Missouri Among Most Pet-Loving States In U.S.

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 passage, 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. 

Pet-Loving States

RankState% of Pet Ownership
1Wyoming71.8
2West Virginia71
3Idaho70
4Vermont70
5Indiana69.2
6Arkansas69
7Mississippi65.5
8Oklahoma65
9Kentucky64.1
10North Dakota63.7
11Maine63.5
12Missouri63.5
13Washington63
14Kansas62.8
15Michigan62.4
16Ohio62.4
17Montana62
18South Carolina62
19Tennessee61.7
20Pennsylvania60.6
21New Mexico60
22Alabama59.8
23Oregon59.2
24Iowa59
25North Carolina59
26Wisconsin59
27Utah58.5
28Texas58.2
29Arizona58
30Delaware57.9
31Florida56
32Virginia55.5
33Louisiana54
34Minnesota54
35Nevada53
36New Hampshire52
37Nebraska51.3
38Georgia51
39Connecticut50
40New York50
41Massachusetts49
42Illinois48.6
43Maryland48.6
44New Jersey47.4
45Colorado47.2
46South Dakota46
47Rhode Island45.4
48California40.1
49*Alaska0
50*Hawaii0
* — Limited information available on Alaska and Hawaii.

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

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.

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