Top States With The Highest Pet Adoption Rate

Maybe you’re planning to adopt a pet or maybe you just want to read some positive reports during this hard time. Whatever the reason, we’ve scoured the Shelter Animals Count dataset to check for states that show the most positive pet adoption rates.


Pet Adoption Rate Massachusetts (MA)

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Pet Adoption Rate Rhode Island (RI)

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Pet Adoption Rate District of Columbia (DC)

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Pet Adoption Rate Connecticut (CT)

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Pet Adoption Rate Vermont (VT)

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Pet Adoption Rate Puerto Rico (PR)

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Pet Adoption Rate Minnesota (MN)

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Pet Adoption Rate Maine (ME)

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Pet Adoption Rate Michigan (MI)

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Pet Adoption Rate Illinois (IL)

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Didn’t find your state among the top ones?

Here’s a full list of states with their pet adoption rates for the year 2019 (from January to September).

State% of adopted pets% of dogs adopted% of cats adopted
1Massachusetts (MA)93.3232.1061.22
2Rhode Island (RI)89.6645.0744.60
3District of Columbia (DC)87.3437.4849.86
4Connecticut (CT)85.1640.0645.10
5Vermont (VT)84.8329.0655.77
6Puerto Rico (PR)83.4547.1336.32
7Minnesota (MN)82.8739.6743.20
8Maine (ME)80.8329.8251.01
9Michigan (MI)80.3234.6145.71
10Illinois (IL)79.1543.2835.87
11Missouri (MO)77.9743.0234.94
12New York (NY)76.4532.3944.06
13New Hampshire (NH)76.2025.8750.34
14Virginia (VA)75.5039.1536.35
15Pennsylvania (PA)75.2833.0042.29
16Ohio (OH)74.1735.0439.13
17Iowa (IA)71.6632.3339.33
18Wisconsin (WI)70.7226.4244.31
19North Dakota (ND)69.9924.5945.40
20Nebraska (NE)69.9333.5736.36
21Washington (WA)69.6726.4043.28
22Oregon (OR)69.5827.2242.37
23Arizona (AZ)69.3644.4124.95
24South Dakota (SD)69.1934.4034.79
25Montana (MT)67.4931.8935.60
26Delaware (DE)66.8131.7535.06
27Colorado (CO)66.5533.2633.29
28Florida (FL)66.4732.6433.82
29Idaho (ID)66.3831.7534.63
30Kansas (KS)65.1631.9433.22
31Maryland (MD)64.9326.3038.63
32New Jersey (NJ)63.5031.3032.19
33Indiana (IN)61.8627.3234.54
34North Carolina (NC)60.9630.8630.10
35Utah (UT)60.0632.2027.86
36South Carolina (SC)59.4531.7327.72
37Alaska (AK)59.1425.6233.52
38Nevada (NV)58.4933.3925.10
39California (CA)58.1128.3729.74
40Alabama (AL)57.5733.2724.30
41Georgia (GA)56.8031.7625.04
42Tennessee (TN)55.8530.5525.30
43Wyoming (WY)54.0224.2229.80
44Arkansas (AR)53.9929.4824.51
45Texas (TX)49.7331.6718.06
46New Mexico (NM)48.2629.1719.09
47Oklahoma (OK)46.2129.2716.94
48Louisiana (LA)45.4922.3523.14
49Kentucky (KY)45.3323.9521.38
50West Virginia (WV)42.2815.2127.07
51Mississippi (MS)39.8820.9518.92
52Hawaii (HI)39.5717.6221.96
53US Virgin Islands (VI)26.9117.948.97

How Did We Determine the Pet Adoption Rate?

Of course, this isn’t just made out of whole cloth. Rather, we used the available dataset from the Shelter Animals Count for the year of 2019 (Jan to Sep) to choose the top states, based on factors like:

  • Gross Intakes:
    – Stray/At Large
    – Relinquished by Owner
    – Owner-Intended Euthanasia
    – Transferred in From Agency
    – Other Intakes
  • Gross Live Outcomes:
    – Adoption
  • Other Outcomes:
    – Died in Care
    – Lost in Care
    – Shelter Euthanasia
    – Owner-Intended Euthanasia

In order to determine the adoption rate per each state, we took the gross intakes number and deducted from it pets that fall under the following categories (Died in Care, Lost in Care, Shelter Euthanasia, Owner-Intended Euthanasia) to get the number of pets that have a chance to be adopted. From there we calculated the adoption rate percentage-wise based on those numbers.

It’s worth noting that we were only able to use information from the shelters that reported to the Shelter Animals Count; there are some shelters that haven’t reported info. In addition, we need to keep in mind that there are also a number of adoptions that take place outside of shelters. So, please take this information with a grain of salt since it’s simply impossible to collect all the data. However, for this rating, we tried to keep it as accurate as possible and we’re looking forward to updating the ratings as soon as more data is available.


“How Can I Help?”

Well, there are a few things that you can do to make this world better for our little furry friends. First of all, you can adopt a rescue, however, it’s not as simple as it might seem. You need to make sure you have space, time, and dedication to become the best friend of a rescue and take good care of them for the rest of their lives. In return, they’ll share with you lots of memorable moments and become your best friends for life. 

You can also opt in to foster a pet. They’re all living beings with hearts full of emotions and can definitely appreciate some love especially during these hard times. 

Donations are also a great way to support your local shelter. There’s always a shortage of supplies and any shelter will be more than happy to have a few extra metal crates or carriers, organization and cleaning supplies, not to mention some sturdy toys. Your local shelter might already have an amazon wish list so you can easily support them without leaving your home. Below we put together a list of shelters with Amazon wish lists.

One of the other options worth considering is getting a Petcube camera and giving it to your nearby pet shelter to join the Petcube Rescue program. The idea is that people will be able to access the Petcube camera to play with shelter pets before adopting them. Plus, for shelter workers, it’s a great tool to keep an eye on their pets 24/7. 

Alternatively, if you’ve already adopted a rescue, the Petcube camera will help you stay connected with your new friend even when you have to leave for work or go shopping. You can check on your furry friend any moment, support them throughout the day by talking to them and playing with them. 


Shelters With an Amazon Wish List

Now, more than ever, homeless pets in shelters need your help. While the whole world fights against the COVID-19, a big number of animal shelters and rescues are experiencing an increased need for donations so they could continue saving lives. Support your local shelter without leaving your home by getting them food and supplies from their Amazon wish lists.

If you’re a shelter and want to be on the list, please reach us out via our contact form and we’ll be happy to add you to the list.

Categories Pets

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