Would you move to make your dog happy?
According to a new survey by Zillow and Rover, the answer is yes.
Using millions of data points, the real estate website and online marketplace for pet care products determined that 72% of dog owners 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."
Amanda Pendleton, Zillow's home trends expert, said pet ownership also soared among renters during the pandemic.
"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."
Just over half of the dog owners surveyed (57% ) find it challenging to find a dog-friendly rental.
The survey also set out to determine the fastest-growing dog-friendly cities, using 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, Tenn., 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.
Baltimore, Md.; Alexandria, Va.; Fuquay-Varina, N.C.; and Kansas City, Kan., rounded out the top five, with each seeing double-digit page-view growth since last year.
