America has a lot of ways to divide itself. Red states, blue states, coasts versus everywhere else. A new one to add to the list: dog states and cat states.
Fractl analyzed a full year of Google search activity across all 50 states, Washington, D.C., and 55 major metros on behalf of MetLife Pet Insurance to map where the country lands on the dog-versus-cat question. The short version: America leans dog, 27 states to 23, but the fault lines are more interesting than the headline number.
The Dog Belt and the Cat Belt
Mississippi is the country’s most dog-obsessed state by a wide margin—dog searches run 120% above cat searches there. The rest of the top five are its neighbors in spirit if not always in geography: Wyoming, South Carolina, Louisiana, and Alabama.
The most dog-leaning states:
- Mississippi
- Wyoming
- South Carolina
- Louisiana
- Alabama
Washington state is the most cat-leaning in the country, though “cat-leaning” is relative — dogs still out-search cats there by 53%. The methodology measures each state against the national average rather than raw volume, which means every state searches for dogs more. The cat states are just closer to even.
The most cat-leaning states:
- Washington
- Rhode Island
- Washington D.C.
- Massachusetts
- Maine
Urban America Has Even Stronger Opinions
Zoom into metros and the divide widens quite a bit. El Paso is the most dog-obsessed city in the country, with dog searches running 135% above cat searches. The cat-leaning cities lean harder than any cat-leaning state, and the list reads like a roll call of coastal tech hubs: Philadelphia, Seattle, Boston, Baltimore, Minneapolis, Portland, Oakland, New York, Columbus, San Jose.
Philadelphia, somehow, is the most cat-obsessed metro in America. For reasons unknown.
The Personality Stuff
The survey arm of the study asked 1,005 adults to weigh in on the identity question. Americans call themselves dog people over cat people by nearly 2 to 1—47% versus 28%. Dog people describe themselves as loyal and protective. Cat people skew low-maintenance. The most statistically supported stereotype in the whole dataset: 62% of cat people said they recharge alone, compared to 53% of dog people.
Where it gets serious is dating. More than half of American adults—57%—say a partner’s pet preference could be a dealbreaker. Eighteen percent say a partner must share their preference, no exceptions. Nearly 1 in 3 pet owners said they’d choose their pet over their partner in a serious conflict.
Which is a very reasonable position, honestly.
The post America Has Dog States and Cat States. Here’s Where Yours Lands. appeared first on VICE.
