Shelter Dog Meal Donation Count:

Learn More

Rover’s 2020 Most Popular Dog Breed List Shows Love For Rescue Dogs

Written by: Molly Weinfurter
Molly Weinfurter is a writer for iHeartDogs, and she’s passionate about helping animals in need. She volunteers for Bailing Out Benji and a local dog rescue.Read more
| Published on July 7, 2020

Of course, every dog breed is amazing and lovable. There’s no doubt about that. But many dog breeds are consistently popular, and they rank high on the AKC’s popular breed list every year. These are breeds like Labrador Retrievers and German Shepherds.

However, Rover, the famous dog-walking company, decided to take a different approach with their popular breed list. They looked through their database of over a million dog parents to determine what the most popular dog breeds are. As it turns out, some of the results might surprise you.

Rover released their first popular dog breed list in 2019, which showed that mixed breeds were the most popular breed of all. Of course, mixed breeds aren’t technically a breed of dogs, but that’s what most rescue dogs are. Oftentimes, we don’t know exactly what breed our dogs are when we adopt them, but they still deserve lots of love. So, how does this year’s list compare?

mixed breed dog outside

America’s Most Popular Dog Breeds of 2020

Here are the results of this year’s most popular dog breed list. Just like last year, a lot of the breeds are different than expected, especially since there are a few mixed breeds listed.

  1. Mixed Breed
  2. Labrador Retriever
  3. Chihuahua
  4. German Shepherd
  5. Golden Retriever
  6. Yorkshire Terrier
  7. Shih Tzu
  8. Dachshund
  9. Goldendoodle
  10. Boxer
  11. Poodle
  12. Australian Shepherd
  13. Beagle
  14. Siberian Husky
  15. American Pit Bull Terrier
  16. Maltese
  17. Labradoodle
  18. French Bulldog
  19. Pug
  20. Pomeranian

Once again, mixed breeds claim the top spot. With so many people choosing to adopt, it’s no surprise that these lovable dogs are gaining so much popularity. It’s also heartwarming to see American Pit Bull Terriers on the list since they are often found in shelters due to their bad reputation. However, anyone that has a Pit Bull breed knows that they’re the sweetest dogs!

Pit Bull Puppy

What are the Most Popular Breeds in Your City?

In addition to sharing the top 20 dog breeds in America, Rover also shared a list of popular breeds in different cities. They have a list of 40 different cities in America, and they show the top 5 breeds in each city. Here are the #1 dog breeds for some of the cities listed.

  • Atlanta: Miniature Schnauzer
  • Boston: Labradoodle
  • Chicago: Goldendoodle
  • Dallas: Miniature Schnauzer
  • Denver: Australian Cattle Dog
  • Detroit: Pomeranian
  • Indianapolis: Great Dane
  • Jacksonville: Jack Russell Terrier
  • Kansas City: Boston Terrier
  • Las Vegas: Pomeranian
  • Los Angeles: Maltese
  • Louisville: Great Dane
  • Memphis: Miniature Schnauzer
  • Miami: American Bulldog
  • Milwaukee: Bichon Frise
  • Nashville: Jack Russell Terrier
  • New York City: Havanese
  • Oklahoma City: Miniature Schnauzer
  • Philadelphia: Bichon Frise
  • Phoenix: Australian Cattle Dog
  • Raleigh: American Staffordshire Terrier
  • San Diego: Siberian Husky
  • San Francisco: Labradoodle
  • Seattle: Labradoodle
  • Washington DC: Jack Russell Terrier

Miniature Schnauzer Outside

It’s unusual how much the dog breeds in each city differ from America’s list of popular dog breeds. In fact, Labrador Retrievers and Chihuahuas aren’t the most popular breeds in any of the cities, despite ranking so high overall. Additionally, dogs that didn’t make the top 20 in America, such as the Miniature Schnauzer and Great Dane, are the number one breed in multiple cities. After all, every dog breed is loved.

Did your favorite breed make the list? If you want to see the details of the popular dog breed list or if you want to see the full lists for every city, visit Rover.com.

H/T: rover.com

Recent Articles

Interested in learning even more about all things dogs? Get your paws on more great content from iHeartDogs!

Read the Blog