Top Dog Breeds by City in 2013

This year the AKC celebrates its 130th anniversary and for the 23nd year in a row, the Labrador retriever is once again America’s favorite purebred dog, according to registration numbers tallied by the American Kennel Club. The AKC released the figures and, as in past years, the Labrador far outstrips the other dogs in the top 10.

They also tallied top breeds by city for 14 US cities including Atlanta, Boston, Chicago, Dallas, Denver, Houston, Las Angeles, Miami, New York City, Raleigh, San Francisco, Seattle, Washington DC, and West Palm Beach.

In reviewing these numbers by city, it is hard to draw any conclusions on why some cities prefer some dogs over other dogs. One might think that the warm-weather tolerant breeds might be more common in the South and outdoorsy dogs might be more common in the Midwestern cities. However, there seem to be no pattern to how these cities love their dogs!

The Top 10 Breeds of 2013 are (and they are exactly the same as 2012):

1. Labrador retrievers
2. German shepherds
3. Golden retrievers
4. Beagles
5. Bulldog
6. Yorkshire terriers
7. Boxers
8. Poodles
9. Rottweiler
10. Dachshunds

The Top Breeds by City for 2012 include:

Atlanta’s Top Dogs
1. Labrador Retriever
2. Golden Retriever
3. German Shepherd Dog
4. Boxer (boxer moved from 5 to 4 this year)
5. Cavalier King Charles Spaniel The CKCS dropped from 4 to 5)
Registration data pulled from Atlanta zip codes as specified by U.S. Postal Service

Boston’s Top Dogs
1. Labrador Retriever
2. German Shepherd Dog
3. Golden Retriever
4. Yorkshire Terrier
5. French Bulldog
Registration data pulled from Boston zip codes as specified by U.S. Postal Service

Chicago’s Top Dogs
1. German Shepherd Dog
2. Labrador Retriever
3. Bulldog
4. Golden Retriever
5. French bulldog
Registration data pulled from Chicago zip codes as specified by U.S. Postal Service

Dallas’ Top Dogs
1. Labrador Retriever
2. Golden Retriever
3. Bulldog
4. German Shepherd Dog
5. Cavalier King Charles Spaniel/Yorkshire Terrier
Registration data pulled from Dallas zip codes as specified by U.S. Postal Service

Denver’s Top Dogs
1. Labrador Retriever
2. Bulldog
3. German Shepherd Dog
4. Golden Retriever
5. Yorkshire Terrier
Registration data pulled from Denver zip codes as specified by U.S. Postal Service

Houston’s Top Dogs
1. Labrador Retriever
2. Bulldog
3. German Shepherd Dog
4. Golden Retriever
5. Yorkshire Terrier
Registration data pulled from Houston zip codes as specified by U.S. Postal Service

Los Angeles Top Dogs
1. Bulldog
2. French Bulldog
3. Labrador Retriever
4. German Shepherd Dog
5. Yorkshire Terrier
Registration data pulled from Los Angeles zip codes as specified by U.S. Postal Service

Miami’s Top Dogs
1. German Shepherd Dog
2. Labrador Retriever
3. Rottweiler
4. French Bulldog
5. Bulldog
Registration data pulled from Miami zip codes as specified by U.S. Postal Service

New York City’s Top Dogs
1. Bulldog
2. French Bulldog
3. Labrador Retriever
4. German Shepherd Dog
5. Golden Retriever
Registration data pulled from New York City zip codes as specified by U.S. Postal Service

Raleigh’s Top Dogs
1. Labrador Retriever
2. German Shepherd Dog
3. Golden Retriever
4. Beagle
5. Yorkshire Terrier
Registration data pulled from Raleigh zip codes as specified by U.S. Postal Service


San Francisco’s Top Dogs
1. Labrador Retriever
2. Golden Retriever
3. French Bulldog
4. Bernese Mountain Dog
5. Bulldog
Registration data pulled from San Francisco zip codes as specified by U.S. Postal Service

Seattle’s Top Dogs
1. Labrador Retriever
2. Golden Retriever
3. German Shepherd Dog
4. French Bulldog
5. Bulldog
Registration data pulled from Seattle zip codes as specified by U.S. Postal Service. # tied

Washington, DC
1. Labrador Retriever
2. Poodle
3. Bulldog
4. Golden Retriever
5. German Shepherd Dog
Registration data pulled from Washington DC zip codes as specified by U.S. Postal Service

West Palm Beach
1. German Shepherd Dog
2. Labrador Retriever
3. Golden Retriever Poodle
4. Poodle
5. Yorkshire Terrier
Registration data pulled from Washington DC zip codes as specified by U.S. Postal Service

Data from akc.org – at http://www.akc.org/reg/topdogsbycity.cfm

How Did YOUR Breed Score? Go to Top Dog Breeds of 2013 – Most Popular Dogs for the entire 2013 AKC ranking.