Most Popular Dog Breeds by City

Ask which dog breed is most popular in America and you'll get one answer: the French Bulldog, AKC-registered more than any other breed for the fourth year running. Ask which breed is most popular in your specific city, and the answer changes more often than you'd expect.

Each year, the American Kennel Club breaks its national registration data down by major U.S. city, publishing the top 5 breeds for each one. The city-level list below comes directly from AKC's 2025 rankings, current as of their March 2026 update.

Most Popular Dog Breed by City

The American Kennel Club (AKC) — the country's largest purebred dog registry — publishes the top 5 breeds by AKC registration count for major U.S. cities each year. Nationally, the French Bulldog has held the No. 1 spot for four years running, but that national ranking hides real city-to-city variation.

Where the French Bulldog Isn't No. 1

Of the 47 major U.S. cities AKC tracked in its 2025 city rankings, the French Bulldog ranked No. 1 in 36 of them (about 77%). Seven cities bucked the national trend in favor of the Golden Retriever instead: Austin, Nashville, Pittsburgh, Portland, Raleigh, San Francisco, and Seattle — a cluster concentrated in the Pacific Northwest and a few other outdoorsy metro areas. The Labrador Retriever held No. 1 in three cities (Denver, Long Island, and Saint Louis), and the Poodle topped just one: Albany, NY, the only city on AKC's list where the French Bulldog didn't crack the top 4.

Why City Rankings Differ From the National List

AKC's rankings are based on registration counts, which track purebred dogs specifically — not the total pet dog population (which is roughly evenly split between purebred and mixed-breed dogs nationally). City-level variation shows up because registration patterns follow local factors like housing type (apartment-friendly breeds do better in dense cities), climate, and regional breeder availability, on top of general national popularity trends.

For national-level breed rankings and trend history, see our most popular dog breeds statistics page.

The Big Picture

City-level breed data confirms the French Bulldog's national dominance is real, not just a statistical average masking a split country — it leads in more than three-quarters of major cities tracked. But the exceptions are consistent and geographic rather than random: Golden Retriever strongholds cluster in the Pacific Northwest and a handful of similarly outdoor-oriented metros, suggesting lifestyle and climate still shape breed preference at the local level even as one breed's national popularity grows.