Where Does Illinois Rank Among States That Love Owning Pets Most?

Fact Checked by Jim Tomlin

National Pet Day is tomorrow, April 11. It’s a day for people everywhere to dote on their dogs or cats (or both) a little extra. After all, teams popular at Illinois sportsbook apps tend to lean toward the animal kingdom – though admittedly bears, cubs and bulls fall outside of the scope of typical pet ownership.

These are stressful times. People own a pet because interacting with animals has been proven to improve mental health. They just boost your mood.

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Benefits Of Owning a Pet

Ever hear of oxytocin or serotonin? These are feel-good hormones that get released when that golden retriever runs up to you to say hello, or that cat greets you at the door when you get home after a long day at work.

A dog or a cat provides companionship for people who live alone. They give people a sense of purpose. Dogs are also a source of exercise – you can’t just open a door, let them out, then head back to the couch to watch more television. You have to get out and walk with them.

And all you have to do is look onto social media platforms to see how pets increase social interaction, bringing together fellow pet owners.

Total Pet Ownership By State

RankState% of Pet Ownership
1Wyoming71.8
2West Virginia71
3Idaho70
4Vermont70
5Indiana69.2
6Arkansas69
7Mississippi65.5
8Oklahoma65
9Kentucky64.1
10North Dakota63.7
11Maine63.5
12Missouri63.5
13Washington63
14Kansas62.8
15Michigan62.4
16Ohio62.4
17Montana62
18South Carolina62
19Tennessee61.7
20Pennsylvania60.6
21New Mexico60
22Alabama59.8
23Oregon59.2
24Iowa59
25North Carolina59
26Wisconsin59
27Utah58.5
28Texas58.2
29Arizona58
30Delaware57.9
31Florida56
32Virginia55.5
33Louisiana54
34Minnesota54
35Nevada53
36New Hampshire52
37Nebraska51.3
38Georgia51
39Connecticut50
40New York50
41Massachusetts49
42Illinois48.6
43Maryland48.6
44New Jersey47.4
45Colorado47.2
46South Dakota46
47Rhode Island45.4
48California40.1
49*Alaska0
50*Hawaii0

Method of Measuring Pet Ownership

So what U.S. states love their pets the most? IllinoisBet.com sought to find out.

We used data from the American Veterinary Medical Association’s Pet Ownership and Demographics Sourcebook to calculate which states had the highest percentage of pet ownership.

As it turns out, according to the data (which accounted for just dog and cat ownership), Illinois is among the states that love having pets the least.

Illinois Ranks Low in List For Having Pets

Illinois ranks No. 42 out of 48 states participating in a survey, with 48.6% of respondents claiming pet ownership (Alaska and Hawaii were excluded from the data). Of those, 32.4% responded that they owned dogs, compared to 21% who had cats.

Wyoming is No. 1 at 71.8% in terms of pet ownership. West Virginia is No. 2 at 71%, followed by Idaho (70%), Vermont (70%) and Indiana (69.2%). Arkansas (69%), Mississippi (65.5%), Oklahoma (65%), Kentucky (64.1%), and North Dakota (63.7%) round out the Top 10.

Illinois finished with the same percentage as Maryland, 48.6, and ahead of only New Jersey (47.4%), Colorado (47.2%), South Dakota (46%), Rhode Island (45.4%) and California (40.1%) among the lower 48 states accounted for in the findings.

So it would seem residents in the Land of Lincoln have plenty of time to check out the best  Illinois sports betting promo codes at IllinoisBet.com.

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Author

Mark Keast has recently covered the sports betting industry in Canada for The Parleh, and is a long-time sportswriter and editor, most notably with the Toronto Sun.

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