Mapped: The Most Popular Dog Breed in Every State in 2026

Which Dog Breed Is Most Popular in Your State?

From Labradors in Montana to Chihuahuas in Texas, America’s favorite dog changes from one state to the next.

And the picture has shifted considerably since last year, with some breeds gaining ground while others have lost their top spots entirely.

This map shows the most popular dog breed in every U.S. state and Washington, D.C., using U.S. News & World Report’s 2026 study of 3.5 million pet insurance data points from January 2022 to June 2026. It also highlights which states have changed their favorite breed since 2025.

Because the data comes from the pet insurance industry, it reflects dogs represented in insurance records rather than a complete count of every dog in each state.

Where Labradors and Chihuahuas Lead the Pack

The Labrador Retriever is the top breed in 22 states, stretching from Alaska and the Mountain West through the Midwest to New England.

The Chihuahua follows with 13 states, including Texas, Arizona, Oklahoma, North Carolina, and Washington.

The table below shows the most popular dog breed in every state and D.C. in the 2026 study, alongside the No. 1 breed in the 2025 edition:

Despite leading the most states, the Lab ranks only third nationally in the U.S. News data, behind the Chihuahua and French Bulldog.

The national ranking pools records from across the country, giving more weight to populous states. Small breeds lead all four of the most populous states: California, Texas, Florida, and New York.

States where the Chihuahua, Yorkshire Terrier, French Bulldog, or Shih Tzu comes out on top are home to about two-thirds of Americans. The Lab’s 22 states account for less than a third of the population.

The French Bulldog leads just four states, but they include California and Florida. Together with Nevada and Hawaii, these states are home to nearly one in five Americans.

24 States Have a New Favorite Dog Breed in 2026

Compared with the most popular dogs by state in 2025, 24 of the 50 states have a new top dog, as does D.C.

The Yorkshire Terrier made the biggest gains, going from one state (New York) to eight, plus D.C. Its new strongholds include four Deep South states: Alabama, Georgia, Louisiana, and Mississippi. It also took Indiana, Maryland, and New Jersey, while retaining New York and climbing from ninth to fourth nationally.

The American Pit Bull Terrier lost all seven states it led in 2025, including Georgia, Michigan, Ohio, and Tennessee, and fell from fourth to eighth nationally.

The German Shepherd also lost all four of its states (Alaska, Illinois, Indiana, and Wyoming), three of them to the Lab.

In total, the Lab picked up eight states, including Alaska, Michigan, and Ohio, while losing Maryland and Washington. Despite expanding its lead across the states, it slipped from first to third in the national ranking.

Why Pet Insurance Data and AKC Rankings Differ

U.S. News draws its figures from Fletch, a pet insurance industry partner, but does not specify whether each data point represents a policy, a quote, or another type of record.

Only about 6% of the 87 million dogs in the U.S. were insured in 2025, according to NAPHIA. As a result, the map reflects dogs represented in insurance records, not necessarily the most common breeds across the entire dog population.

The American Kennel Club’s ranking, the best-known alternative, measures something different: new purebred registrations, which exclude mixed breeds and dogs without registration papers.

The AKC tracks newly registered dogs each year, while the insurance dataset spans several years and can still include dogs acquired during the French Bulldog’s surge in popularity.

• Source: https://www.visualcapitalist.com/mapped-most-popular-dog-breed-every-state-2026/