Pet Industry Market Size, Trends & Ownership Statistics
Total U.S. Pet Industry Expenditures
Year Billions of dollars
2020 $103.6 Actual
2019 $97.1
2018 $90.5
(Data was announced at the 2021 State of the Industry presentation on 3/24/21)
Actual Sales within the U.S. Market in 2020
In 2020, $103.6 billion was spent on our pets in the U.S.
Breakdown:
Pet Food & Treats $42.0 billion
Supplies, Live Animals & OTC Medicine $22.1 billion
Vet Care & Product Sales $31.4 billion
Other Services $8.1 billion
(Other Services include boarding, grooming, insurance, training, pet sitting and walking and all services outside of veterinary care)
Estimated 2021 Sales within the U.S. Market
For 2021, it estimated that $109.6 billion will be spent on our pets in the U.S.
Estimated Breakdown:
Pet Food & Treats $44.1 billion
Supplies, Live Animals & OTC Medicine $23.4 billion
Vet Care & Product Sales $32.3 billion
Other Services $9.7 billion
Data sources and notes
Pet Food & Treats: Source: Nielsen Scan – 52 Weeks ending 12/28/2020 for xAOC+C and Pet Retail. Ecommerce pet food sales data powered by Rakuten Intelligence. Pet food sales for 2020 in Vet clinics, Farm & Feed, Direct-to-Consumer, Costco were estimated using industry/financial reports and any available data for either of these channels. Other pet food categories not tracked by Nielsen were obtained from Euromonitor data.
Pet Supplies Live Animals & OTC Medicine: Pet Supplies and OTC Meds are based on data provided by Euromonitor, Nielsen Scan, Rakutan Intelligence and Packaged Facts. Live Animals includes fish, birds, small animals and reptile and is based on APPA estimates and data provided by leading retailers and industry suppliers.
Vet Care & Product Sales: Includes routine veterinary care, surgical procedures and sales of pharmaceuticals and other products through veterinary clinics and is based on data provided by AVMA and Packaged Facts. Excludes food and treat sales.
Other Services: Includes grooming, training, boarding, insurance, Pet sitting/walking and all services outside of Vet Care and is based on data provided by Packaged Facts as well as leading industry retailers.
All data was reviewed and validated by industry experts and leading pet retailers and manufacturers.
2021-2022 APPA National Pet Owners Survey Statistics: Pet Ownership & Annual Expenses
According to the 2021-2022 APPA National Pet Owners Survey, 70% of U.S. households own a pet, which equates to 90.5 millions homes.
In 1988, the first year the survey was conducted, 56% of U.S. households owned a pet.
Breakdown of pet ownership in the U.S. according to the 2021-2022 APPA National Pet Owners Survey
Number of U.S. Households that Own a Pet (millions)
| Bird | 9.9 |
| Cat | 45.3 |
| Dog | 69.0 |
| Horse | 3.5 |
| Freshwater Fish | 11.8 |
| Saltwater Fish | 2.9 |
| Reptile | 5.7 |
| Small Animal | 6.2 |
Pet Ownership by Generation (% of Current Pet Owners)
| Gen Z | 14% |
| Millennial | 32% |
| Gen X | 24% |
| Baby Boomer | 27% |
| Builder | 3% |
Average Amount Spent on Common Pet Categories in the Past 12 Months
The incredible variety of pet care categories makes it difficult to compare amounts spent across different pet species. The list below is included to give the reader an idea of the types of categories included in the Survey but is not exhaustive of all the expenses captured in the individual pet species report sections. It reports an approximate dollar amount based on consumer recollection of their spending in the prior 12 months. As such, the dollar amounts should not be added to report total spending in the prior 12 months.
According to the 2021-2022 APPA National Pet Owners Survey, some of the basic annual expenses for dog and cat owners in dollars include:
Dogs Cats
Surgical Vet Visits $458 $201
Routine Vet $242 $178
Food $287 $254
Food Treats $81 $72
Kennel Boarding $228 $78
Vitamins $81 $47
Grooming aids/brushes $47 $31
Toys $56 $41
**Note: APPA does not ask Survey Participants how much in total they spend on their dog or cats annually. The expenses listed above are not all inclusive and each category was asked separately of the survey participant.