A good trail and safe conditions are just two of the factors taken into account to find the best cities to walk your dog in 2024. Dog walking is a big part of every dog parent’s life. So, it is natural to search for a hassle-free dog-walking experience. So, in celebration of National Walk Your Dog Day on Feb. 22, the American company, LawnStarter has compiled a list of the Best Cities to Walk Your Dog in 2024.
2024’s best cities to walk your dog
In order to create the list of best cities to walk your dog, LawnStarter evaluated about 480 of the biggest cities in the United States (U.S.). These cities were compared across four main categories with a total of 17 metrics, including access to dog-friendly trails, off-leash parks with positive ratings, availability of dog walking services, and safety.
So, wait no more. Here are the best cities in the U.S. to walk your dog:
- Colorado Springs, CO
- San Francisco, CA
- Phoenix, AZ
- Boulder, CO
- New York, NY
- Portland, OR
- Boise, ID
- Oakland, CA
- Las Vegas, NV
- Burbank, CA
- San Diego, CA
- Bend, OR
- Flower Mound, TX
- Indio, CA
- Los Angeles, CA
- Georgetown, TX
- Livermore, CA
- Escondido, CA
- Mansfield, TX
- Flagstaff, AZ
- Austin, TX
- Raleigh, NC
- Santa Barbara, CA
- Seattle, WA
- Houston, TX
LawnStarter has explained its ranking process. Initially, they identified the most pertinent factors (metrics) for ranking the cities. They then ranked each factor according to its significance and categorized them into four groups: Access, Quality, Safety, and Professional Walking.
Additionally, they collected data on each factor from sources like AllTrails, Canine Journal, PetSitter.com, and more for each of the 500 largest U.S. cities. After excluding 23 cities due to insufficient data in a single category, the sample comprised 477 cities.
Finally, they computed scores out of 100 points for each city to establish its ranking in each factor and category, as well as overall. The Overall Score of a city was determined by averaging its scores across all factors and categories, with the highest Overall Score ranked as “Best” (No. 1).
