The U.S. pet industry reached $158 billion in expenditures in 2025, while pet ownership held at 95 million households. The latest figures also show changing ownership patterns, cautious household spending, and a large contribution to employment and economic activity.
Contents
- Industry size and growth
- Pet ownership in U.S. households
- Household spending patterns
- Ownership trends by pet type and generation
- Jobs and economic impact
- State-level pet industry statistics
Industry size and growth
The American Pet Products Association (APPA) reported $158 billion in U.S. pet industry expenditures for 2025. That was a 3.7% increase from 2024. APPA projected expenditures to reach $165 billion in 2026, making the forecast roughly $7 billion higher than the 2025 total.
APPA’s 2026 State of the Industry Report projected full-year 2026 pet-industry growth near 4.4%. The report attributed about 2% of that projected growth to inflation. This distinction matters: the forecast describes total industry growth, while the inflation figure identifies part of the increase as a price effect rather than a comparable expansion in the quantity of goods or services purchased.
These figures describe the U.S. market and use different periods. The $158 billion result measures reported expenditures in calendar year 2025. The $165 billion figure is a 2026 projection, not a completed annual result. The 4.4% figure is also a forecast for full-year 2026.
For pet-care readers, the overall market number provides scale, but it does not mean every household increased its spending. APPA reported that about half of pet owners kept their spending unchanged in 2025. At the same time, 22% said they spent less on their pets in 2025, and that share was 10% higher than in 2024, according to the APPA 2026 State of the Industry Report.
Pet ownership in U.S. households
Pet ownership remained at 95 million U.S. households in 2025, according to APPA. That figure is a household measure, so it should not be read as the number of individual animals or the number of people who own pets.
Dogs were present in 53% of U.S. households in 2025, up from 51% in 2024. APPA said the 2025 rate represented 71 million dog-owning households and added about 4 million dog-owning households year over year.
Cats were owned by 39% of U.S. households in 2025. APPA reported that this share equaled 53 million cat-owning households and that cat ownership increased 5% year over year. The dog and cat household totals are not mutually exclusive: a household can own both types of pets.
The main household measures can be summarized as follows:
| Measure | 2025 result | Comparison or context | Source |
|---|---|---|---|
| U.S. pet-owning households | 95 million | Remained at this level in 2025 | APPA 2026 State of the Industry Report |
| Dog-owning households | 71 million | 53% of households; 51% in 2024 | APPA 2026 State of the Industry Report |
| Cat-owning households | 53 million | 39% of households; ownership up 5% year over year | APPA 2026 State of the Industry Report |
Because the dog and cat percentages are shares of households, adding them would not produce a total number of pet-owning households. The categories overlap, and the 95 million overall measure is the relevant household-level total reported by APPA.
Household spending patterns
The 2025 spending results point to a mixed consumer picture. About half of pet owners reported no change in spending. Meanwhile, 22% reported spending less, and APPA said that percentage increased 10% from 2024. The available figures do not quantify the percentage who spent more, nor do they provide an average spending change for each group.
That limitation is important when reading the market total alongside household behavior. Total industry expenditures can rise even when many households hold spending steady or reduce it, because totals reflect the whole market and may also reflect price changes, different purchasing patterns, and spending by other households. The supplied APPA figures establish the reported totals and shares but do not provide enough detail to calculate a household-level average or to attribute the total increase to a single category.
The $158 billion expenditure figure applies to the United States in 2025. It is separate from the APPA Economic Impact figures presented below, which use 2024 spending and economic-impact measures. Those datasets should not be combined as if they measured the same year or the same concept.
For practical pet-care planning, the spending figures support a simple reading: demand remained broad, but many owners were cost-conscious. A stable ownership base does not guarantee stable spending on every product, service, or type of care.
Ownership trends by pet type and generation
APPA reported several year-over-year changes in ownership during 2025. Gen X pet ownership expanded 12%, while Gen X dog ownership also increased 12%. Gen X cat ownership rose 8%. These are percentage changes in ownership, not the percentage of Gen X households that owned a pet.
Other pet categories also recorded increases. Bird ownership rose 25% year over year, reptile ownership rose 20%, and freshwater fish ownership rose 17%. The supplied figures do not state the number of households represented by these categories, so the growth rates should not be converted into household totals.
The reported changes are useful indicators of direction, but they are not directly comparable in every respect. Gen X figures describe ownership changes within a demographic group, while the bird, reptile, and freshwater fish figures describe changes by pet type. None of these numbers independently establishes the size of the underlying ownership base.
Together with the dog and cat results, the figures suggest that the 2025 ownership landscape was not uniform. Dog ownership moved from 51% to 53% of U.S. households, cat ownership increased 5% year over year, and several smaller or specialized pet categories posted larger percentage increases. A larger percentage increase does not necessarily mean a larger absolute increase in households, because the starting populations may differ.
Jobs and economic impact
The APPA Economic Impact report said the U.S. pet sector supports 2.78 million jobs nationwide. It also reported that the sector contributes $260.5 billion directly and indirectly to the U.S. economy and contributes $174 billion in annual GDP.
The U.S. detail in the same APPA economic-impact reporting recorded $36,616 million in pet-owner spending in 2024. Annual pet-related transactions with multiplier effects totaled $302,641 million. The report counted 1,273,464 jobs supported by pet-related goods and service industries and 2,747,159 jobs in the pet support sector directly or indirectly linked to the industry.
U.S. earnings from pet-industry jobs totaled $140,117 million. These measures use different concepts: spending, transactions with multiplier effects, jobs tied to goods and services, broader linked jobs, and earnings. They should be retained as separate indicators rather than added together.
The two job figures also illustrate why scope matters. The 1,273,464 figure covers jobs supported by pet-related goods and service industries. The 2,747,159 figure covers pet support sector jobs directly or indirectly linked to the industry. The broader figure is not a replacement for the narrower one; it represents a different definition of economic connection.
State-level pet industry statistics
APPA’s 2024 state-level economic-impact figures show substantial differences across the five states reported here. California recorded the highest pet-owner spending in the supplied state data at $2,990 million, followed by Texas at $2,433 million, Florida at $1,798 million, New York at $1,438 million, and Illinois at $1,013 million.
| State | Pet-owner spending, 2024 | Transactions with multiplier effects | Goods and service jobs | Average pets per household |
|---|---|---|---|---|
| California | $2,990 million | $16,032 million | 106,519 | 1.7 |
| Texas | $2,433 million | $12,934 million | 115,163 | 1.9 |
| Florida | $1,798 million | $9,738 million | 85,675 | 1.7 |
| New York | $1,438 million | $6,297 million | 61,867 | 1.6 |
| Illinois | $1,013 million | $5,140 million | 49,454 | 1.6 |
California’s pet-related annual transactions with multiplier effects totaled $16,032 million, and its pet-related goods and service industries supported 106,519 jobs. California’s pet support sector jobs directly or indirectly linked totaled 172,139, while households averaged 1.7 pets.
Texas recorded $12,934 million in annual transactions with multiplier effects. Its pet-related goods and service industries supported 115,163 jobs, and 183,615 pet support sector jobs were directly or indirectly linked. Texas households averaged 1.9 pets, the highest average among the five states listed.
Florida recorded $9,738 million in annual transactions with multiplier effects and 85,675 goods and service jobs. Its directly or indirectly linked pet support sector jobs totaled 139,276, and households averaged 1.7 pets.
New York recorded $6,297 million in annual transactions with multiplier effects. Pet-related goods and service industries supported 61,867 jobs, while 84,121 pet support sector jobs were directly or indirectly linked. New York households averaged 1.6 pets.
Illinois recorded $5,140 million in annual transactions with multiplier effects. Its pet-related goods and service industries supported 49,454 jobs, and 72,969 pet support sector jobs were directly or indirectly linked. Illinois households averaged 1.6 pets.
The state figures are 2024 measures from APPA Economic Impact state reports, while the ownership and national expenditure figures above primarily describe 2025 or forecast 2026. Keeping those measurement periods visible prevents a state result from being mistaken for a current-year estimate or a forecast.