Colorado is known for a great many things, from the state’s bountiful breweries to its pristine ski slopes and hiking trails.
The one thing the Centennial State is not known for, however, is its connection with man’s best friend.
Colorado residents have some of the lowest pet ownership rates in the country, ranking 45th nationally at 47.2%.
April 11 is National Pet Day, a day for people everywhere to love on their fur babies a little extra. But which states love their pets the most? BetColorado.com, your spot for the best coverage of CO sports betting issues, sought to find out.
BetColorado.com 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.
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Pet-Loving States
| Rank | State | % of Pet Ownership |
| 1 | Wyoming | 71.8 |
| 2 | West Virginia | 71 |
| 3 | Idaho | 70 |
| 4 | Vermont | 70 |
| 5 | Indiana | 69.2 |
| 6 | Arkansas | 69 |
| 7 | Mississippi | 65.5 |
| 8 | Oklahoma | 65 |
| 9 | Kentucky | 64.1 |
| 10 | North Dakota | 63.7 |
| 11 | Maine | 63.5 |
| 12 | Missouri | 63.5 |
| 13 | Washington | 63 |
| 14 | Kansas | 62.8 |
| 15 | Michigan | 62.4 |
| 16 | Ohio | 62.4 |
| 17 | Montana | 62 |
| 18 | South Carolina | 62 |
| 19 | Tennessee | 61.7 |
| 20 | Pennsylvania | 60.6 |
| 21 | New Mexico | 60 |
| 22 | Alabama | 59.8 |
| 23 | Oregon | 59.2 |
| 24 | Iowa | 59 |
| 25 | North Carolina | 59 |
| 26 | Wisconsin | 59 |
| 27 | Utah | 58.5 |
| 28 | Texas | 58.2 |
| 29 | Arizona | 58 |
| 30 | Delaware | 57.9 |
| 31 | Florida | 56 |
| 32 | Virginia | 55.5 |
| 33 | Louisiana | 54 |
| 34 | Minnesota | 54 |
| 35 | Nevada | 53 |
| 36 | New Hampshire | 52 |
| 37 | Nebraska | 51.3 |
| 38 | Georgia | 51 |
| 39 | Connecticut | 50 |
| 40 | New York | 50 |
| 41 | Massachusetts | 49 |
| 42 | Illinois | 48.6 |
| 43 | Maryland | 48.6 |
| 44 | New Jersey | 47.4 |
| 45 | Colorado | 47.2 |
| 46 | South Dakota | 46 |
| 47 | Rhode Island | 45.4 |
| 48 | California | 40.1 |
| 49 | *Alaska | 0 |
| 50 | *Hawaii | 0 |
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Where Colorado Pet Ownership Stacks Up Nationally
Colorado has the fourth-lowest pet ownership rate west of the Mississippi. The state has the lowest dog ownership rate of any state that reported such data at 27.1%, coming in behind Illinois (32.4%), Maryland (30.2%) and New Jersey (29.1%).
Colorado ranks well behind its neighbors, such as Wyoming (1st, 71.8%), Oklahoma (8th, 65.0%), Kansas (14th, 62.8%), New Mexico (21st, 60%), Utah (27th, 58.5%), Arizona (29th, 58.0%) and Nebraska (37th, 51.3%).
For more stories like this and full coverage of Colorado sports betting apps, keep reading BetColorado.com.
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Author
Christopher Boan has been covering sports and sports betting for more than seven years, including stops at ArizonaSports.com, the Tucson Weekly and the Green Valley News.
