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2016’s Most Pet-Friendly Cities

By Richie Bernardo  | WalletHub

To many of us, pets are family — only furrier and slimier. It’s only natural, then, to seek out the places where these relatives of ours can enjoy the best quality of life. According to an American Pet Products Association survey, a record 65 percent, or 79.7 million, American households today own a pet.

And at one point, pet owners had access to only a handful of businesses that offered animal services and supplies. Big industry names such as Petco and PetSmart were the most familiar. But numerous new pet businesses, especially microenterprises, have cropped up in our neighborhoods to fill the demand of this growing “breed” of consumers. Today, we spoil our pets in all kinds of ways, from gourmet pet food to luxury-hotel accommodations to — get this — pet “dating” services.

But adding a pet to the family roster can strike a hard blow to the owner’s wallet. A litany of expenses — including licenses, grooming and medical care — can cost between $235 to nearly $2,000 annually , depending on the type of animal. Health insurance alone can exceed $200 per year for a dog, and it may not even be worth it. And if you rent an apartment with an animal, you can expect to pay hundreds, if not thousands, more for a pet deposit, fee and rent.

With pet parents in mind, WalletHub’s number crunchers compared the creature-friendliness of the 100 largest cities across 19 key metrics. Our data set ranges from “minimum pet-care provider rate per visit” to “number of pet businesses per capita” to “pet-friendly restaurants per capita.” Scroll down for the complete ranking.

Overall Rank City Overall Score ‘Pet Budget’ Rank ‘Pet Health & Wellness’
Rank		 ‘Outdoor Pet-Friendliness’ Rank
1 Orlando, FL 63.42 21 2 28
2 Birmingham, AL 63.11 4 7 26
3 Tampa, FL 62.51 10 8 4
4 Lexington-Fayette, KY 60.94 7 3 64
5 Scottsdale, AZ 60.31 79 1 20
6 Reno, NV 60.01 31 4 41
7 Colorado Springs, CO 57.92 49 19 2
8 Cincinnati, OH 57.43 20 12 30
9 Las Vegas, NV 57.31 39 18 8
10 St. Louis, MO 56.97 38 15 17
11 Baton Rouge, LA 56.86 23 5 73
12 Boise, ID 56.11 58 10 21
13 Henderson, NV 55.78 12 65 1
14 Atlanta, GA 55.61 37 6 66
15 Plano, TX 55.18 55 13 24
16 Oklahoma City, OK 55.15 1 36 56
17 St. Petersburg, FL 54.98 10 47 9
18 Portland, OR 54.36 82 17 5
19 Gilbert, AZ 54.21 59 16 36
20 Albuquerque, NM 53.98 8 58 15
21 Pittsburgh, PA 53.40 22 50 12
22 Madison, WI 53.37 61 24 14
23 Lincoln, NE 52.36 40 23 40
24 Sacramento, CA 52.11 70 26 11
25 Glendale, AZ 52.03 42 27 32
26 St. Paul, MN 51.96 19 43 33
27 Seattle, WA 51.77 92 20 7
28 Austin, TX 51.70 46 9 79
29 Louisville, KY 51.27 28 11 91
30 Omaha, NE 51.25 5 41 68
31 North Las Vegas, NV 51.24 12 67 29
32 Durham, NC 51.15 41 21 62
33 Tulsa, OK 51.01 9 46 55
34 Denver, CO 50.61 84 14 47
35 Tucson, AZ 50.34 65 28 25
36 Greensboro, NC 49.94 6 37 57
37 San Diego, CA 49.41 71 22 44
38 New Orleans, LA 49.30 48 31 58
39 Stockton, CA 49.25 25 78 22
40 Toledo, OH 49.24 17 29 60
41 Chandler, AZ 49.17 75 48 16
42 Fort Wayne, IN 49.04 2 39 97
43 Chesapeake, VA 48.44 73 34 39
44 Bakersfield, CA 48.43 62 55 23
45 Raleigh, NC 48.20 34 25 88
46 Lubbock, TX 48.16 24 42 86
47 Phoenix, AZ 47.98 16 73 49
48 Minneapolis, MN 47.78 64 44 42
49 Kansas City, MO 47.48 26 61 59
50 Columbus, OH 47.27 3 77 76
51 Miami, FL 46.91 27 57 69
52 Garland, TX 46.79 47 52 72
53 San Francisco, CA 46.36 99 30 10
54 Anchorage, AK 46.32 81 68 18
55 Chula Vista, CA 46.27 78 51 38
56 Oakland, CA 46.12 83 32 48
57 Riverside, CA 45.96 67 71 19
58 Jacksonville, FL 45.93 18 35 100
59 Winston-Salem, NC 45.77 44 60 75
60 Corpus Christi, TX 45.14 30 54 93
61 Arlington, TX 45.10 53 64 71
62 Virginia Beach, VA 45.05 57 40 92
63 Long Beach, CA 45.00 90 74 6
64 Fort Worth, TX 44.88 50 45 85
65 Irvine, CA 44.48 97 53 13
66 Aurora, CO 44.34 84 38 65
67 Fremont, CA 44.33 93 33 54
68 Memphis, TN 44.30 33 62 95
69 Mesa, AZ 43.99 75 72 45
70 Nashville, TN 43.98 54 49 90
71 Irving, TX 43.37 66 56 82
72 Buffalo, NY 43.13 60 69 84
73 Norfolk, VA 43.08 73 81 35
74 Wichita, KS 42.98 35 79 89
75 San Antonio, TX 42.13 14 80 96
76 Cleveland, OH 42.11 29 82 83
77 El Paso, TX 41.37 36 89 74
78 Milwaukee, WI 41.09 15 90 77
79 Charlotte, NC 41.00 51 63 98
80 San Bernardino, CA 40.96 67 86 34
81 Hialeah, FL 40.91 69 87 50
82 Washington, DC 40.89 98 66 27
83 Fresno, CA 40.80 91 75 46
84 Indianapolis, IN 40.72 56 59 99
85 San Jose, CA 40.31 63 84 53
86 Houston, TX 40.06 45 76 94
87 Dallas, TX 39.33 86 70 81
88 Laredo, TX 39.23 72 94 31
89 Honolulu, HI 39.12 43 96 43
90 Baltimore, MD 38.77 32 95 67
91 Jersey City, NJ 38.60 94 91 3
92 Chicago, IL 38.07 77 85 78
93 Los Angeles, CA 36.70 88 93 37
94 Anaheim, CA 36.41 95 88 52
95 Newark, NJ 36.31 87 83 87
96 Philadelphia, PA 34.63 89 92 61
97 Detroit, MI 34.60 52 99 80
98 Boston, MA 33.50 80 97 70
99 Santa Ana, CA 31.03 95 98 63
100 New York, NY 4.49 100 100 51