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Original research · Scoop King

Dog waste statistics

The 89.7 million dogs in the United States produce about 67,275,000 pounds of waste every day. In Temecula Valley alone an estimated 98,764 dogs account for 74,072 pounds a day and 13,530 tons a year. Every number below is sourced, and our own figures show their method.

Last updated August 2026 · Free to cite with a link
98,764
dogs estimated in Temecula Valley
74,072 lb
of dog waste here every day
13,530 tons
of dog waste here every year
23 million
bacteria in a single gram of it

How many dogs there are

The ownership base every other number on this page rests on.

89.7 million
Dogs living in the United States as of 2024, up from 61.1 million in 2011.
45.5%
Share of US households that own at least one dog, up from a low of 31.6% in 1996.
59.8 million
US households with a dog in them, compared with 31.3 million in 1996.
1.5
Dogs per dog-owning household, derived from 89.7 million dogs across 59.8 million households.
88.8%
Dog owners who describe their dog as a member of the family.

How much waste that is

The EPA's per-dog figures, multiplied out.

0.75 lb
Waste a typical dog produces every single day, per the EPA.
274 lb
Waste one dog produces in a year. Roughly the weight of a full-grown giant panda.
67,275,000 lb
Dog waste produced across the United States every day, at 89.7 million dogs.
12,288,900 tons
US dog waste per year. For scale, that is heavier than the Golden Gate Bridge, many times over.
74,072 lb
Dog waste produced every day in Temecula Valley alone.

Why it is a pollution problem

The EPA has classified pet waste as a pollutant since 1991.

23 million
Fecal coliform bacteria in a single gram of dog waste.
7.8 billion
Fecal coliform bacteria in one large dog's daily waste, enough to close 15 acres of shellfish beds.
1991
The year the EPA designated pet waste a nonpoint source pollutant, the same category as oil and pesticides.
Up to 30%
Share of harmful bacteria in some cities' stormwater traced back to dog waste.
15 acres
Shellfish beds that one large dog's daily output carries enough bacteria to close.

What owners actually do

The gap between the bag in your pocket and the bag you use.

40%
Dog owners who do not consistently pick up after their dog.
59%
Rural dog walkers who say they rarely or never pick up, against 47% in urban areas.
28%
Dog owners who admit they have knowingly walked away from their dog's waste.
36%
Of those who walk away, the share who say they do it often rather than once.
31%
Owners who blamed non-recyclable waste bags for not picking up.

The industry that cleans it up

A small market growing faster than most home services.

$59 million
US pet waste removal services market value in 2023.
$101.2 million
Projected value of that market by 2031.
8.6%
Compound annual growth rate for pet waste removal services through 2031.
$345 million
Pet waste station market value in 2025, the HOA and apartment side of the business.
$520 million
Where the pet waste station market is projected to land by 2034.

Temecula Valley, city by city

This table is our own calculation. National rates applied to local population counts, with the arithmetic shown underneath so anyone can check it.

Estimated dogs by city

Bars are directly labelled. Full numbers in the table below.

Murrieta25,430Temecula24,936Menifee23,936Lake Elsinore16,091Wildomar8,371
CityResidentsHouseholdsDog householdsDogsWaste / dayWaste / year
Murrieta, CA 92562113,00637,26016,95325,43019,072 lb3,484 tons
Temecula, CA 92592110,81036,53616,62424,93618,702 lb3,416 tons
Menifee, CA 92584106,36535,07015,95723,93617,952 lb3,279 tons
Lake Elsinore, CA 9253071,50523,57610,72716,09112,068 lb2,204 tons
Wildomar, CA 9259537,19712,2655,5808,3716,278 lb1,147 tons
All five cities438,883144,70765,84198,76474,072 lb13,530 tons

How we calculated it

Four published inputs, one line of arithmetic per city. No survey of our own customers, and no estimate presented as a count.

households = population ÷ 3.03 — the Census puts Temecula at 110,810 residents in 36,536 households.

dog households = households × 45.5% — the AVMA's 2024 US dog ownership rate.

dogs = dog households × 1.50 — 89.7 million dogs across 59.8 million dog-owning households.

waste = dogs × 0.75 lb per day — the EPA's figure, which is 274 pounds a year.

These are estimates built on national averages applied to local population counts. There is no census of dogs in Riverside County, and we are not pretending otherwise.

Try the calculator

We built a free tool that turns these averages into your own number: how many hours a year you spend picking up dog poop.

Questions

An estimated 98,764 dogs live across Murrieta, Temecula, Menifee, Lake Elsinore and Wildomar, derived from a combined population of 438,883 and the AVMA's national dog ownership rate of 45.5%.
About 0.75 pounds a day and 274 pounds a year, according to the EPA.
About 74,072 pounds a day and 13,530 tons a year.
A single gram of dog waste holds about 23 million fecal coliform bacteria. The EPA has classified pet waste as a nonpoint source pollutant since 1991, in the same category as oil and pesticides.
Around 40% do not do it consistently, and in rural areas 59% say they rarely or never pick up.
The US pet waste removal services market was worth $59 million in 2023 and is projected to reach $101.2 million by 2031, growing 8.6% a year.

Using these numbers?

Take them. Every figure on this page is free to quote, chart or republish with a link to scoop-king.com/dog-waste-statistics. If you want the per-city table as a CSV, email hello@scoop-king.com and we will send it.

Who published this

Scoop King is a dog waste removal service covering Temecula, Murrieta, Menifee, Lake Elsinore, Wildomar, Canyon Lake, Winchester and Sun City. Weekly yard cleanup starts at $89 a month with no contract. See pricing, services, or the areas we cover.