To animal lovers, pets are family.
85 million households in the U.S. have pets and naturally want to provide their
furry friends with the best living environment possible. WalletHub ranked the
pet-friendliness of 100 U.S. cities based on the quality of life available for
household pets, and New Orleans landed at number 10!
Of course, parks and other places
for pets to play is an important part of keeping pets happy and healthy, but
there are other important factors such as veterinary costs. In order to rank
the pet friendliness of each city, WalletHub considered three key factors: pet
budget, pet health and wellness, and outdoor pet friendliness. Each category
considered subcategories, for example: pet budget accounted for veterinary
costs, pet-care provider rate, and dog insurance. Other subcategories included
pet caretakers per capita, dog friendly restaurants per capita, and animal
shelters per capita, all of which were under the pet health and wellness
category. Each metric was rated 1-100, with 100 being the best score. The
average score for each city was then calculated and used to rank from best to
worst.
It's obvious that New Orleans has
excellent recreation areas for both humans and pets! Audubon, City Park, and
The Fly are only some of the best parks to take pets for a walk or run, or even
a good old-fashioned game of fetch. In addition to lots of great grass to pee
on, the city also has plenty of restaurants with outdoor seating to accommodate
pets, making it easy to go straight from park play date to dinner! Having
access to animal shelters and animal hospitals is an important part of being a
pet owner too. Thankfully, through places like ARNO and low-cost animal medical
center, pet owners have access to the best care. These things make New Orleans
a great city for pet forward families, so if you're looking for a sign to get
your next pet…this is it!
To review the rest of the list, visit WalletHub.com.