It’s estimated that 36% of American renters live in apartments. And while some of the most requested amenities among apartment renters include air conditioning, in-unit laundry, and assigned parking, for the nearly 90 million families in the nation who own pets, there’s one amenity in particular that’s a must-have: pet-friendly accommodations.

The Special Reports Team at Veterinarians.org analyzed data for the 100 most populous cities in the nation to determine which ones come out on top when it comes to having the most pet-friendly apartments per 100K people. Continue reading to discover where your city ranks on our list.

Methodology

Using population data from the 2020 U.S. Census Bureau, the Special Reports Team at Veterinarians.org compiled a list of the 100 most populous cities in the nation. The Team then turned to Apartments.com to analyze the number of active dog-friendly and cat-friendly listings for each city as reported on May 23, 2023, with a specific focus on apartments (excluding condos, townhomes, and houses). Finally, the Team then calculated the number of listed pet-friendly apartments in relation to the population for each city to determine the rankings for cities with the most and least dog-friendly and cat-friendly apartments per capita (per 100K people).

The U.S. Cities with the Most Dog-Friendly Apartments

Atlanta, Georgia tops the list as the city with the most dog-friendly apartments per capita out of the 100 cities analyzed in the Team’s study, with 3,243 active listings for dog-friendly apartments per 100K people, based on data captured from Apartments.com on May 23, 2023. That’s more than three times the national average (977) among the 100 cities studied. This perhaps is no surprise, as both Forbes and U.S. News & World Report have recently ranked Atlanta as one of the best cities in the nation for dogs and their owners.

Baltimore, Maryland; Orlando, Florida; Irving, Texas; and Richmond, Virginia round out the Top 5 in the ranking. Each of these cities boast more than 2,600 active listings for dog-friendly apartments per 100K people.

The ranking’s Top 15 cities alone represent 33% of the over half a million dog-friendly apartments actively listed (as of May 23, 2023) for all 100 cities analyzed.

The U.S. Cities with the Most Cat-Friendly Apartments

Not much changes when comparing the rankings for dog-friendly apartments and cat-friendly apartments, save for a slight switch in the lineup between the final six cities. Additionally, when it comes to cat-friendly apartments, Boston, Massachusetts enters the Top 15 ranking, knocking Raleigh, North Carolina from the list.

However, once again, it’s Atlanta which dominates the ranking, with 3,234 active listings for cat-friendly apartments per 100K people, based on data captured from Apartments.com on May 23, 2023. This number is more than three times the national average (994) among the 100 cities studied.

Rounding out the Top 5 are Baltimore, Maryland; Orlando, Florida; Irving, Texas; and Richmond, Virginia, each featuring more than 2,600 active listings for cat-friendly apartments per 100K people.

The Top 5 cities alone in the above ranking account for 10% of the over half a million cat-friendly apartments actively listed (as of May 23, 2023) for all 100 cities analyzed.