Chewy
Illustrative portfolio concept

Where could your pet live its best life?

An active dog, an indoor cat and a senior pet need very different things from a city. Meet the Pet City Matchmaker, a playful way to discover the US cities that best match your pet's needs and your priorities.

Match my pet Explore the rankings

Prototype scores and findings are illustrative and designed to demonstrate an interactive PR experience.

A golden retriever and grey tabby cat sitting together against a colourful studio background
25major US cities compared

Key findings

One city does not fit every pet

The strongest matches change when care, housing, climate and everyday lifestyle are weighted around different pets.

1

Portland leads for active dogs

Trail access, walkability and a wide choice of dog-friendly venues lift Portland, while higher care costs keep it from dominating every category.

2

Madison stands out for senior pets

Strong veterinary access, a gentler pace and comparatively manageable routine-care costs make the city a balanced choice for older companions.

3

New York shows the biggest trade-off

Exceptional emergency care and sitter access are offset by smaller homes, tighter rental options and some of the highest monthly pet costs.

Pet City Matchmaker

Tell us about your sidekick

Choose a few details and we will rebalance the city scores around what matters most to you.

Your pet profile

Build a better city match

Choose three priorities

3 of 3 selected

Your best city match

Portland

91City Match Score out of 100

A lively, outdoors-first match with strong everyday amenities and plenty of room for an active routine.

    Worth knowing: Routine veterinary care and rentals can cost more than in several other top-ranked cities.
    Your current cityDenver · 84
    Estimated monthly essentials$212

    City rankings

    See how the leaders change

    Switch between pet profiles to update the map and top ten. Scores represent the illustrative index for this portfolio prototype.

    Best cities for dogs

    Hover a city

    Top 10 cities for dogs

    Illustrative scores
    RankCityScoreStandout strengthMonthly essentials

    The story behind the score

    Pet-friendly can mean different things

    Austin: social star, summer challenge

    A wealth of dog-friendly patios, parks and services makes daily life easy, but extreme summer heat limits safe outdoor activity for part of the year.

    Pet-friendly places 92Climate comfort 58

    New York: excellent care, tighter homes

    Round-the-clock veterinary access and a deep sitter network help the city perform well for care, while housing costs and space create a clear trade-off.

    Care access 96Housing fit 41

    Mock methodology

    How a production study could work

    This prototype uses a believable illustrative dataset. A live campaign would collect the latest comparable city-level information, standardise each measure and publish the full underlying data.

    Portfolio note: Scores and monetary estimates shown on this page are illustrative. Source names and the proposed scoring approach reflect how a real study could be constructed.
    City sample and data collection

    A production study would compare 25 large and mid-sized US cities selected for geographic spread, population and data availability. The latest available data would be collected in a consistent research window and recorded at city or metropolitan level, depending on the source.

    Proposed sources
    • US Census Bureau ACS and County Business Patterns
    • NOAA US Climate Normals
    • Trust for Public Land ParkScore
    • Walk Score city data
    • Active listings from major rental platforms
    • Veterinary and emergency-care directories
    • Pet sitter, boarding and amenity listings
    • Comparable online prices for pet essentials
    Core scoring model

    Each raw measure would be normalised onto a 0 to 100 scale. The base index would combine care access (25%), affordability (20%), pet-friendly housing (20%), outdoor life (15%), climate comfort (10%) and pet-friendly amenities (10%). Direction would be reversed for measures where a lower value is better, such as costs or days of extreme heat.

    How the matchmaker personalises results

    The tool would not diagnose a pet's needs. It would reweight the same published city measures. Selected priorities receive greater weight, while pet type, life stage, home and activity level adjust the balance between care, housing, climate, amenities and outdoor access. The resulting City Match Score is a relative index score, not a percentage or guarantee.

    Profile-specific rankings

    The dog ranking would emphasise outdoor access, walkability, climate and dog-friendly amenities. The cat ranking would place greater weight on housing, care and sitter availability. Senior pets would prioritise veterinary access, affordability and climate comfort. Apartment pets would place the greatest weight on rental availability, fees, space and nearby services.

    Limitations

    City averages cannot capture every neighbourhood, landlord policy, veterinary need or household budget. Costs vary by species, size, health and care choices. Listings change frequently and some indicators may only be available at metropolitan level. A live study would display collection dates, sample sizes and source-level limitations alongside the complete dataset.