Dog ownership reached 53% of U.S. households in 2025, or about 71 million households, according to the APPA 2026 State of the Industry Report. That was up from 51% in 2024, while dog ownership expanded by about 4 million households year over year. The figures below show how widespread ownership is, how it varies by generation, and how owners incorporate dogs into care, travel, and daily routines.
Contents
- U.S. dog ownership at a glance
- Generational patterns among dog owners
- Veterinary and pet care access
- Calming products and dog wellness
- Weight, supplements, and preventive care
- Dogs in everyday routines
- Celebrations, travel, and the workplace
U.S. dog ownership at a glance
The APPA 2026 State of the Industry Report places dog ownership at 53% of U.S. households in 2025. Its corresponding household estimate was 71 million U.S. households with at least one dog. The year-over-year increase was about 4 million households, making the change notable both as a percentage-point increase and as an absolute household gain.
For context, 95 million U.S. households owned at least one pet in 2025, according to the same APPA 2026 report. Dogs therefore represented the most common household pet category among the supplied 2025 figures. Cats were owned by 39% of U.S. households, or 53 million households, and cat ownership increased 5% year over year.
The previous comparison point from the APPA 2025 State of the Industry Report was 51% of U.S. households owning a dog in 2024. The two reports describe adjacent measurement periods, so the change is best read as a reported year-over-year shift rather than as a newly calculated estimate.
| Measure | 2024 | 2025 |
|---|---|---|
| U.S. households owning a dog | 51% | 53% |
| U.S. households owning a cat | Not supplied | 39% |
| Dog-owning U.S. households | Not supplied | 71 million |
| Households owning at least one pet | Not supplied | 95 million |
Source: [APPA 2025 State of the Industry Report] and [APPA 2026 State of the Industry Report]. The reports use different publication years and the table does not add or infer missing values.
Generational patterns among dog owners
The APPA 2025 State of the Industry Report found that Gen Z accounted for 20% of U.S. dog owners in 2025. Gen Z also accounted for 20% of U.S. cat owners. In the report’s 2024 measure, Gen Z made up 20% of pet-owning households, and 70% of Gen Z pet owners had two or more pets.
The gender composition reported for dog owners differed between the two younger adult generations. In 2025, 58% of Gen Z dog owners were men, compared with 63% of Millennial dog owners. The same report recorded a different pattern among cat owners: men represented 38% of Gen Z cat owners and 46% of Millennial cat owners.
These percentages describe shares within the named owner groups. They do not indicate that all Gen Z or Millennial households own dogs, and they should not be treated as population-wide ownership rates.
The APPA 2026 State of the Industry Report also reported several year-over-year changes among Gen X households in 2025. Gen X dog ownership increased 12%. Gen X cat ownership increased 8%. Other pet categories moved as well: bird ownership increased 25%, reptile ownership increased 20%, and freshwater fish ownership increased 17% among Gen X households.
Veterinary and pet care access
Access and affordability were significant concerns in the APPA 2025 State of the Industry Report. In 2025, 37% of U.S. pet owners were concerned about access to veterinary care. Among those who expressed that concern, 60% cited affordability and 32% cited the ease of getting an appointment.
The report separately measured access to pet care services. In 2025, 22% of U.S. pet owners were concerned about access to those services. Among this concerned group, 38% cited affordability and 31% cited the ease of getting an appointment.
The two sets of percentages have different denominators: the first begins with all U.S. pet owners, while the follow-up percentages describe people within each concerned group. That distinction matters when interpreting the numbers. For example, the 60% affordability figure is not a share of every U.S. pet owner; it is a share of those concerned about veterinary access.
Workplace policies were another part of the APPA 2025 report. In 2025, 14% of people said their workplace allowed pets. Workplace pet access was up 17% from 2023. Among HR professionals and senior leaders, 80% said pet-friendly workplaces help recruit and retain talent, while 75% said such workplaces help return-to-office efforts.
Calming products and dog wellness
Calming-product use was reported across generations and over time. In 2025, 78% of Gen Z dog owners used calming products, according to the APPA 2025 State of the Industry Report. The corresponding figure for Millennial dog owners was 72%. For comparison within the same generational categories, 71% of Gen Z cat owners and 66% of Millennial cat owners used calming products.
The APPA 2024 Dog and Cat Report measured dog owners more broadly for 2024 and found that 59% used some type of calming product. The report said calming-product use among dog owners was up 168% from 2018. Because the 2024 figure covers dog owners generally while the 2025 figures are segmented by generation, these measures provide context but are not interchangeable totals.
The type of calming support also appeared in the 2024 report. Among dog owners who gave supplements, 15% used an anxiety or calming supplement in 2024, up from 4% in 2018. This comparison refers specifically to supplement-giving dog owners and to the report’s named years.
Together, these figures show that calming products were common in the measured groups, but they do not identify a particular product, clinical outcome, or reason for use. They describe reported owner behavior during the stated measurement periods.
Weight, supplements, and preventive care
The APPA 2024 Dog and Cat Report included several dog health and supplement measures for 2024. Twelve percent of dog owners said their veterinarian considered their dog obese. Eleven percent reported that their dog had been prescribed a weight-loss diet.
Supplement use was widespread in the same report: 50% of dog owners gave their dog a vitamin or supplement. A more specific 21% gave a prebiotic or probiotic supplement. The narrower figure is a category within the broader supplement measure, although the supplied figures do not specify whether every respondent could select multiple supplement types.
These statistics describe owner reports and reported veterinary assessments, not an independent clinical examination of every dog. The obesity and weight-loss-diet figures also measure different things: one concerns what a veterinarian considered the dog’s condition to be, while the other concerns whether a diet was prescribed.
Dogs in everyday routines
The APPA 2024 Dog and Cat Report showed dogs participating in ordinary recreation and errands. In 2024, 58% of dog owners took their dogs to parks. Fifteen percent took their dogs along daily on errands in a car.
Looking at a weekly frequency rather than a daily one, 50% of dog owners took their dogs with them on foot for errands or routines at least once a week. Fifty-three percent took their dogs with them in the car for errands or routines at least once a week. These measures use different modes of travel, and the percentages can overlap because one owner may do both.
| Reported activity among dog owners | Share | Measurement period |
|---|---|---|
| Took dogs to parks | 58% | 2024 |
| Took dogs on foot for errands or routines at least weekly | 50% | 2024 |
| Took dogs in the car for errands or routines at least weekly | 53% | 2024 |
| Took dogs along daily on errands in a car | 15% | 2024 |
Source: [APPA 2024 Dog and Cat Report]. The daily car-errand measure should not be added to the weekly car measure; it is a more specific frequency description within a related activity.
Celebrations, travel, and the workplace
Dog ownership also shaped celebrations and travel in the APPA 2024 Dog and Cat Report. In 2024, 44% of dog owners purchased a birthday gift for their pet. Twenty-seven percent hosted a holiday or birthday party for their pet.
Travel planning frequently included the dog. Fifty-five percent of dog owners tailored their travel plans to accommodate their pets in 2024. Separately, 88% traveled with their dogs in the car in the past year. The two figures address related but distinct behaviors: one concerns changing travel plans, while the other concerns car travel during the past year.
The workplace figures from the APPA 2025 State of the Industry Report add a current policy context to these household routines. Fourteen percent of people said their workplace allowed pets in 2025, and access was up 17% from 2023. Among HR professionals and senior leaders, 80% associated pet-friendly workplaces with recruitment and retention, while 75% associated them with return-to-office efforts.
Taken together, the reported measures portray dog ownership as a household choice that reaches into care access, wellness products, transportation, recreation, celebrations, travel, and work settings. Each statistic remains tied to its source report and measurement period, so comparisons are most useful when the population and timeframe are kept explicit.