The Top 5 Most & Least Expensive Cities to Have a Dog

In honor of National Pet Month, we joined forces with Redfin, a real estate brokerage, and Rover.com, a network of dog lovers for hire, to get a holistic look at the costs involved in responsibly caring for a dog in major cities across the United States.

While the cost of food and toys can be squeezed into most monthly budgets, the costs involved in dog-friendly housing, veterinary bills and quality pet care can really add up, especially in big cities.

To determine which cities are the most and least expensive, each company analyzed data on 116 major cities, and then ranked the list based on the following criteria:

-Housing: How much more you’ll pay for a dog-friendly rental compared to the average cost of all rentals in the city, based on data from Walk Score, a Redfin company.

-Healthcare: Average monthly payment for medical insurance from Trupanion for a mixed breed male puppy with a $250 deductible.

-Pet Care: Average daily rates for dog sitting and day care, based on data from Rover.com.

According to the analysis, here are the top 5 most and least expensive cities to have a dog:

(Click here for the full report)

There are several factors that go into determining the cost of medical insurance for your dog, they are; age, breed, gender, whether your dog has been spayed or neutered, and the cost of veterinary care where you live. Medical advancements in veterinary care are helping dogs live longer, healthier lives. We have seen an increase in veterinary costs across the country over the past five years. We saw better access to advanced care in the most expensive cities we analyzed, leading to increases in veterinary costs there.

Though the cost of living is a large factor in the general cost of veterinary care for a city, we found that cities that have high housing costs don’t equate to high veterinary costs. The cost of medical coverage in the most expensive cities to own a dog ranges from $38.81 in Fresno, Calif. to $46.74 in San Francisco. For those cities that are considered less expensive, medical coverage ranges from $52.11 in Scottsdale, Ariz. to $36.84 in Philadelphia.

We’re also sponsoring a social media sweepstakes with Redfin and Rover called the Worth Every Penny Sweepstakes, in which one lucky winner will receive $1,000 from Redfin, a $100 gift card for Rover services, an overnight bag from Rover and a swag bag of pet healthcare items, treats and toys from us.

If you could use a little extra help pampering your pooch this month, be sure to enter the “Worth Every Penny Sweepstakes”. To enter, follow/like Trupanion on Twitter, Instagram, and Facebook, and simply post a photo of your pooch with the hashtag #wortheverypenny. Make sure to tag @Trupanion on your posts.

One winner will be selected in random drawing to win a grand prize of:

-$1,000 from Redfin to go toward your rent or mortgage (or spoiling your buddy!)

-A $100 gift card for Rover services, including dog walking, sitting and daycare.

-An overnight bag from Rover, including a t-shirt, dog toy, water bowl, poop bags and more.

-A Trupanion swag bag of pet healthcare items, treats and toys.

See here for official rules. Good luck – and happy National Pet Month!