Zillow and Rover name top 20 fastest-growing dog-friendly cities in America

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Apr 26, 2022, 06:30 ET

More than 60% of dog parents credit their dog's happiness and well-being with inspiring them to move

The fastest-growing dog-friendly city in the country is Antioch, Tennessee, near Nashville.
Nearly three-quarters of U.S. dog owners report they would consider moving to a home that better suits their dog's needs.
Just over half of dog owners find it challenging to find a dog-friendly rental.

SEATTLE, April 26, 2022 /PRNewswire/ -- New survey data from Zillow and Rover shows that pets are driving housing decisions. The two companies teamed up to analyze millions of data points to determine the top 20 U.S. cities attracting dog parents, with Antioch, Tennessee, taking the top spot.

Zillow logo (PRNewsfoto/Zillow Group)

Nearly three-quarters (72%)¹ of dog parents surveyed would consider moving to a home that better suits their dog's needs. Previous Zillow research shows 61% of recent homeowners and 57% of renters are pet owners, underscoring the impact this demographic has on overall national housing demand that remains stronger than ever.

"We saw pandemic pet ownership soar among renters, which has impacted their home preferences," said Amanda Pendleton, Zillow's home trends expert. "More renters now report owning at least one pet, compared to 2020. 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."

To find the fastest-growing dog-friendly cities, Rover and Zillow considered newly registered dog-owner accounts from Rover's database of millions of pet profiles, together with Zillow page views of pet-friendly single-family home rental listings.

The data revealed that Antioch, near Nashville, ranks No. 1. It landed the top spot largely because it saw the largest annual increase in new Rover dog accounts out of all cities analyzed. The city also had a significant increase in Zillow page-view traffic to pet-friendly single-family rental units, up 62.2% from last year.

Rounding out the top five are Baltimore, Maryland (No. 2); Alexandria, Virginia (No. 3); Fuquay-Varina, North Carolina (No. 4); and Kansas City, Kansas (No. 5), each seeing double-digit page-view growth since last year.

Top 20 fastest-growing dog-friendly cities, according to Zillow and Rover

Antioch, Tennessee
Baltimore, Maryland
Alexandria, Virginia
Fuquay-Varina, North Carolina
Kansas City, Kansas
Cumming, Georgia
Bellevue, Washington
Fort Lauderdale, Florida
Palo Alto, California
Charleston, South Carolina
Lee's Summit, Missouri
Bentonville, Arkansas
Denver, Colorado
Tuscaloosa, Alabama
Philadelphia, Pennsylvania
Lewisville, Texas
Chicago, Illinois
Rochester, Minnesota
Norman, Oklahoma
Grand Rapids, Michigan

Zillow and Rover's survey also found that 72% of dog parents find it important to live in a dog-friendly city with plenty of other dog owners, dog parks and pet-friendly rentals. Around 61% credit their furry friend's happiness and well-being as inspiration to move.

"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."

Just over half of the dog owners surveyed (57% ) find it challenging to find a dog-friendly rental. Zillow has a variety of tools to help renters and buyers navigate the market more efficiently, including a host of search filters that help search for specific pet requirements, home type and several amenity options, making it easier to find the right home.

Research Methodology

The top 20 fastest-growing dog-friendly cities ranking is determined according to both new dog accounts between June 2021 and March 2022 from Rover's database of millions of pet profiles, and Zillow rentals page-view data from March 2021 to March 2022. For each city, Rover data on trends in new dog accounts was combined with Zillow data representing cities with the highest increases in average daily page views per pet-friendly single-family home rental listing over the year. Only the cities with the highest annual increase in share of new dog accounts on Rover and positive increases in annual average daily page views were considered in the final ranking, ordered by the increase in share of new dog accounts. Cities that didn't have a sufficient data sample size from either company were excluded.

About Zillow Group:

Zillow Group, Inc. (NASDAQ: Z and ZG) is reimagining real estate to make it easier to unlock life's next chapter. As the most visited real estate website in the United States, Zillow® and its affiliates offer customers an on-demand experience for selling, buying, renting or financing with transparency and ease.

Zillow Group's affiliates and subsidiaries include Zillow®, Zillow Premier Agent®, Zillow Home Loans™, Zillow Closing Services™, Trulia®, Out East®, ShowingTime®, Bridge Interactive®, dotloop®, StreetEasy® and HotPads®. Zillow Home Loans, LLC is an Equal Housing Lender, NMLS #10287 (www.nmlsconsumeraccess.org).

About Rover®

Founded in 2011 and based in Seattle, Rover (NASDAQ: ROVR) is the world's largest online marketplace for pet care. Rover connects pet parents with caring pet care providers who offer overnight services, including boarding and in-home pet sitting, as well as daytime services, including doggy daycare, dog walking, and drop-in visits. Millions of pet parents have booked a service on Rover, with more than 500,000 pet care providers across North America and Europe.

¹ Based on 2022 survey data from Zillow and Rover

SOURCE Zillow