If you’re thinking about moving to
Houston with your dog or cat, you might want to consider the suburbs.
Sure the city itself is great for museums, dining out, going out, and just hanging out, but when it comes to a place your pets can call home as well, Houston’s suburbs might win out.
We made a list of the 10 most pet friendly Houston suburbs based on the pet stores, veterinary clinics, pet services, and parks per capita.
1. Tomball
Key Stats:
- Pet stores: 6
- Vets: 10
- Pet services: 22
- Parks: 5
This charming historic city has something to offer everyone in your family—pets included.
What they’ll love are the hike and bike trails, the parks, kayaking options (yes, dogs can go kayaking with you), and the over 20 pet services, ranging from grooming to one place called Cypress Falls Pet Resort and Spa, which is as lovely as it sounds. It’s just too bad humans aren’t invited.
2. Webster
Key Stats:
- Pet stores: 3
- Vets: 6
- Pet services: 20
- Parks: Two
Recently Webster came in as one of the
best places near Houston to retire, so if you happen to be around 65 and have pets, too, well, this place might just be perfect for you!
But no matter your age, if you’re a pet owner, Webster is hard to beat.
There’s a Petsmart, but there are also smaller local businesses like Clear Lake Kennels, Grooming by Georjean, and Wiggle Walks.
3. Humble
Key Stats:
- Pet stores: 5
- Vets: 17
- Parks: 7
The City of Humble is a whole lot like its name sounds—it’s just a plain, old fashioned, nice place to come home to at the end of the day—for you and your pet.
The reason your pet will be happy and healthy here are the variety of pet stores, from Paradise Fish and Pets to bigger businesses like Petco and Petsmart, the numerous parks for running, sniffing, and general mud-rolling, and the nearly 20 vets.
4. Katy
Key Stats:
- Vets: Six
- Pet services: 14
- Parks: Seven
Not only will you be covered here in terms of your pets, with the vets, pet services, and seven parks in the area—you’ll also be covered here in terms of you, since we recently included Katy in our list of the
best Houston suburbs.
This city is booming business-wise, with oil and gas companies expanding more and more into the area, there are plenty of housing options, including the excellent Cinco Ranch, a new master-planned community, and if you have kids, the schools are top-notch.
5. Stafford
Key Stats:
- Pet stores: 4
- Vets: 8
- Pet services: 26
Stafford is an excellent place for pets of all kinds, from dogs and cats to more exotic animals like reptiles, birds, and fish. There are four main pet stores in Stafford, including Houston Aquarium Warehouse. If you have a dog or a horse, Hilason Saddles, Tack & Dog Stuff Store has you covered.
One reason businesses like these do so well in Stafford is that there are no property taxes. That’s right, this “Island of Business,” or as “The Wall Street Journal” once called it, the “Shangri-La for property owners” has no property taxes. If that doesn’t have you packing up your pets and heading there now, we don’t know what will.
6. Spring
Key Stats:
- Pet stores: 10
- Vets: 24
- Pet services: 36
The homes here are mostly single family with a median price of about $110,000, compared to some places in the area where the median price is nearly $280,000.
That’s a lot of money saved, and what can you do with that extra cash? How about a day spent at Haute Dogs & Glitzy Paws? Or a weekend of pampering at the Tomball Resort Louetta? No, not for you—for your pets.
7. Richmond
Key Stats:
- Pet stores: 2
- Vets: 11
- Pet services: 12
According to one of Movoto’s local brokers,
Melissa Allison, Richmond is one of the fastest-growing suburbs near Houston—for good reason. It’s safe, business is flourishing here, it’s not far from Houston—and best of all for pet-owners, there are plenty of ways to take care of your four-legged family here.
Shaggy Chic Retreat Grooming, the highly-rated Long Meadow Veterinary Clinic, and Pet Stop are just a few of the pet amenities Richmond offers.
8. Friendswood
Key Stats:
- Pet stores: Five
- Vets: 18
- Parks: 10
With 10 parks for romping, playing, sniffing, and general dog-adventuring, we think Friendswood may as well have been named for man’s best friend.
And while your dog may not care much about the history of the name, or let’s be honest, the nearly 20 vet options in the city, he will love the pet stores, parks, and even the generally gigantic backyards nestled behind the even more gigantic homes here.
Friendswood is one of the most affluent Houston suburbs, dotted with everything from large homes to even larger estates, the median price of which is $226,600. More space both inside and out for you and your pets—everyone’s happy.
9. Manvel
Key Stats:
- Pet stores: 1
- Vets: 3
- Pet services: 5
With fewer than 6,000 residents, Manvel is easily the smallest place in our top 10—which makes its three vets, five pet services, and one pet store all the more impressive.
It’s also impressive in terms of “human amenities.” It has everything you need from restaurants and bars to gyms and spas. In fact, there are over 350 amenities listed for the mere 5,726 people who live here.
Of course, as you might expect from such a place, it is growing, so get in while you can.
10. Sugar Land
Key Stats:
- Vets: 30
- Pet services: 33
- Parks: 14
Sugar Land offers plenty of amenities, like the highly rated Sugar Land Pet Hospital, the more specialized ABC Animal & Bird Clinic, and QQ Pups Doghouse.
There are also plenty of things you and your dog can enjoy together, from the various outdoor festivals and concerts throughout the year to the 14 parks in the community. Just don’t tell your cat.
No matter what kinds of pets are in your family, if you’re looking to buy a home, Allison recommends the master-planned communities of Telfair and New Territory.
Every Day Is A Dog Day In These Suburbs
And a cat’s day, and a lizard’s day, maybe a goldfish’s day…
You get the idea: these suburbs are the best of the best when it comes to pets. And, of course, their owners.
If you’re interested in moving to the Houston area with your four-legged family member,
get in touch. We’ll help you find a house fit for a king or queen—which we all know means your cat.
Our Methodology
To create this list we gathered data from local business listings, then looked at each of Houston’s largest suburbs in terms of these pet friendly criteria:
- Pet stores per capita
- Vets per capita
- Pet services per capita (dog walkers, pet boarding and sitting, pet groomers, and pet training)
- Parks per capita
Once any places with no listings were eliminated, we had a grand total of 22 Houston suburbs to look at. We ranked each with scores from one to 22 in the above criteria, and then, averaged all of these scores into one overall score for each place. The lowest 10 scores went to our most pet friendly places.
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