Shelter length of stay: national comparison
Across 600,187 completed stays at 8 public shelters, the median dog stayed 5 days and the median cat 4 days. The spread between shelters is wide, and most of it comes from differences in intake mix, stray hold periods, transfer partners and how each shelter records its data.
| Shelter | Stays | Dogs median | Dogs 90th pct | Dogs % over 30 | Cats median | Cats 90th pct | Cats % over 30 |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| Austin, TX | 136,565 | 6 | 53 | 16.3% | 8 | 65 | 27.1% |
| Dallas, TX | 213,683 | 4 | 21 | 5.4% | 2 | 10 | 1.1% |
| Long Beach, CA | 43,072 | 6 | 49 | 15.3% | 7 | 63 | 22.8% |
| Louisville, KY | 45,443 | 6 | 32 | 10.8% | 3 | 18 | 4.3% |
| Montgomery County, MD | 31,598 | 4 | 41 | 13.8% | 13 | 60 | 23.1% |
| Norfolk, VA | 52,234 | 4 | 25 | 8.0% | 3 | 37 | 12.5% |
| San Jose, CA | 50,696 | 8 | 69.2 | 20.1% | 6 | 49 | 19.5% |
| Sonoma County, CA | 26,896 | 8 | 49 | 19.5% | 11 | 52 | 23.6% |
How this compares with national figures
Shelter Animals Count, which collects data from thousands of U.S. shelters and rescues, reports that 5.8 million dogs and cats entered shelters and rescues in 2025, that strays made up 59% of community intakes, and that the median dog's stay to adoption fell to 13 days in 2025, with large dogs waiting longer than small ones.1 The ASPCA notes that dogs, especially large dogs, are staying longer than they did five years ago, which adds to capacity strain.2
Our numbers measure something slightly different: days from intake to any outcome, including same-day returns to owners. That's why our medians are shorter than national days-to-adoption. Use our pages to compare shelters with each other on the same definition, and national reports for the big picture.
Reading the differences
- Stray hold periods set a floor on stays for strays. Shelters with longer holds show longer medians.
- Transfer-heavy shelters often have short stays because partners pull animals quickly.
- Data coverage differs: some shelters publish age, size or breed, others don't. See each shelter's page.
Go deeper: shelter pages · interactive benchmarks · how to reduce length of stay.
Sources
- Shelter Animals Count, 2025 Annual Data Report.
- ASPCA, U.S. Animal Shelter Statistics.