SAN FRANCISCO (KRON) — Are you living in San Francisco and thinking about having a furry friend? You might want to consider it.
San Francisco is one of the most dog-friendly cities in America, according to a study by SmartAsset. The City was ranked ninth in the study and first among California cities.
The study says San Francisco is the “most walkable,” which means many errands can be done on foot. San Francisco dog owners also have access to the fifth-highest number of dog parks per capita — 4.5 dog parks for every 100,000 residents.
There are 202 dog-friendly restaurants and four dog-friendly shopping centers in San Francisco.
Another factor that contributes to San Francisco’s top-10 ranking is the weather. Less rain means more opportunities for your dog to go outside, according to the study. San Francisco has an average of 27.9 rainy days per year, which is the twenty-second lowest of the cities analyzed.
Top 10 most dog-friendly cities
- St. Petersberg, FL
- Tucson, AZ
- Tampa, FL
- Portland, OR
- Madison, WI
- Las Vegas, NV
- Arlington, VA
- Minneapolis, MN
- San Francisco, CA
- St. Louis, MO
Other notables on list: Sacramento (11th), Oakland (27th), San Jose (36th) and Fremont (64th). For a list of dog parks in San Francisco, visit San Francisco Recreation & Parks website here.
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Methodology
The study analyzed 97 of the largest cities in the country.
To compile the ranking, four factors were considered: the number of dog parks per 100K residents, dog-friendly restaurants, dog-friendly shopping centers, and pet stores/veterinarian offices. Other factors measured include average home sales price, walk score and average annual days of rain.
The study weighed the number of dog parks twice more than any other metric. The full study can be read here.
