Austin Is Nation's 7th Most Pet-Friendly City In New Survey

AUSTIN, TX — It's official: Austin residents really love their pets. According to WalletHub's 2017’s Most Pet-Friendly Cities survey, Austin is the seventh most pet-friendly city in America.

The study's release is timed just ahead of National Homeless Animals Day on Aug. 19, highlighting pet overpopulation. The specter of that observance only serves to further illustrate the love for animals that abounds in Austin.

It's no small feat caring for a pet, WalletHub researchers note. Along with an open heart, caring for a pet requires an open wallet as costs range from $227 to more than $2,000, depending on the animal, according to researchers.

WalletHub decided to crunch the numbers in comparing the pet friendliness of the 100 largest cities across 21 key metrics. The data set ranges from minimum pet-care provider rate per visit to pet businesses per capita to walkability, researchers noted.

Given that data set, Austin was no slouch in showing their pets love, as evidenced across various categories rated in a 1 to 50 point system (1 being most friendly and 50 being average). Here are some key results as it relates to Austin:

• 38th – Veterinary Care Costs
• 13th – Veterinarians per Capita
• 6th – Pet Businesses per Capita
• 6th – Pet-Friendly Restaurants per Capita
• 10th – % of Pet-Friendly Hotels
• 19th – Dog Parks per Capita
• 6th – Animal Shelters per Capita

Austin was the highest-ranked Texas city in the reckoning, with two other municipalities making it to the top 20 list. The city of Plano in North Texas was ranked 12th while San Antonio came in at 19th. Further down the line, Dallas came in at 35th most pet-friendly city, trailed by Fort Worth in the 36th slot. Houston's showing as respectable at 39th most pet-friendly city.

Other Texas cities ranking highly were Corpus Christi, Arlington and Garland, coming in at 43rd, 44th and 45th, respectively. The Dallas suburb of Irving was deemed the 69th most pet-friendly city in the calculation. El Paso, Texas, was ten notches below in the 79th position. Trailing closely behind were Lubbock and Laredo, ranked 82nd and 84th.

That was it for the top 100 list. The top city for pet friendliness was Scottsdale, Ariz. while the lowest-ranked city on the list was Newark, N.J. in the 100th position. For the full report, click here. In the meantime, here's some key findings in synopsis form:

>>> Photo credit: Bev Sykes from Davis, CA, USA on Flickr via Wikimedia Commons