States Where People Love Dogs the Most and Least

Whether you’re a canine lover or feline fanatic, one thing’s for certain: Dogs and cats are the most popular pets in America. According to the American Veterinary Medical Association, 36.5% of households have a dog, and 30.4% of households have a cat.

Notice that only 48 states were included in the AVMA survey as Alaska and Hawaii were excluded. Even without those two states, a whopping 43.3 million U.S. households are home to the nation’s nearly 70 million pups.

The region where the most dog-owning households reside is East South Central — which consists of Alabama, Kentucky, Mississippi, and Tennessee — with nearly 6 million doggie-loving households. That’s close to half of all households in the region. New England, on the other hand, only has 2.2 million, or less than a third of households.

24/7 Wall St. reviewed the data and ranked the states beginning with Massachusetts, the state with the fewest dog-owning households. Can you guess which state has the most?

Click here to see the states where people love dogs the most and least.

Methodology:

To identify the states where people love dogs the most and least, 24/7 Wall St. reviewed the percentage of households that own dogs in each of the 48 contiguous U.S. states from the American Veterinary Medical Association’s U.S. Pet Ownership & Demographic Sourcebook, the 2012 edition. The book contains the latest data available. The top five most popular dog breeds in each state was provided by purebred dog registry The American Kennel Club.

48. Massachusetts
> Dog-owning households: 23.6%
> Dog population: 850,000
> 5 most popular breeds: Labrador Retrievers, Golden Retrievers, German Shepherds, Boxers, Poodles

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47. Connecticut
> Dog-owning households: 28.3%
> Dog population: 507,000
> 5 most popular breeds: Labrador Retrievers, Golden Retrievers, German Shepherds, Bulldogs, Poodles

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46. New York
> Dog-owning households: 29.0%
> Dog population: 3.05 million
> 5 most popular breeds: Labrador Retrievers, German Shepherds, Golden Retrievers, French Bulldogs, Bulldogs

45. Rhode Island
> Dog-owning households: 29.3%
> Dog population: 161,000
> 5 most popular breeds: Labrador Retrievers, German Shepherds, Golden Retrievers, Bulldogs, Boxers

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44. Utah
> Dog-owning households: 29.4%
> Dog population: 410,000
> 5 most popular breeds: Labrador Retrievers, German Shepherds, Golden Retrievers, Miniature Schnauzers, French Bulldogs

43. New Hampshire
> Dog-owning households: 30.3%
> Dog population: 212,000
> 5 most popular breeds: Labrador Retrievers, German Shepherds, Golden Retrievers, Beagles, Siberian Huskies

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42. Maryland
> Dog-owning households: 30.8%
> Dog population: 915,000
> 5 most popular breeds: Labrador Retrievers, German Shepherds, Golden Retrievers, Rottweilers, Bulldogs

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41. Minnesota
> Dog-owning households: 31.9%
> Dog population: 934,000
> 5 most popular breeds: Labrador Retrievers, Golden Retrievers, German Shepherds, German Shorthaired Pointers, English Springer Spaniels

40. Illinois
> Dog-owning households: 32.4%
> Dog population: 2.37 million
> 5 most popular breeds: Labrador Retrievers, German Shepherds, Golden Retrievers, Bulldogs, Beagles

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39. New Jersey
> Dog-owning households: 32.4%
> Dog population: 1.34 million
> 5 most popular breeds: Labrador Retrievers, German Shepherds, Golden Retrievers, French Bulldogs, Bulldogs

38. California
> Dog-owning households: 32.8%
> Dog population: 6.69 million
> 5 most popular breeds: Labrador Retrievers, French Bulldogs, German Shepherds, Bulldogs, Golden Retrievers

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37. Pennsylvania
> Dog-owning households: 32.9%
> Dog population: 2.49 million
> 5 most popular breeds: Labrador Retrievers, German Shepherds, Golden Retrievers, Beagles, Bulldogs

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36. Iowa
> Dog-owning households: 33.4%
> Dog population: 610,000
> 5 most popular breeds: Labrador Retrievers, German Shepherds, Golden Retrievers, German Shorthaired Pointers, Bulldogs

35. Delaware
> Dog-owning households: 33.7%
> Dog population: 163,000
> 5 most popular breeds: Labrador Retrievers, German Shepherds, Golden Retrievers, Rottweilers, Poodles

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34. Nebraska
> Dog-owning households: 33.8%
> Dog population: 374,000
> 5 most popular breeds: Labrador Retrievers, German Shepherds, Golden Retrievers, German Shorthaired Pointers, Bulldogs

33. Wisconsin
> Dog-owning households: 33.9%
> Dog population: 1.14 million
> 5 most popular breeds: Labrador Retrievers, Golden Retrievers, German Shepherds, German Shorthaired Pointers, Beagles

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32. Michigan
> Dog-owning households: 34.6%
> Dog population: 2.04 million
> 5 most popular breeds: Labrador Retrievers, German Shepherds, Golden Retrievers, Beagles, Siberian Huskies

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31. Maine
> Dog-owning households: 34.6%
> Dog population: 300,000
> 5 most popular breeds: Labrador Retrievers, Golden Retrievers, German Shepherds, Beagles, German Shorthaired Pointers

30. Virginia
> Dog-owning households: 35.4%
> Dog population: 1.7 million
> 5 most popular breeds: Labrador Retrievers, German Shepherds, Beagles, Golden Retrievers, Bulldogs

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29. Florida
> Dog-owning households: 35.7%
> Dog population: 4.21 million
> 5 most popular breeds: German Shepherds, Labrador Retrievers, Golden Retrievers, French Bulldogs, Bulldogs

28. North Dakota
> Dog-owning households: 36.1%
> Dog population: 139,000
> 5 most popular breeds: Labrador Retrievers, German Shorthaired Pointers, Golden Retrievers, German Shepherds, Siberian Huskies

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27. Washington
> Dog-owning households: 36.3%
> Dog population: 1.61 million
> 5 most popular breeds: Labrador Retrievers, German Shepherds, Golden Retrievers, French Bulldogs, Poodles

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26. Louisiana
> Dog-owning households: 36.4%
> Dog population: 1.12 million
> 5 most popular breeds: Labrador Retrievers, Beagles, German Shepherds, Golden Retrievers, Poodles

25. Ohio
> Dog-owning households: 36.6%
> Dog population: 2.73 million
> 5 most popular breeds: Labrador Retrievers, German Shepherds, Golden Retrievers, Beagles, Bulldogs

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24. Nevada
> Dog-owning households: 37.1%
> Dog population: 578,000
> 5 most popular breeds: Labrador Retrievers, Bulldogs, German Shepherds, Golden Retrievers, French Bulldogs

23. Vermont
> Dog-owning households: 37.7%
> Dog population: 142,000
> 5 most popular breeds: Labrador Retrievers, Beagles, Golden Retrievers, German Shepherds, Siberian Huskies

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22. South Carolina
> Dog-owning households: 38.6%
> Dog population: 1.19 million
> 5 most popular breeds: Labrador Retrievers, German Shepherds, Beagles, Golden Retrievers, Dachshunds

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21. Oregon
> Dog-owning households: 38.8%
> Dog population: 917,000
> 5 most popular breeds: Labrador Retrievers, German Shepherds, Golden Retrievers, French Bulldogs, Poodles

20. Wyoming
> Dog-owning households: 38.8%
> Dog population: 125,000
> 5 most popular breeds: Labrador Retrievers, German Shepherds, Golden Retrievers, German Shorthaired Pointers, Bulldogs

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19. Indiana
> Dog-owning households: 39.9%
> Dog population: 1.62 million
> 5 most popular breeds: German Shepherds, Labrador Retrievers, Golden Retrievers, Beagles, Siberian Huskies

18. Arizona
> Dog-owning households: 40.1%
> Dog population: 1.8 million
> 5 most popular breeds: Labrador Retrievers, German Shepherds, Golden Retrievers, Bulldogs, French Bulldogs

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17. Georgia
> Dog-owning households: 40.1%
> Dog population: 2.48 million
> 5 most popular breeds: Labrador Retrievers, German Shepherds, Beagles, Golden Retrievers, Bulldogs

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16. North Carolina
> Dog-owning households: 40.3%
> Dog population: 2.52 million
> 5 most popular breeds: Labrador Retrievers, German Shepherds, Beagles, Golden Retrievers, Yorkshire Terriers

15. Montana
> Dog-owning households: 41.2%
> Dog population: 282,000
> 5 most popular breeds: Labrador Retrievers, Golden Retrievers, German Shepherds, German Shorthaired Pointers, Poodles

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14. Kansas
> Dog-owning households: 42.3%
> Dog population: 774,000
> 5 most popular breeds: Labrador Retrievers, German Shepherds, Bulldogs, Golden Retrievers, German Shorthaired Pointers

13. Colorado
> Dog-owning households: 42.5%
> Dog population: 1.35 million
> 5 most popular breeds: Labrador Retrievers, German Shepherds, Golden Retrievers, Bulldogs, French Bulldogs

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12. Idaho
> Dog-owning households: 42.7%
> Dog population: 357,000
> 5 most popular breeds: Labrador Retrievers, Golden Retrievers, German Shepherds, German Shorthaired Pointers, Poodles

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11. South Dakota
> Dog-owning households: 42.8%
> Dog population: 220,000
> 5 most popular breeds: Labrador Retrievers, Golden Retrievers, German Shepherds, German Shorthaired Pointers, Cavalier King Charles Spaniels

10. Oklahoma
> Dog-owning households: 43.2%
> Dog population: 1.33 million
> 5 most popular breeds: Labrador Retrievers, German Shepherds, Bulldogs, French Bulldogs, Golden Retrievers

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9. Texas
> Dog-owning households: 44.0%
> Dog population: 7.16 million
> 5 most popular breeds: Labrador Retrievers, German Shepherds, Bulldogs, Golden Retrievers, French Bulldogs

8. Tennessee
> Dog-owning households: 44.1%
> Dog population: 2.16 million
> 5 most popular breeds: Labrador Retrievers, German Shepherds, Beagles, Golden Retrievers, Bulldogs

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7. Alabama
> Dog-owning households: 44.1%
> Dog population: 1.41 million
> 5 most popular breeds: Labrador Retrievers, German Shepherds, Beagles, Golden Retrievers, German Shorthaired Pointers

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6. Mississippi
> Dog-owning households: 45.2%
> Dog population: 846,000
> 5 most popular breeds: Labrador Retrievers, Beagles, German Shepherds, Golden Retrievers, Boxers

5. West Virginia
> Dog-owning households: 45.8%
> Dog population: 648,000
> 5 most popular breeds: German Shepherds, Beagles, Labrador Retrievers, Golden Retrievers, Bulldogs

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4. Kentucky
> Dog-owning households: 45.9%
> Dog population: 1.53 million
> 5 most popular breeds: Beagles, German Shepherds, Labrador Retrievers, Golden Retrievers, Bulldogs

3. Missouri
> Dog-owning households: 45.9%
> Dog population: 1.98 million
> 5 most popular breeds: Labrador Retrievers, German Shepherds, French Bulldogs, Beagles, Bulldogs

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2. New Mexico
> Dog-owning households: 46.0%
> Dog population: 703,000
> 5 most popular breeds: German Shepherds, Labrador Retrievers, Bulldogs, Poodles, Golden Retrievers

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1. Arkansas
> Dog-owning households: 47.9%
> Dog population: 1.1 million
> 5 most popular breeds: Labrador Retrievers, German Shepherds, Beagles, Golden Retrievers, Bulldogs