What Are the 10 Most Popular Pets in the U.S.?

Using data from the AVMA's "U.S. Pet Ownership & Demographics Sourcebook," these rankings show the great diversity of pets living in U.S. households.  Although dogs and cats are the clearly the most popular pets, the actual rankings depend on the criteria used to generate them.  This list assigns ranks based on the number of households owning each type of pet.

1. Dogs – Canines are members of 37.2 percent of U.S. households.  With an estimated 72 million pet dogs in the country, this is an average of 1.7 dogs per dog owning household.


2. Cats -There are actually more pet cats than pet dogs in the U.S., but only 32.4 percent of households are home to feline companions.  The reason is that people who own cats tend to have two or three cats, while single dog households are common.  This keeps cats in second place nationally.


3. Fish –Even though they rank a distant third, fish are becoming more popular with Americans, especially those with allergies to other animals. Quiet and potentially low maintenance, fish occupy over 9 million homes in the U.S..


4. Birds – Roosting in 3.9 percent of U.S. households, birds are pets that require specialized care from conscientious owners.  However, these feathered pets reward their caretakers by being clean, intelligent, attractive and entertaining companions.


5. Horses – Although very popular, horses are expensive pets and require substantial space.  Despite this fact, 1.8 percent of households combine to own the more than 7 million horses in the U.S.


6. Rabbits – Almost 2 million U.S. households shelter these gentle herbivores that form tight bonds with their human caregivers and make great pets.


7. Turtles – Slow moving turtles are attractive and colorful pets which occupy over a million U.S. households.


8. Hamsters- More than 800,000 homes shelter these sweet, fluffy little rodents.


9. Livestock Animals- There are actually over 10 million livestock animals in the U.S.  Because most of them live on farms, however, all of these animals live in just over 700,000 households.


10. Lizards- With many species to choose from, lizards continue to grow in popularity.   In fact, more than 700,000 families keep some type of lizard as a pet.