List of Animal Shelters in the USA

Last updated 21 October 2026

There are 4,320 animal shelters in the USA, one in every 14,785 US companies. Most of them are small: three in four have one to four people, and only 44 firms employ 50 people or more. One in fifty-four animal shelters is based in Phoenix, Chicago, Cleveland, New York and Portland. Below you find the largest animal shelters in the USA, the cities where they cluster, how many started this year and which are the oldest. The full list with addresses, phone numbers and email is in our US company database or through the Company Data API.

4,320 companies indexed · Data counted on 21 October 2026

Companies4,3201 in14,785 US companiesCities2,457Largest cityPhoenix 21Sole traders3%Employees1-4 (75%)Revenue< $100K (45%)Email81%Phone99%Website94%

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A live view of all 4,320 animal shelters, sorted by revenue. Narrow it by region, city, employee size, revenue, legal form or founding year, or search a firm by name.

Denver Dumb Friends LeagueDenver Dumb Friends League

	Company Name	Country	City	Address 1	State/Province	Postal Code	Website	Founding Year	Yearly Revenue in U.S. Dollars	Employees Total	Business Legal Type - Description	Number of Companies in Group	Company Registration Number
1	Denver Dumb Friends League	USA	Denver	2080 S Quebec St	Denver	80231	*****.org	1910	$92,897,062	195	Corporation	2	19871052717
2	San Diego Humane Society And Spca	USA	San Diego	5500 Gaines St	San Diego	92110	*****.org	1880	$67,557,221	65	Corporation	N/A	0017580
3	North Shore Animal League America, INC.	USA	Port Washington	25 Davis Ave	Nassau	11050-3701	*****.org	1944	$46,442,949	275	Corporation	N/A	44220
4	Humane Society Of Tampa Bay, INC.	USA	Tampa	3607 N Armenia Ave	Hillsborough	33607	*****.org	1964	$42,054,267	35	Corporation	N/A	723896
5	Animal Care And Control Of New York City, INC.	USA	New York	11 Park Pl Ste 805	New York	10007	*****.org	1994	$41,655,330	154	Corporation	3	1846490
6	Oregon Humane Society	USA	Portland	1067 Ne Columbia Blvd	Multnomah	97211	*****.org	1868	$37,463,888	130	Corporation	N/A	363614
7	The Wild Animal Sanctuary A Colorado Non-Profit CORPORATION	USA	Keenesburg	1946 County Road 53	Weld	80643-4209	*****.org	1980	$36,365,923	38	Corporation	N/A	19951094721
8	The Dane County Humane Society	USA	Madison	5132 Voges Rd	Dane	53718	*****.org	1921	$31,846,259	25	Corporation	N/A	6 D07259
9	Humane Society Of Missouri	USA	Saint Louis	1201 Macklind Ave	St. Louis City	63110-1481	*****.org	1870	$31,581,705	180	Corporation	7	430652638
10	Paws Chicago	USA	Chicago	1997 N Clybourn Ave	Cook	60614-4922	*****.org	2001	$25,583,690	6		N/A	N/A
11	Woodward Helen Animal Center	USA	Rancho Santa Fe	6461 el Apajo	San Diego	92067	*****.org	1972	$24,027,619	100	Corporation	2	0662420
12	Washington Humane Society	USA	Washington	71 Oglethorpe St Nw	District of Columbia	20011-2346	*****.org	1870	$23,841,638	70	Corporation	3	N/A
13	Animal Rescue League Of Boston	USA	Boston	10 Chandler St	Suffolk	02116	*****.org	1899	$21,909,126	103	Corporation	5	042103714
14	Humane Society Of The Pikes Peak Region	USA	Colorado Springs	610 Abbot Ln	El Paso	80905	*****.org	1949	$21,526,597	63	Corporation	N/A	19871117137
15	Nebraska Humane Society	USA	Omaha	8929 Fort St	Douglas	68134-2899	*****.org	1874	$20,291,944	90	Corporation	N/A	0324426
16	Connecticut Humane Society	USA	Newington	701 Russell Rd Ste B	Ct	06111-1527	*****.org	1881	$19,442,988	50	Corporation	4	0615062
17	Chester County Spca	USA	West Chester	1212 Phoenixville Pike	Chester	19380-4006	*****.org	1929	$18,358,542	16	Corporation	N/A	231381030
18	Progressive Animal Welfare Society	USA	Lynnwood	15305 44th Ave W	Snohomish	98037	*****.org	1967	$18,325,910	17	Corporation	3	578090971
19	Kentucky Humane Society-Animal Rescue League	USA	Louisville	241 Steedly Dr	Jefferson	40214-2961	*****.org	1943	$17,942,670	30	Corporation	5	0028074
20	Atlanta Humane Society And Society For Prevention Of Cruelty To Animals, INC.	USA	Atlanta	981 Howell Mill Rd Nw	Fulton	30318	*****.org	1873	$17,752,580	50	Corporation	2	0E01038
21	Operation Kindness	USA	Carrollton	3201 Earhart Dr	Dallas	75006-5025	*****.org	1977	$17,631,228	13	Corporation	N/A	0040830401
22	The Humane Society For SEATTLE/KING County	USA	Bellevue	13212 Se Eastgate Way	King	98005-4408	*****.org	1986	$16,306,132	80	Corporation	N/A	178017059
23	Brandywine Valley Society For The Prevention Of Cruelty To Animals	USA	West Chester	1212 Phoenixville Pike	Chester	19380-4045	*****.org	1929	$15,995,612	14	Corporation	N/A	0000064413
24	The Pasadena Humane Society	USA	Pasadena	361 S Raymond Ave	Los Angeles	91105	*****.org	1903	$15,839,886	70	Corporation	N/A	0051472
25	Peaceful Valley Donkey Rescue, INC.	USA	San Angelo	8317 Duckworth Rd	Tom Green	76905-8996	*****.org	2012	$15,710,726	20	Corporation	N/A	2241546

Showing 25 of 4,320 companies

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Largest animal shelters in the USA

The biggest firms by staff and by revenue, the largest in Phoenix. Click a name for the record.

North Shore Animal League America is the largest animal shelter in the USA by headcount. 44 firms employ 50 people or more; 13 employ 100 or more.

1Port Washington275 staff
2Los Angeles223 staff
3Denver195 staff
4Saint Louis180 staff
5Henderson146 staff
6Fort Lauderdale145 staff
7Portland130 staff
8Chicago118 staff
9Boston103 staff
10Methuen100 staff

By employee size · 4,317 firms with a known headcount

Employees	Firms	%
1-4	3,247	75%
5-9	667	15%
10-19	222	5%
20-49	137	3%
50-99	31	0.7%
100-199	10	0.2%
200-499	3	<0.1%
500-999	0	0%
1,000+	0	0%

75% have 1 to 4 people; 137 have 20 to 49; 44 have 50 or more.

By yearly revenue (USD)

Revenue	Firms	%
< $100K	1,830	45%
$100K-$500K	1,411	35%
$500K-$1M	291	7%
$1M-$5M	407	10%
$5M-$10M	58	1%
$10M-$50M	43	1%
$50M-$100M	2	<0.1%

45% under $100,000; 407 between $1M and $5M; 103 above $5M.

How many animal shelters are there in the USA?

Animal shelters in the USA

4,320

21 October 2026

There are 4,320 animal shelters in the USA in our data (21 October 2026). That is one in every 14,785 US companies. About 2 new firms are entered in the register every month this year (24 so far in 2026).

Structure

Single-site firms: 3,929 91%
Head offices: 114
Branch offices: 277

Classification

Our platform filter is SIC 0752, 8699, 8399.

2,746 of the 4,320 are corporations and LLCs (64%); 136 are sole traders. They come from the state business registers and our US register data, through the Company Data API.

Firm sizes in the USA

Of the 4,317 US animal shelters with a known headcount, 3,247 (75%) have one to four people, 667 have five to nine, 359 have ten to 49 and 44 have 50 or more. Most firms turn over under $100,000 a year (1,830, 45%).

EU size bands · the grey line shows all US companies

Micro under 103,914 91%
Small 10 to 49359 8%
Medium 50 to 24944 1%
Large 250+0 0.0%

Grey line: the share among all US companies (96% have under ten staff).

103

firms turn over more than $5 million a year; 45 more than $10 million.

firms were entered in 2026.

Where in the USA?

Phoenix has the most animal shelters in the USA (21), ahead of Chicago (18), Cleveland (15), New York (13) and Portland (13). Together the five hold one in fifty-four of them.

Cities by number of firms

2,457 US cities have at least one animal shelter; 17 have ten or more; 1,605 have exactly one.

Animal shelters in Phoenix

Phoenix has 21 animal shelters, <0.1% of all 484,691 Phoenix companies and 36% below the national share. Four in five Phoenix firms have fewer than five people; none has 50 or more. 0 new firms were entered in 2026, 3 date from before 1990.

Size

1-4 staff: 17 · 81%
5-9: 2 · 10%
10-19: 1 · 5%
20-49: 1 · 5%
50+: 0 · 0%

Legal form

Sole traders: 0 · 0%
Partnerships: 0 · 0%
Corporations and LLCs: 14 · 67%
Other or none: 7 · 33%

Of the US total: 0.5%
Of all Phoenix companies: <0.1%
Against the national share: 0.6×

New

Entered 2026 so far: 0
Entered 2025: 0
Of USA's 2026 entries: 0.0%

Old

Before 1990: 3 · 14%
1990 or later: 18 · 86%
Of USA's pre-1990 firms: 0.4%

Reachable

Email: 17 · 81%
Phone: 21 · 100%
Website: 21 · 100%

Revenue (USD)

Under $100K: 12 · 57%
$100K-$500K: 5 · 24%
$500K-$1M: 2 · 10%
$1M and more: 2 · 10%

Largest

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How they compare

Next to related industries

There are 100 software companies for every animal shelter in the USA.

Industry	Firms	Website	1-4 staff
Software Companies	430,966	25%	84%
Security Companies	77,446	28%	84%
Dance Studios	52,631	45%	92%
Tattoo Shops	16,942	85%	97%
Technical Schools	16,442	52%	73%
Animal Shelters	4,320	94%	75%

In other countries

Country	Firms	Per 1,000 cos.
The USA	4,320	0.1
The UK	374	0.0

More countries →

Free sample: animal shelters in North America

Newcomers in the USA in 2026

24 animal shelters were entered in the US register so far in 2026, about 2 a month, after 42 in 2025. The USA as a whole saw 2,970,531 new companies in 2026, so this industry takes <0.1% of the inflow.

542022
512023
522024
422025
242026 so far

24 of this year's 24 are corporations and LLCs.

The biggest newcomers of 2026

The year is the register entry; an established firm that changes legal form appears as new.

1Archbold5 staff
2Delphos2 staff
3Fontana2 staff
4Longview2 staff
5Atlanta2 staff

Sole traders or corporations: how they are organised

One in thirty-two US animal shelters work as sole traders, against 5% of all US companies. Two in three are corporations and LLCs.

Sole traders1363%
Partnerships210.5%
Corporations and LLCs2,74664%
No form on record or other1,41733%

Single-site: 91%
Head offices: 114
Branches: 277

All US companies: 5% sole traders, 1% partnerships, 68% corporations and LLCs.

The oldest firms in the USA

Our data holds 37 US animal shelters from before 1900, 150 from before 1950 and 727 from before 1990.

1841
1. Hawthorne
1868
1. Portland
1868
1. Philadelphia
1869
1. Bangor
1869
1. Baltimore
1870
1. Saint Louis

Older than you

Live tool

Move the slider to a year. Two live counts, scoped to this industry.

1990

727

US animal shelters date from before 1990

were entered in 1990

How reachable are they?

Animal shelters are easier to reach than the average US company: 99% list a phone number and 94% a website.

Email3,503 81%
Phone4,265 99%
Website4,063 94%

Grey line: all US companies (email 15%, phone 42%, website 24%).

The full list with these fields is in our US company database.

Frequently asked questions

How many animal shelters are there in the USA?

There are 4,320 animal shelters in the USA in our data, counted on 21 October 2026. That is one in every 14,785 US companies.

Which is the largest animal shelter in the USA?

North Shore Animal League America in Port Washington, with 275 staff. By revenue Denver Dumb Friends League in Denver leads with $92.9 million a year.

Which US city has the most animal shelters?

Phoenix, with 21, ahead of Chicago (18), Cleveland (15), New York (13) and Portland (13).

How many animal shelters are there in Phoenix?

21, which is <0.1% of all 484,691 Phoenix companies and 36% below the national share.

How big is a typical animal shelter?

Small. 75% of the 4,317 firms with a known headcount have one to four people; 44 have 50 or more. Most turn over under $100,000 a year.

Are US animal shelters sole traders or companies?

One in thirty-two (136) are sole traders, 0.5% are partnerships and 64% (2,746) are corporations and LLCs.

How many animal shelters started in 2026?

24 were entered in the US register so far in 2026, after 42 in 2025. 24 of them are corporations and LLCs.

What is the oldest animal shelter in the USA?

Spcala in Hawthorne, 1841, followed by Oregon Humane Society in Portland (1868) and The Pennsylvania Society for the Prevention of Cruelty to Animals in Philadelphia (1868). 37 firms date from before 1900.

Which industry code covers animal shelters?

Our platform filters them on SIC 0752 (animal specialty services, except veterinary), 8699 (membership organizations, not elsewhere classified) and 8399 (social services, not elsewhere classified).

Can I download the full list?

Yes. All 4,320 firms with address, phone, email, legal form, employees, revenue and founding year, as Excel, CSV or through the API.

Discover more: related industries, by city, in other countries

The lists closest to this one. Every industry and city in the USA is on the USA page.

Professional, scientific and technical

Companies in US cities

Europe

Animal Shelters in the UK

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