New Jersey Ranked Among Least Pet-Loving States

Fact Checked by Thomas Leary

April 10, 2023 01:01pm

National Pet Day is on April 11. Since 2006, pet owners have been using this day to celebrate their fluffy family members, while raising raise awareness to the many benefits of pet ownership. Proven perks include improved physical health, less stress, and an increase in social connection.

To honor National Pet Day, TopNJCasinos.com, your source for New Jersey sports betting, decided to dig into the research comparing pet ownership in New Jersey to the national average.

Basically, we’re wondering what state loves their pets the most. To find out, TopNJCasinos.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.

Most Pet-Loving States

Rank	State	% of Pet Ownership
1	Wyoming	71.8
2	West Virginia	71
3	Idaho	70
4	Vermont	70
5	Indiana	69.2
6	Arkansas	69
7	Mississippi	65.5
8	Oklahoma	65
9	Kentucky	64.1
10	North Dakota	63.7
11	Maine	63.5
12	Missouri	63.5
13	Washington	63
14	Kansas	62.8
15	Michigan	62.4
16	Ohio	62.4
17	Montana	62
18	South Carolina	62
19	Tennessee	61.7
20	Pennsylvania	60.6
21	New Mexico	60
22	Alabama	59.8
23	Oregon	59.2
24	Iowa	59
25	North Carolina	59
26	Wisconsin	59
27	Utah	58.5
28	Texas	58.2
29	Arizona	58
30	Delaware	57.9
31	Florida	56
32	Virginia	55.5
33	Louisiana	54
34	Minnesota	54
35	Nevada	53
36	New Hampshire	52
37	Nebraska	51.3
38	Georgia	51
39	Connecticut	50
40	New York	50
41	Massachusetts	49
42	Illinois	48.6
43	Maryland	48.6
44	New Jersey	47.4
45	Colorado	47.2
46	South Dakota	46
47	Rhode Island	45.4
48	California	40.1
49	*Alaska	0
50	*Hawaii	0

* — Limited information available on Alaska and Hawaii.

What Gives In The Garden State?

We don’t have info on Alaska or Hawaii, but within continental America, it’s Wyoming that ranks out number one with a 71.8% pet ownership rate.

Meanwhile, less than half of New Jerseyites are pet owners, putting the Garden State at 44th on the list. New Jersey also falls well below the national average in both dog and cat ownership. Across America, 45% of people own at least one dog. In New Jersey that number is only 29.1%. Likewise, 26% are cat owners nationwide, but in New Jersey only 18.9% of people share their space with a feline friend.

It’s difficult to speculate why pet ownership is so low in New Jersey compared to the rest of America, but one reason may be the state’s relatively high urban population.

Look at Wyoming, for instance.

According to the 2020 census, it is the state with the lowest percent of its population living in an urban area. It also happens to be number one on the list for pet ownership. On the other hand, over 95% of the population of California lives in an urban area, and they have the fewest pet owners by far.

But just because New Jersey ranks low doesn’t mean they love their pets any less. However, it does prove that there are lots of homes open for dogs and cats in need. If you’ve been considering adopting a fur baby of your own, what better opportunity to do so than National Pet Day?

Keep it here at TopNJCasinos for items like this, plus news on New Jersey casino apps.

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Author

Jeff Parker

Jeff Parker is an Entertainment Writer for TopNJCasinos.com. A writer for film, television and the internet, Jeff has an actual Masters Degree in Popular Culture. He lives in Halifax, Nova Scotia, where he works full time as documentary filmmaker and producer.