How many dogs are licensed in San Francisco?

51,379 individual dogs were registered with San Francisco Animal Care & Control between January 2017 and May 2026, across 82,070 license events. Licensing is voluntary; recent license coverage is roughly 1 in 6 to 1 in 8 of the estimated 120,000–150,000 dogs in the city.

What is the most common dog breed in San Francisco?

The Chihuahua, with 3,502 licensed dogs, leads the Pit Bull, Labrador Retriever, and Poodle. Another 2,170 dogs are listed as Chihuahua mixes. Its share has fallen by more than a quarter since 2017 as Golden Retrievers, Poodles, and French Bulldogs climb.

What is the most popular dog name in San Francisco?

Luna. It has been the city's #1 dog name every year since 2020 (Charlie led in 2017). Bella, Charlie, Coco, and Max round out the most common names.

What is the most common coat color for San Francisco dogs?

Black, at about 26%, followed by white, brown, and tan.

How many dog breeds, names, and neighborhoods are in the data?

412 breeds and 13,525 distinct names, across 26 San Francisco neighborhoods.

What is the most typical dog in San Francisco?

The city's archetype is "Luna": a female black Chihuahua, spayed, about 6 years old, most often found in the Mission / Bernal Heights.

How old are San Francisco's dogs?

Among recent records with age on file, the median current age is about 6 years; few puppies are licensed. The oldest plausible recent record shown is Ernie, a 20-year-old Chihuahua in Potrero Hill / Dogpatch.

Are most San Francisco dogs spayed or neutered?

Yes. About 87% of licensed dogs are spayed or neutered.

Does San Francisco have more dogs or babies?

In 2025 the city issued more first-time dog licenses (7,123) than babies born (about 6,970). Counting unlicensed dogs, new dogs run to roughly twice the number of births.

The Dogs of San Francisco | 51,379 licensed dogs

San Francisco, by the dogs.

51,379dogs

13,525distinct names

412breeds

26neighborhoods

Luna, the most typical dog in San Francisco: a watercolor painting of a black Chihuahua wearing a gold 'LUNA' license tag

The registry over time

A decade of dogs

Every licensed dog, month by month. After a long slide from 2017, the registry rebounded to a record 11,200 in 2025. Licenses still spike each spring, peaking in May 2025.

Only licensed dogs are counted here; recent license coverage is roughly 1 in 6 to 1 in 8 of the estimated 120,000–150,000 dogs in San Francisco. Useful sample, not a census.

Licenses issued monthly, 2017–2026. Spikes come when tags renew.

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Dogs vs. babies

SF licenses more new dogs than babies

In 2025, San Francisco issued more first-time dog licenses than birth certificates. Since many dogs go unlicensed, new dogs likely outnumber births by about 2 to 1.

Estimated unlicensed (uncounted) Licensed new dogs (counted) SF births

New dogs, licensed and estimated unlicensed, vs SF resident births, 2020–2025. Hover any year for the split. CDPH.

The names

Luna leads

San Franciscans register thousands of new dogs each year, and one name leads. Charlie led in 2017. Luna took over in 2018 and has held #1 every year since 2020.

Rank of the top names by year. Lower is more popular.

The leaderboard

The 16 most common dog names in San Francisco, by count.

The fastest-moving names

Change per 1,000 named SF dogs, 2017 to 2025. Sparklines show the trend.

Names that come with a breed

Some names point to a breed: share of the name's dogs in its top breed, vs citywide.

And then there are these

SF's funniest names, grouped by theme. Every count is real.

Every name above belongs to a real licensed dog. The one-offs are one-offs. Sir Archibald the Noodle is one (1) dog in San Francisco.

The neighborhoods

Every neighborhood has a signature breed

The city splits by breed. Chihuahuas lead in the east and south; Labradors lead in the west and north. Signature breed shows what is unusually common in each area. For names, Luna leads nine neighborhoods, while Charlie takes the Inner Richmond, Marina, and North Beach.

Hover or tap: most common breed.

The shift

The Chihuahua is losing its crown

The Chihuahua still leads, but its share is down more than a quarter since 2017. Golden Retrievers, Poodles, and French Bulldogs are climbing. The city is getting bigger and fluffier.

Each breed's share by year. Solid lines rise; dashed lines fall.

Watercolor of Luna, a black-and-tan Chihuahua, curled up asleep with her gold LUNA license tag

Purebred or mutt

Three in five are purebred

About 62% of licensed dogs have a single-breed label. The rest are mixes, with familiar designer crosses near the top.

The designer-dog web: who crosses with whom. Poodle is the hub of nearly every cross. Hover or tap a breed to trace its ribbons.

Each ribbon is a two-breed cross; thicker means more dogs. Ordered by cross count.

The city's favorite crosses

Most common two-breed mixes among SF's mixed dogs.

The Marina is doodle country

Retriever × Poodle crosses (Golden- and Labradoodles) cluster in the Marina. Every neighborhood ranked by doodle density.

Share of each neighborhood's licensed dogs that are a Golden- or Labradoodle. Dashed line marks the citywide average; bars run hot above it, cool below. Neighborhoods with at least 150 licensed dogs.

The palette

A city of mostly black dogs

More than one in four licensed dogs is black. After black, white, and brown, the coat list gets specific: brindle, merle, apricot, sable, and tricolor.

Primary coat color of all 51,379 dogs.

Every breed has a palette

Labs run black, Goldens gold, Frenchies everything.

The dogs themselves

Past the puppy years, and almost all fixed

Few puppies make the registry. Most licensed dogs are adults, and nearly all are fixed. Here is the population at a glance, plus the city's archetype.

Current age of licensed dogs

Recent licensed dogs with age on file, projected from first reported age. Not every registered dog.

The license itself

Most buy the cheap one-year tag; one in seven unaltered.

The most typical dog in San Francisco

Common traits, plus median known age.

One in how many?

How rare is your dog?

Pick breed, coat color, and neighborhood. We'll estimate how many licensed SF dogs match.

Modeled across all 51,379 licensed dogs. Specific combinations are approximate.

By the name

Look up any name

Type a name to see how common it is and where it clusters.

Watercolor of Luna, a black-and-tan Chihuahua wearing a gold LUNA tag

Search a name to see counts, breeds, and neighborhoods.

Adoptable twins

Find an adoptable twin

The dogs in the charts have homes. These dogs need one. Enter breed and color to find SF adoptables with a similar look.

🐾 Adoptions and donations go through the shelters. We do not collect money. Listings come from seven SF shelters and rescues and link straight to each shelter's own adoption pages.

Pick a breed to see adoptable SF dogs. Newest listings first.