Data
Pet Sitting Industry Statistics 2026: Market Size, Pay, Rates and Software Prices
The US pet industry spent $158 billion in 2025 (APPA), and 95 million households own a pet. IBISWorld counts 59,279 dog walking and pet sitting businesses in 2026 in a $1.5 billion industry. The BLS lists 365,300 animal caretaker jobs at a $35,360 median wage. A typical 30-minute walk posts at $30.
Updated Oct 2026. Porchlight is a competitor in pet sitting software, and we say so where it matters. Every number below links to its source.
Market size and pet ownership
| Statistic | Value | Source and year |
|---|---|---|
| US pet industry spending | $158 billion in 2025 (+3.7%) | APPA, 2025 State of the Industry, released March 26, 2026 |
| Projected 2026 spending | $165 billion | APPA, same release |
| US households with at least one pet | 95 million | APPA, same release (2025) |
| US dog walking services industry (includes pet sitters) | $1.5 billion market size in 2026; 3.0% a year growth 2021 to 2026 | IBISWorld, 2026 |
| Dog walking and pet sitting businesses | 59,279 in 2026, up 3.2% from 2025 | IBISWorld, 2026 |
IBISWorld says the industry is highly fragmented and that no company holds more than 5% of the market. IBISWorld shows only headline numbers without a paid account. Its public pages show slightly different market size figures between report versions, so treat $1.5 billion as a rounded headline.
Staffing: jobs and pay for animal caretakers
The BLS “animal caretakers” group covers more than pet sitters (kennel staff, groomers and others), so read it as a ceiling, not a count of sitters.
| Statistic | Value | Source and year |
|---|---|---|
| Animal caretaker jobs | 365,300 | BLS Occupational Outlook Handbook, 2025 |
| Median annual wage | $35,360 | BLS, May 2025 |
| Median hourly wage | $17.08 | BLS, May 2025 |
| Projected job growth | 12%, about 44,100 jobs, 2025 to 2035 | BLS, 2025 projections |
Typical prices (our own checked data)
From 74 US pet sitting and dog walking businesses, posted prices read on 2026-10-21. Full tables by region, quartiles and the CSV are on pet sitting rates 2026.
| Service | Median posted price | Source and year |
|---|---|---|
| 30-minute dog walk, median posted price | $30 | Porchlight, /data/pet-sitting-rates-2026, October 2026 |
| 60-minute dog walk, median posted price | $46 | Porchlight, /data/pet-sitting-rates-2026, October 2026 |
| 30-minute drop-in visit, median posted price | $30 | Porchlight, /data/pet-sitting-rates-2026, October 2026 |
| Overnight stay, median posted price | $100 (51 of the 74 list one) | Porchlight, /data/pet-sitting-rates-2026, October 2026 |
| Holiday surcharge, median posted price | $10 | Porchlight, /data/pet-sitting-rates-2026, October 2026 |
| Extra pet, median posted price | $5 | Porchlight, /data/pet-sitting-rates-2026, October 2026 |
Source: Porchlight, /data/pet-sitting-rates-2026, October 2026. Limits: a small search-found sample, prices read once, not a survey. To price your own visits, use the pet sitting rate calculator.
Seasonality
We found no public, sourced figure for pet sitting demand by month, so we do not print one. The one seasonal number we can source is ours: the median holiday surcharge among businesses that post one is $10 a visit (Porchlight, October 2026). If you hire for the holidays, plan staffing before you quote surcharges.
Software pricing models
Pet sitting software is priced two ways: per person or flat. Prices below were read on each vendor’s page in October 2026.
| Tool and model | Price (Oct 2026) | Source |
|---|---|---|
| Time To Pet Lite (flat, small) | $25 a month | timetopet.com/pricing |
| Time To Pet Solo (flat) | $50 a month | timetopet.com/pricing |
| Time To Pet Team (per seat) | $40 a month plus $16 a month per active staff member | timetopet.com/pricing |
| Porchlight Solo (flat, owner only) | $35 a month | porchlight.pet/pricing |
| Porchlight Team (flat, unlimited staff) | $79 a month | porchlight.pet/pricing |
Time To Pet counts active staff, and owners and admins count when active. At 5 active staff, Time To Pet Team is $40 plus 5 x $16 = $120 a month (our math); at 10 it is $200. Porchlight Team stays $79 at any staff count. Porchlight has a 30-day free trial with no card. Where Time To Pet fits better: a solo sitter who wants its lower-cost Lite plan, or a facility that needs its facility features. See Time To Pet pricing and Porchlight pricing for the full math.
Download the data
Every row on this page is in one CSV: statistic, value, unit, year, source name, source URL, date checked. stats.csv (download).
How to cite this page
Porchlight, "Pet Sitting Industry Statistics 2026," porchlight.pet/data/pet-sitting-industry-statistics-2026, accessed October 2026.
For an industry number, cite the original source in the table.
FAQ
How big is the pet sitting industry in the US?
IBISWorld puts the US dog walking services industry, which includes pet sitters, at $1.5 billion in 2026, with 59,279 businesses. (Source: IBISWorld, 2026.)
How many US households own a pet?
About 95 million households owned at least one pet in 2025. (Source: APPA, 2025 State of the Industry.)
How much do pet sitters earn?
The BLS median wage for animal caretakers was $35,360 a year, or $17.08 an hour, in May 2025. That group is wider than pet sitters. (Source: BLS Occupational Outlook Handbook.)
What does a dog walk cost?
The median posted price among 74 US businesses was $30 for 30 minutes and $46 for 60 minutes. (Source: Porchlight, /data/pet-sitting-rates-2026, October 2026.)
Is pet sitting software priced per user?
Some tools are. Time To Pet Team is $40 a month plus $16 per active staff member. Porchlight Team is a flat $79 for unlimited staff. (Sources: timetopet.com/pricing and porchlight.pet/pricing, October 2026.)
Sources
- APPA, 2025 State of the Industry: https://americanpetproducts.org/news/u.s.-pet-industry-reaches-158-billion-in-2025-poised-for-continued-growth-in-2026
- IBISWorld, Dog Walking Services in the US: https://www.ibisworld.com/industry-statistics/market-size/dog-walking-services-united-states/
- IBISWorld, Dog Walking Services in the US, number of businesses: https://www.ibisworld.com/united-states/number-of-businesses/dog-walking-services/4350/
- BLS Occupational Outlook Handbook, Animal Care and Service Workers: https://www.bls.gov/ooh/personal-care-and-service/animal-care-and-service-workers.htm
- Porchlight, Pet Sitting Rates 2026: https://porchlight.pet/data/pet-sitting-rates-2026
- Time To Pet pricing: https://www.timetopet.com/pricing
- Porchlight pricing: https://porchlight.pet/pricing
Switching from another tool? The Switch Kit imports your clients with a dry run first.
Porchlight is made by Hive Asset Group, LLC.