Best and worst cities to travel to with your dog: See where Nashville ranks

Diana Leyva, Nashville Tennessean
·3 min read

They're man's best friend and more often than not, they're by our side each step of the way - even when we're traveling.

According to a Forbes Advisor study of 10,000 American dog owners, 82% of them said to sometimes travel with their dogs by car and 33% of them travel with their dogs by plane. When Forbes asked what annoys dog owners the most about having a dog, 37% of those surveyed said that having to find a sitter when traveling out of town and being unable to bring their dog is their top annoyance.

So what are the most dog-friendly cities to travel to? And where does Music City rank?

How dog-friendly is Nashville?

Nashville ranked as one of the worst cities to travel to with a dog, it ranked among the top worst 3 cities with a measly score of 7.2/100. It was among cities like Phoenix (0/100), Virginia Beach (5.88/100), Mesa (8.46/100), and Corpus Christi (15.17/100).

The reasons?

Nashville has the lowest number of pet clinics per capita of the 98 big cities analyzed. Furthermore, Nashville isn't very walkable, it has a walk score of 29/100, the fourth-worst walk score in the report. Nashville also doesn't count on many pet-friendly accommodations or quality pet clinics.

Top 10 U.S. cities to travel to with your dog

  1. Sacramento, Calif.

  2. Portland, Ore.

  3. San Francisco, Calif.

  4. Bakersfield, Calif.

  5. Long Beach, Calif.

  6. Madiscon, Wis.

  7. Lincoln, Neb.

  8. Washington, D.C.

  9. St. Louis, Mo. (tie)

  10. Albuquerque, N.M. (tie)

Worst 10 U.S. cities to travel to with your dog

  • Los Angeles, Calif.

  • Philadelphia, Pa.

  • Scottsdale, Ariz.

  • Jacksonville, Fla.

  • Newark, N.J.

  • Corpus Christi, Texas

  • Mesa, Ariz.

  • Nashville, Tenn.

  • Virginia Beach, Va.

  • Phoenix, Ariz.

Tips for traveling with dogs

With the holidays rapidly approaching and travel increasing across the country, Forbes recommends the following for facilitating travel with pets:

  • Consider purchasing pet insurance

  • Research pet-friendly accommodations

  • Pack a familiar item

  • Plan dog-friendly activities

  • Explore during off-peak hours

Methodology

Forbes analyzed the 100 most-populous cities across 10 different metrics:

  • The percentage of pet-friendly hotels (25% of the total score)

  • The number of dog parks per 100,000 residents (15% of the total score)

  • The number of pet-friendly restaurants per 100,000 residents (15% of the total score)

  • Living wage (15% of the total score)

  • Percentage of pet-friendly hiking trails (5% of the total score)

  • The average number of extreme temperature days, below 32 degrees and above 90 degrees (5% of the total score)

  • The average number of days with precipitation (5% of the total score)

  • The number of pet clinics/hospitals per 100,000 residents (5% of the total score)

  • The average star rating for pet clinics/hospitals in each city (5% of the total score)

  • Walk score (5% of the total score)

The online survey of 10,000 dog owners in the U.S. (200 per state) was commissioned by Forbes and conducted by market research company OnePoll. The data in the survey was collected from Sept. 21 to Oct. 13, 2023.

Diana Leyva covers trending news and service for The Tennessean. Contact her at Dleyva@gannett.com or follow her on X, the platform formerly known as Twitter, at @_leyvadiana

This article originally appeared on Nashville Tennessean: Why Nashville ranks as one of the worst cities to travel with your dog