Pet Ownership Costs Price History
1990–2025 · APPA / BLS
Average annual spending per pet-owning household in the United States from 1990 to 2025, covering food, veterinary care, supplies, grooming, and other pet-related expenses. Americans have gone from treating their pets as, well, animals to treating them as full-fledged family members — and spending accordingly. The pet industry has exploded into a quarter-trillion-dollar juggernaut fueled by premium organic food, designer accessories, pet insurance, and veterinary care that now rivals human medicine in sophistication. What used to be a bag of kibble and a yearly checkup has turned into a serious household line item.
Price in 1990
$520.00
Price in 2025
$2,520.00
Total Change
+384.6%
Years Tracked
35
Pet Ownership Costs Over Time
Compare to inflation: The chart above shows nominal (not inflation-adjusted) prices. Use the toggle to switch to inflation-adjusted values when available, or try the inflation calculator to convert any amount between years.
Key Insights
- Annual pet spending per household has nearly quintupled from $520 in 1990 to $2,520 in 2025, far outpacing general inflation — Americans are genuinely spending a bigger slice of their budgets on their furry friends than ever before.
- Veterinary costs are the fastest-growing component, driven by advances in pet medicine that now include MRIs, chemotherapy, and hip replacements — treatments that were unheard of for animals a generation ago.
- The pandemic gave pet spending a notable boost, with annual costs jumping from $1,880 in 2019 to $2,200 in 2022 as millions of Americans adopted pets during lockdowns and splurged on premium food and accessories.
- The humanization of pets is the trend driving everything here — people are buying grain-free organic food, paying for doggy daycare, and signing up for pet health insurance at rates that would have seemed absurd twenty years ago.
Year-by-Year Data
| Year | Price (USD per year) | YoY Change |
|---|---|---|
| 1990 | $520.00 | — |
| 1991 | $540.00 | +3.8% |
| 1992 | $560.00 | +3.7% |
| 1993 | $580.00 | +3.6% |
| 1994 | $600.00 | +3.4% |
| 1995 | $620.00 | +3.3% |
| 1996 | $650.00 | +4.8% |
| 1997 | $680.00 | +4.6% |
| 1998 | $710.00 | +4.4% |
| 1999 | $740.00 | +4.2% |
| 2000 | $780.00 | +5.4% |
| 2001 | $820.00 | +5.1% |
| 2002 | $860.00 | +4.9% |
| 2003 | $910.00 | +5.8% |
| 2004 | $960.00 | +5.5% |
| 2005 | $1,010.00 | +5.2% |
| 2006 | $1,070.00 | +5.9% |
| 2007 | $1,130.00 | +5.6% |
| 2008 | $1,200.00 | +6.2% |
| 2009 | $1,180.00 | -1.7% |
| 2010 | $1,220.00 | +3.4% |
| 2011 | $1,280.00 | +4.9% |
| 2012 | $1,350.00 | +5.5% |
| 2013 | $1,420.00 | +5.2% |
| 2014 | $1,500.00 | +5.6% |
| 2015 | $1,580.00 | +5.3% |
| 2016 | $1,650.00 | +4.4% |
| 2017 | $1,720.00 | +4.2% |
| 2018 | $1,800.00 | +4.7% |
| 2019 | $1,880.00 | +4.4% |
| 2020 | $1,960.00 | +4.3% |
| 2021 | $2,050.00 | +4.6% |
| 2022 | $2,200.00 | +7.3% |
| 2023 | $2,350.00 | +6.8% |
| 2024 | $2,450.00 | +4.3% |
| 2025 | $2,520.00 | +2.9% |
Sources & Methodology
Average annual expenditure per pet-owning household, based on data from the American Pet Products Association National Pet Owners Survey and supplemented with BLS Consumer Expenditure Survey data. Figures include spending on food, veterinary care, supplies, over-the-counter medicine, live animal purchases, grooming, and boarding. Data reflects all types of pets (dogs, cats, fish, birds, small animals, reptiles) and is reported in nominal dollars. Spending figures represent the mean across all pet-owning households.
Primary source: APPA / BLS
For a full explanation of how we collect and adjust data, see our methodology page.