It’s official. Long Beach, California is the 6th best city to live… for a dog. However, California wins big for all dog lovers with more cities that are excellent for dogs than any other state. Where you live greatly affects your health and happiness, so of course the same goes for our four-legged friends as well. Here’s why Long Beach scores big on the healthy and happy dog scale.
In order to determine the best dog cities around the country, the following categories were evaluated by USA Today:
- Number of veterinary offices
- Average annual veterinary costs in the city
- Number of dog parks
- Close vicinity to a park (within a 10-minute walk)
- How walkable a city is without a car
- Number of “cooling degree days”
Long Beach scored well in all six categories and ended up as the 6th best city in the United States for a happy and healthy dog. Plus, it actually ranks first in the category of “most veterinary offices per 100,000 residents.” It has a grand total of 996 veterinary offices in the city. This works out to be about 221 veterinary offices per 100,000 residents.
It sounds like great news to have so many choices of available veterinary offices right at your paws. However, there’s a drawback. It turns out that Long Beach is also one of the most expensive cities for pet medical care. The veterinary costs in Long Beach often average around $775 per year.
Check out the rest of the list of best cities for a happy and healthy dog, and see all the other California cities that scored big.
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- Seattle, Washington
- Portland, Oregon
- San Francisco, California
- Boston, Massachusetts
- Minneapolis, Minnesota
- Long Beach, California
- Washington, D.C.
- Denver, Colorado
- Sacramento, California
- Atlanta, Georgia