pricing for each product. It does not name a single best product.

The next update follows three releases: the APPA 2027 State of the Industry Report, the 2027 NAPHIA State of the Industry Report and the Shelter Animals Count data for 2026. Send corrections to any figure to the editorial address below.

Factual corrections are free: editorial@statwharf.com.