Phoenix Ranked No. 18 On 2019 'Most Dog-Friendly Cities' List

PHOENIX, AZ — SmartAsset released its 4th annual list of "The Most Dog-Friendly Cities in America" Wednesday, coinciding with the rapidly approaching National Dog Day on Monday, Aug. 26. Phoenix was ranked No. 18 on this year’s list, after Houston and ahead of Madison.

Considered part of many Phoenix residents' families, dogs add energy, a playful spirit and companionship to their humans' lives. You don’t have to be in Phoenix long before you spot dogs in outdoor restaurant seating areas. Many Phoenix dogs also make an appearance trotting beside their humans outside a strip mall. Perhaps the local leashed canine is most often observed running or walking alongside an athletically attired human, burning off energy in the process. These factors, among others, were key in smartasset.com’s rankings.

The study listed the top 25 U.S. dog-friendly cities, based on metrics in six categories: Dog-friendly Restaurants data derived from BringFido.com represented restaurants permitting canines on outdoor patios. This metric was weighted at 20 percent of each city’s total score, as was the number of Dog-friendly Shopping Centers, data also from BringFido.com. Dog Parks Per 100,000 Residents statistics were collected from the Trust for Public Land’s 2019 ParkScore Index and also carried a 20 percent weight in the study. Walk Score data collected from Walkscore.com and Average Annual Precipitation Days statistics gathered from Currentresults.com were each weighted at 15 percent of the total score. Median Home Value data, at a 10 percent weight, was also factored in.

Report details showed that Phoenix has .7 Dog Parks Per 100,000 Residents, 159 Dog-friendly Restaurants and 13 Dog-friendly Shopping Centers. Phoenix's Walk Score rating was 41 out of 100, with Average Annual Precipitation Days at 18.4. All that data plus the Median Home Value gave Phoenix a total score of 77.12 out of 100 possible points.

The top 10 most dog-friendly U.S. cities were, in order: Las Vegas, Tucson, San Francisco, Albuquerque, Denver, San Diego, Chicago, New York, Austin and Tampa. See the full 25-city rankings list at smartasset.com.