Study Reveals Insights into 2014’s U.S. Pet Spending Demographics

Listen to this article

A study published by Pet Business Professor has identified that white metro area dwellers, homeowners, households of two or more and those with an income of over $30,000 per year generated 80 percent of pet spending in the U.S. in 2014.

The under 25 age group was the worst of all the underperforming demographic segments, which Pet Business Professor argued was the result of challenges to becoming a pet owner at a young age.

While it’s clear that consumers of all income levels have pets, income is undeniably a factor in spending. This is reflected in the lower spending of single parents and service workers as well as the lower income segment.

Higher education also generally correlates to increased pet spending. However, pet ownership is not dependent on education, and consumers who dropped out of high school spent more per household than high school grads with no college.

Pet spending was on the rise in all geographic regions in 2014. However, the Midwest was up by 26 percent and the South by only one percent.

Consumers in areas with a population under 2,500 spend the most, but strong growth was demonstrated in both in rural sections within metro areas and center cities.

The full report is available at http://www.petbusinessprofessor.com/petmarket/u-s-pet-spending-demographics-the-2014-winners-and-losers-are/.