North American pet insurance premiums reached $6.15 billion at year-end 2025, up 19.4% in twelve months, according to NAPHIA’s 2026 State of the Industry Report. U.S. pet spending hit $158 billion the same year. This post covers spending by category, ownership, insurance, prices and 2025 company results, with every number taken from the organization that published it.
Pet Care Market
How Big Is the U.S. Pet Care Market in 2026?
APPA reported $158 billion in U.S. pet industry expenditures for 2025, a 3.7% increase over 2024. It projects $165 billion for 2026, growth of roughly 4.4%, of which about 2 percentage points is attributed to inflation.
Pet food and treats is the largest of the four categories APPA tracks. Other services, which covers boarding, grooming, insurance, training, pet sitting and pet walking, is the smallest.
| Category | 2025 actual | 2026 projected |
|---|---|---|
| Pet food and treats | $68.3B | $69.7B |
| Vet care and product sales | $41.0B | $42.4B |
| Supplies, live animals and OTC medicine | $34.4B | $35.6B |
| Other services | $14.3B | $14.9B |
| Total U.S. pet industry | $158B | $165B |
Source: APPA, 2026 State of the Industry Report, 2025 actual and 2026 projected U.S. sales
One note for anyone modelling from these figures: the four rounded 2026 category numbers add up to less than the $165 billion headline projection. APPA builds the forecast with an ARIMA model and sources each category separately.
Pet Care Market Ownership: Who Has a Dog or Cat?
Ownership held at 95 million U.S. households in 2025. Dog ownership rose from 51% of households in 2024 to 53% in 2025, about 4 million additional dog-owning homes. Cat ownership reached 39% of households and grew 5% year over year.
Gen X was the standout generation. APPA recorded a 12% year-over-year rise in Gen X dog ownership and gains across smaller species too.
| Metric | 2025 figure |
|---|---|
| Households owning at least one pet | 95 million |
| Households owning a dog | 53% (71 million) |
| Households owning a cat | 39% (53 million) |
| Gen X dog ownership, year-over-year change | +12% |
| Gen X cat ownership, year-over-year change | +8% |
| Gen X bird ownership, year-over-year change | +25% |
| Owners who spent less on pets than the prior year | 22% |
Source: APPA, 2026 State of the Industry Report, 2025 National Pet Owners Survey data
The 22% who cut back is a 10% increase from 2024. About half of owners reported no change in spending.
Pet Insurance Is the Fastest-Growing Pet Care Market Segment
North American gross written premium reached $6.15 billion at year-end 2025, a 19.4% increase, with 7.6 million pets insured, up 12.4%. U.S. premium volume was about $5.7 billion, up 19.7%, while the number of insured U.S. pets rose 9.0%.
Premium growth has outpaced enrolment growth every year NAPHIA reports, which the association attributes to consistent year-over-year increases in average premium.
| Metric | Year-end 2025 | Change from 2024 |
|---|---|---|
| North America gross written premium | $6.15B | +19.4% |
| North America insured pets in force | 7.6 million | +12.4% |
| U.S. gross written premium | ~$5.7B | +19.7% |
| Canada gross written premium | C$660.5M | +13.1% |
| U.S. insured pets in force | 6.98 million | +9.0% |
Source: NAPHIA, 2026 State of the Industry Report, in-force data as at December 31, 2025
Cats Are Growing Faster Than Dogs
Insured cats made up 25.1% of U.S. policies in 2025, up from 23.5% in 2024. Cat premium volume grew 33.1% against 17.6% for dogs.
Coverage remains thin against the size of the population. NAPHIA puts U.S. penetration at 4.27% of 163.6 million pets, 5.99% for dogs and 2.29% for cats. It sources the underlying population count, 87.3 million dogs and 76.3 million cats, from the AVMA Pet Owner Survey 2025.
| Average annual premium, U.S. | 2024 | 2025 |
|---|---|---|
| Accident and illness, dogs | $749 | $836 |
| Accident and illness, cats | $386 | $435 |
| Accident only, dogs | $193 | $190 |
| Accident only, cats | $110 | $112 |
Source: NAPHIA, 2026 State of the Industry Report, average annual premium per pet, U.S., 2024 and 2025
How Fast Are Pet Care Market Prices Rising?
Pet prices rose 3.0% in the twelve months to July 2026, below the national CPI of 3.4%, according to John Gibbons of Pet Business Professor, who tracks BLS Consumer Price Index data by pet segment. Veterinary services rose 4.7% over the same period; pet food rose 1.3%.
Cumulative inflation tells a different story than the monthly rate. Total pet prices in July 2026 stood 32.2% above 2019 and 27.7% above 2021.
| Category | Average annual inflation rate, 2019 to 2026 |
|---|---|
| Veterinary services | 6.5% |
| National CPI | 3.8% |
| Pet food | 3.3% |
| Medical services | 3.0% |
| Pet supplies | 1.8% |
Source: Pet Business Professor, using U.S. Bureau of Labor Statistics CPI data, July 2026 update
Veterinary services carry the highest average annual rate of the categories tracked, 2.2 times the average for human medical services. Cumulative veterinary prices sat 53.4% above 2019 in July 2026, against 13.3% for pet supplies.
Pet Care Market Companies by 2025 Revenue
Scale and growth ran in opposite directions among the largest reporters. Nestlé’s PetCare category recorded sales of CHF 18,406 million in 2025 against CHF 18,882 million in 2024, with organic growth of 2.2% and real internal growth of 2.6%, the highest RIG of any Nestlé category. Freshpet passed $1 billion in net sales for the first time, reaching $1,102.0 million, up 13.0%.
| Company | FY2025 figure | Reported basis |
|---|---|---|
| Nestlé PetCare category | CHF 18,406M | Category sales, +2.2% organic growth |
| Chewy | $12.60B | Net sales, +6.2% reported |
| Zoetis | $9.47B | Total revenue, +2% reported |
| Petco | $5.96B | Total net sales, -2.5% |
| Freshpet | $1.10B | Net sales, +13.0% |
Sources: Nestlé Full-Year Results 2025; Chewy fiscal 2025 results, 52 weeks ended February 1, 2026; Zoetis fourth quarter and full year 2025 results; Petco fiscal 2025 results, 52 weeks ended January 31, 2026; Freshpet fourth quarter and full year 2025 results
Companion animals carried Zoetis in 2025. The animal health business Pfizer spun off in 2013 reported companion animal revenue of $6,587 million against $2,764 million for livestock. Dogs and cats alone accounted for $6,283 million.
Chewy reached 21.3 million active customers, up 4%, with Autoship customer sales of $10.5 billion, or 83.3% of net sales. Net sales per active customer rose to $591 from $578. The retailer was bought for $3.35 billion in 2017 by PetSmart before the two separated.
Petco split by line. Products fell to $4,936.3 million from $5,116.9 million, while services and other rose to $1,025.1 million from $999.6 million. The company closed the year with 1,382 stores.
Two of the largest players publish no comparable annual pet figure. Mars, Incorporated is private, and has no outside shareholders to report to. Nestlé is publicly listed and discloses PetCare only as a category within group results.
Consolidation shaped this set of names. Nestlé bought Ralston Purina for $10.3 billion, and Procter & Gamble sold IAMS to Mars in 2014.
FAQ
How big is the U.S. pet care market?
U.S. pet industry expenditures reached $158 billion in 2025, a 3.7% increase over 2024, according to APPA. The association projects $165 billion for 2026, growth of about 4.4%, roughly 2 points of which it attributes to inflation.
What share of U.S. pets have insurance?
NAPHIA puts U.S. penetration at 4.27% of 163.6 million pets at year-end 2025, split 5.99% for dogs and 2.29% for cats. That covers 6.98 million insured pets, a 9.0% increase over 2024.
Reddit threads keep saying vet bills are outpacing everything. Is that accurate?
The CPI data supports it. Veterinary services averaged 6.5% annual inflation from 2019 to 2026, the highest of any category Pet Business Professor tracks, against 3.8% for the national CPI and 1.8% for pet supplies.
Which pet care company grew fastest in 2025?
Among the five reporting companies covered here, Freshpet posted the largest increase, with net sales up 13.0% to $1,102.0 million. Chewy grew 6.2% on a reported basis. Petco’s net sales fell 2.5%.
Reddit users often ask whether cat insurance is cheaper than dog insurance. What do the numbers show?
Yes. The U.S. average accident and illness premium in 2025 was $435 per cat against $836 per dog, per NAPHIA. Cat premium volume grew faster, 33.1% versus 17.6% for dogs.
Sources
https://americanpetproducts.org/industry-trends-and-stats
https://naphia.org/wp-content/uploads/2026/06/NAPHIA_SOI2026_Report_HIGHLIGHTS_26-06-24.pdf
https://www.nestle.com/media/pressreleases/allpressreleases/full-year-results-2025
