3 Michigan Cities Ranked in Top 25 For Dog Owners in U.S.

Turns out the Great Lakes State is great for dog owners!

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An outdoor home services app sought to find the best cities for dog owners in America - and three Michigan locations have made the top 25!

Plowz and Mowz analyzed cities based on their dog-friendly amenities like parks and trails, the number of dog-centric activities, and the good weather days each have.

The Michigan cities that are great for dog owners?

Coming at No. 12, Sterling Heights, Mich.:

Sterling Heights, Michigan has 19 dog parks, 249 dog friendly restaurants, 31 dog trails (in the area), and 60 dog walkers for their 132,567 residents, (130.7 dog parks per million residents, 1248 dog friendly restaurants per million residents, 111.1 dog trails per million residents, and 856 dog walkers per million residents). The average rate for a dog walker is $12/hour which is about 4.7% of the average income in the area for 5 hours/wk. Adjusting for their weather, you should expect approximately 134.3 good weather days (between 50 and 80 degrees Fahrenheit without rain/snow) to take your dog outside. All this gives Sterling Heights a total score of 9.3 on our scale of best dog cities in America.

Ann Arbor takes No. 17:

Ann Arbor, Michigan has 11 dog parks, 185 dog friendly restaurants, 19 dog trails (in the area), and 61 dog walkers for their 121,536 residents, (138.5 dog parks per million residents, 1566.7 dog friendly restaurants per million residents, 75.9 dog trails per million residents, and 349.6 dog walkers per million residents). The average rate for a dog walker is $12/hour which is about 4.2% of the average income in the area for 5 hours/wk. Adjusting for their weather, you should expect approximately 117.3 good weather days (between 50 and 80 degrees Fahrenheit without rain/snow) to take your dog outside. All this gives Ann Arbor a total score of 7.5 on our scale of best dog cities in America.

Coming in at No. 25, Grand Rapids:

Grand Rapids, Michigan has 15 dog parks, 127 dog friendly restaurants, 10 dog trails (in the area), and 131 dog walkers for their 198,796 residents, (58.7 dog parks per million residents, 382.9 dog friendly restaurants per million residents, 124.4 dog trails per million residents, and 628.9 dog walkers per million residents). The average rate for a dog walker is $13/hour which is about 6.3% of the average income in the area for 5 hours/wk. Adjusting for their weather, you should expect approximately 125.9 good weather days (between 50 and 80 degrees Fahrenheit without rain/snow) to take your dog outside. All this gives Grand Rapids a total score of 6.3 on our scale of best dog cities in America.

In case you're curious, Plowz and Mowz ranked Hauppauge, New York as the best city in the U.S. for dog owners, with a score of 33.7.

Check out the rest of the ranking here.