With Greater Cincinnati's many parks and trails, you'd think the region would be one of the best for dogs, right?
Wrong, says lawn-care service LawnStarter. In a new study released Aug. 20, LawnStarter ranks Cincinnati as only the No. 69 city for dog lovers. The 2021 report includes the largest 200 U.S. cities.
To determine its best dog cities, LawnStarter examines data from service directories and databases like Yelp, TripAdvisor, Emergency Vets USA and more, scoring each metro area on a variety of metrics and categories.
In Cincinnati's score breakdown, the Queen City's best category is dog-friendly businesses, which includes hotels, restaurants and shops that welcome Fido with open paws. Coming in at No. 37, Cincinnati staples like MadTree Brewing Co. and Eli's BBQ, plus newer establishments such as Three Dog Bakery likely factored into LawnStarter's consideration.
At No. 57, Cincinnati's services rank also is somewhat respectable. This category includes trainers, walkers, groomers and kennels.
And then the Queen City starts to falter. LawnStarter ranks Cincinnati just at No. 75 in the community category, which focuses on dog-related events and meetups, the number of animal shelters and dog-friendly laws. We fall to No. 99 in housing (house square footage, dog-friendly rentals and yard size) and No. 127 in care (regular and emergency vets, animal hospitals and pet stores).
Overall, Ohio cities fare pretty badly in LawnStarter's 2021 report. Dayton ranks the highest among Buckeye State cities at No. 35, with Cincinnati following at No. 69. Akron comes in at No. 130, Toledo at No. 149, Cleveland at No. 174 and Columbus at No. 189.
The No. 1 city is Hollywood, Florida, and the worst is shockingly New York City.
See LawnStarter's full 2021 list of top U.S. cities for dog lovers.
Earlier this year, LawnStarter said Cincinnati was among the 10 worst dog-park cities. In June, the United States Postal Service said Ohio was No. 3 for dog bites to mail carriers.
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