The Most Cat-Friendly U.S. Cities for 2021

Updated June 5, 2021

The American Veterinary Medical Association estimates that over 32 million U.S. homes own at least one cat, or about 1 in every 4 households. However, not all cities are created equal when it comes to happiness of both cat and owner. We at PetListed set out to find these top cat-friendly cities for the upcoming new year.

To do this, we studied four different data sets that covered the 100 most populous cities across America. These metrics included the amount of cat-friendly housing in a city, number of AAFP certified cat veterinary practices, the abundance local animal shelters and welfare groups, and number of pet stores selling cat products. The result was a comprehensive scoring system that ranks the most feline friendly cities for 2021.

Top 10 Nationwide Results

1. Birmingham, AL

Birmingham is the most cat-friendly city in America, scoring high across every category we analyzed. The city has an abundance of AAFP cat veterinary practices, animal shelters, and the third highest concentration of pet stores per capita. Birmingham’s housing market is also ideal for a cat owner, with 81% of all available rental properties allowing cats — the 6th highest in the nation.

2. Portland, OR

Portland is second on our list, scoring solid marks for cat-friendly housing and AAFP certified vet practices. In fact, the city’s housing market is in the 92nd percentile nationwide for cat friendliness. While strong across all categories, Portland was held back from the top spot due to fewer pet stores compared to other cities.

3. Madison, WI

Madison ranks third in our study, led by solid metrics across all categories. If you’re in the market for a new vet, this is the city for you; Madison has the second highest number of AAFP certified vets per capita in the country.

4. Richmond, VA

Richmond is the fourth best city for cat owners. It scores top for animal shelters & welfare groups, as well as for certified cat veterinarians. Richmond placed in the 99th and 94th percentile for shelters and vets, respectively.

5. Minneapolis, MN

Minneapolis offers some of the easiest access to pet stores, as well as the fourth highest amount of animal shelters and welfare groups per capita. Looking for a new apartment? This cat-friendly city also has plentiful housing options for a cat owner, with just under two thirds of all listings allowing a feline companion.

6. St. Louis, MO

St. Louis is the sixth best city for cat owners in America, placing in the top third for every category in our ranking. The city shined for animal shelters in particular, where it had the fifth highest amount in the country. About 64% of all housing in St. Louis is considered to be cat-friendly.

7. Tampa, FL

Tampa is the best city for cat owners in Florida, and the seventh best nationwide. The city scores some of the highest marks in the U.S. for animal shelters, cat veterinarians, and pet stores. However, those looking for new housing may have a tough time, as only half of all rental properties allow cats.

8. Orlando, FL

Orlando scored the highest in the country for both animal shelters and pet stores, with over 12.5 shelters and 16.7 pet stores per 100,000 residents. While strong in those categories, Orlando was held back by a lower than average score for cat-friendly housing.

9. Greensboro, NC

Greensboro is the ninth most cat-friendly city in America, scoring strong marks in animal shelters, certified veterinarians, and cat-friendly housing. The city received an overall A grade in our study.

10. Denver, CO

Rounding out our top ten is Denver, Colorado. Though lagging in the amount of animal shelters, the Mile High City was second in the nation for cat-friendly housing, with 82.8% of all available rentals allowing cats.

Other Top Cat-Friendly Cities

11. Fort Wayne, IN
12. Baton Rouge, LA
13. Seattle, WA
14. Omaha, NE
15. Tulsa, OK
16. St. Paul, MN
17. Sacramento, CA
18. St. Petersburg, FL
19. Reno, NV
20. Cincinnati, OH
21. Scottsdale, AZ
22. Pittsburgh, PA
23. Indianapolis, IN
24. Albuquerque, NM
25. Wichita, KS

Methodology

Our study drew datasets from multiple government and commercial sources in order to produce our ranking. The four factors were:

Percent of Housing Denoted as “Cat-Friendly”
AAFP Certified Cat Veterinary Practices
Animal Shelters & Welfare Groups
Number of Pet Stores

For each factor, data was normalized by population to derive an equal measure across all cities, and scored based on an index of the full dataset. These factor specific scores were then weighted according to the importance of each column. Below are the sources for each dataset.

Cat-Friendly Housing Index

Data was gathered in partnership with RentHop, a national real estate website, to calculate the percentage of all housing that was “cat-friendly”. The dataset covered over 400,000 rental listings across 100 cities that had been on the market in all of 2020.

AAFP Certified Cat Veterinary Practices Index

The amount of American Association of Feline Practitioners (AAFP) certified cat veterinary practices per 100,000 residents. Data was gathered from CatFriendly.com in December 2020.

Animal Shelter & Welfare Group Index

The number of animal shelters and welfare groups in a city per 100,000 residents. Data was gathered from Petfinder.com in December 2020.

Pet Stores Index

The number of pet stores per 100,000 residents. Data was gathered from Yelp in December 2020.

Population Data

In order to equally compare factors across all cities, we used population data taken from the most recent U.S. Census estimates.

Full Dataset

Rank	City	State	Cat Friendly Housing Percentage	Cat Friendly Housing Index	Animal Shelters Index	AAFP Vet Index	Pet Store Index	Total Score	Grade
1	Birmingham	AL	81%	95	80	89	98	90.7	A+
2	Portland	OR	79%	92	79	92	71	85.0	A+
3	Madison	WI	62%	71	73	99	90	83.4	A+
4	Richmond	VA	71%	79	99	94	42	80.1	A+
5	Minneapolis	MN	66%	74	97	65	85	77.9	A+
6	St. Louis	MO	64%	73	96	73	74	77.6	A+
7	Tampa	FL	50%	44	88	95	91	77.5	A+
8	Orlando	FL	49%	40	100	80	100	76.1	A+
9	Greensboro	NC	62%	69	92	93	46	76.0	A
10	Denver	CO	83%	99	31	75	83	74.9	A
11	Fort Wayne	IN	73%	82	49	85	75	74.6	A
12	Baton Rouge	LA	49%	39	93	87	87	73.9	A
13	Seattle	WA	82%	97	50	79	54	73.3	A
14	Omaha	NE	76%	86	71	66	68	73.2	A
15	Tulsa	OK	73%	84	89	82	28	73.1	A
16	St. Paul	MN	76%	87	95	35	86	72.9	A
17	Sacramento	CA	78%	91	57	62	76	72.2	A
18	St. Petersburg	FL	55%	54	68	74	93	70.3	A
19	Reno	NV	69%	78	15	81	96	69.8	A
20	Cincinnati	OH	61%	67	98	37	94	69.6	A-
21	Scottsdale	AZ	24%	4	91	96	99	68.0	A-
22	Pittsburgh	PA	50%	41	94	77	67	67.6	A-
23	Indianapolis	IN	59%	63	64	61	88	67.3	A-
24	Albuquerque	NM	71%	80	83	56	47	66.5	A-
25	Wichita	KS	69%	77	9	78	79	64.0	A-
26	Durham	NC	45%	33	48	100	72	63.8	A-
27	Colorado Springs	CO	57%	59	74	67	56	63.5	A-
28	Milwaukee	WI	80%	93	23	90	17	62.9	B+
29	Austin	TX	73%	83	14	83	50	62.4	B+
30	Kansas City	MO	81%	96	72	52	15	61.6	B+
31	Lexington	KY	45%	34	59	88	65	61.3	B+
32	Columbus	OH	81%	94	43	70	16	61.0	B+
33	Charlotte	NC	60%	66	39	84	40	60.8	B+
34	Boise	ID	51%	46	53	86	52	60.2	B+
35	Arlington	VA	39%	22	35	97	77	58.2	B+
36	Las Vegas	NV	34%	15	87	72	73	58.0	B+
37	Boston	MA	45%	36	76	98	7	56.9	B+
38	Gilbert	AZ	18%	2	82	91	62	56.6	B+
39	Miami	FL	25%	5	90	63	82	54.7	B+
40	Glendale	AZ	48%	38	81	22	95	53.3	B+
41	Riverside	CA	56%	57	51	33	80	53.0	B+
42	Atlanta	GA	58%	61	86	34	36	52.9	B+
43	Tucson	AZ	43%	31	85	71	25	52.6	B+
44	Louisville	KY	54%	52	63	38	64	52.2	B+
45	Lincoln	NE	76%	88	75	17	27	51.9	B
46	Houston	TX	60%	65	65	57	6	50.5	B
47	San Francisco	CA	58%	60	46	64	20	50.1	B
48	Stockton	CA	78%	90	22	13	69	49.1	B
49	Cleveland	OH	55%	55	78	40	24	48.9	B
50	Buffalo	NY	40%	27	62	53	63	48.8	B
51	Chesapeake	VA	30%	12	54	68	70	48.6	B
52	Chandler	AZ	27%	8	77	76	39	48.4	B
53	New Orleans	LA	30%	11	41	69	81	48.3	B
54	Winston-Salem	NC	56%	56	33	43	59	48.1	B
55	Aurora	CO	82%	98	30	30	13	47.2	B
56	Dallas	TX	50%	43	69	59	12	46.8	B
57	San Antonio	TX	59%	62	32	49	32	46.0	B
58	Chicago	IL	76%	85	11	54	3	44.3	B
59	Oklahoma City	OK	76%	89	34	11	35	43.9	B
60	Long Beach	CA	73%	81	58	4	31	43.2	B
61	Raleigh	NC	31%	13	66	58	43	43.0	B
62	Arlington	TX	34%	17	24	51	89	42.9	B
63	Bakersfield	CA	52%	47	38	29	61	42.5	B
64	Plano	TX	26%	6	84	15	92	41.5	B
65	Anchorage	AK	68%	75	52	14	21	41.2	B-
66	Garland	TX	39%	24	70	46	30	40.9	B-
67	Jacksonville	FL	54%	53	10	50	41	40.7	B-
68	Fort Worth	TX	38%	20	47	47	57	40.6	B-
69	Lubbock	TX	34%	16	40	55	55	40.2	B-
70	Nashville	TN	38%	21	67	39	38	39.2	B-
71	Laredo	TX	85%	100	0	21	10	38.4	B-
72	Fresno	CA	68%	76	27	3	44	38.1	B-
73	San Diego	CA	62%	70	12	48	2	38.0	B-
74	Los Angeles	CA	61%	68	61	6	11	36.5	B-
75	Norfolk	VA	41%	28	44	23	60	36.3	B-
76	Jersey City	NJ	52%	48	56	19	19	35.0	B-
77	Mesa	AZ	35%	18	60	41	23	34.4	B-
78	Oakland	CA	64%	72	42	5	14	34.3	B-
79	Santa Ana	CA	53%	50	7	32	34	32.8	B-
80	Washington	DC	39%	23	26	12	84	32.6	C+
81	Virginia Beach	VA	23%	3	20	60	48	32.3	C+
82	Baltimore	MD	47%	37	36	42	5	32.2	C+
83	Anaheim	CA	57%	58	5	7	58	32.0	C+
84	Henderson	NV	31%	14	17	36	66	31.7	C+
85	Hialeah	FL	26%	7	8	25	97	30.7	C
86	Phoenix	AZ	43%	30	55	28	1	28.7	C
87	Chula Vista	CA	52%	49	6	20	33	28.5	C
88	Memphis	TN	45%	35	37	9	37	28.3	C
89	Honolulu	HI	50%	42	2	31	26	27.8	C
90	Irvine	CA	11%	0	29	18	78	26.9	C-
91	San Jose	CA	59%	64	25	0	9	26.0	C-
92	Philadelphia	PA	40%	26	19	44	4	25.9	C-
93	Irving	TX	44%	32	18	24	22	25.0	C-
94	Fremont	CA	40%	25	28	26	8	22.8	C-
95	Paradise	NV	29%	9	1	27	53	21.6	D
96	Newark	NJ	36%	19	3	16	51	21.3	D
97	New York	NY	53%	51	13	2	0	18.4	D
98	Corpus Christi	TX	17%	1	21	10	49	17.3	D
99	Detroit	MI	41%	29	16	1	18	16.0	F
100	El Paso	TX	30%	10	4	8	29	12.1	F