According to a recent study by Zillow and Rover, most American dog-owners would consider moving if they believed it was in the best interest of their pet(s).
By sharing millions of data points, the online real estate company and the online pet care marketplace, determined approximately 72 percent of dog owners found it important to live in a “dog-friendly” city with plenty of other dog owners, dog parks, and pet-friendly living accommodations. Around 61 percent credit their pet’s happiness and well-being as the reason for moving.
“It’s clear our pets are at the center of our families, and they’re influencing how and where we live,” said Kate Jaffe, trends expert at Rover. “Pet parents want to do right by their dogs, including giving them the best resources and opportunities to be happy. At the same time, people have realized that pets can improve our own health and wellbeing. Moving to a location with a big backyard and proximity to a park can not only improve our pet's life — it may also lead to more exercise, more outdoor time and more social interaction that can actually make an impact on our own happiness.”
“More renters now report owning at least one pet, compared to 2020,” said Amanda Pendleton, Zillow’s home trends expert. “Like recent movers on the whole, they appear to be seeking out more space and relative affordability in places where they can get a fenced backyard or room for a doghouse.”
The survey determined the fastest-growing dog-friendly cities, using registered dog-owner accounts from Rover’s database of millions of profiles, along with Zillow page view counts of pet-friendly single-family home listings.
The data revealed that Nashville-suburb Antioch, Tenn., was number one in the ranking. It landed the top spot because it saw the largest annual increase in new Rover dog-owner accounts out of all cities analyzed. Zillow also saw a significant increase in page-view traffic to pet-friendly single-family rental units for Antioch, up 62.2 percent from last year.
Baltimore, Md., Alexandria, Va., Fuquay-Varina, N.C., and Kansas City, Kan., rounded out the top five, with each seeing double-digit page-view growth compared to last year.