---
title: "Going to the Dogs…and Cats"
description: "Nearly six-in-ten (57%) of all adults in this country own a pet or pets of one kind or another, with dog owners (39% of all adults) outnumbering cat owners (23%) -- and owners of all other pets trailing far behind, a Pew survey finds."
date: "2007-06-27"
authors:
  - name: "Russell Heimlich"
    job_title: "Former web developer"
    link: "https://www.pewresearch.org/staff/russell-heimlich/"
url: "https://www.pewresearch.org/short-reads/2007/06/27/going-to-the-dogsand-cats/"
---

# Going to the Dogs…and Cats

Nearly six-in-ten (57%) of all adults in this country own a pet or pets of one kind or another, with dog owners (39% of all adults) outnumbering cat owners (23%) — and owners of all other pets trailing far behind, a Pew survey finds. More whites (64%) than blacks (30%) or Hispanics (39%) have a pet. There is also an income skew to pet ownership: nearly seven-in-ten (69%) adults with an annual family income of $100,000 or more have a pet, compared with fewer than half (45%) of adults with an income below $30,000. Also, rural residents (65%) are more likely than suburbanites (57%) or city folks (51%) to have a pet — though they’re a bit less likely to consider their dogs or cats a member of the family. [Read More](https://www.pewresearch.org/social-trends/2006/03/07/gauging-family-intimacy/)