Forget sharks, bears and other creatures that inspire fear. One of the biggest animal threats in the US may be resting in a family home — or stretched out on the living-room sofa.
The CDC estimates that dogs bite about 4.5 million people in the US each year. On average, one victim is treated in an emergency room every 80 seconds.
A new analysis has now identified the states where residents face the highest likelihood of filing an insurance claim linked to a dog attack.
New York ranked ninth nationwide, recording 1,308 dog-bite claims in 2025. The study by Gamble Mind calculated residents’ odds of being bitten at approximately one in 15,189.
The risk also rose sharply across New York City. Reported dog bites climbed nearly 25% in one year, increasing from 4,041 incidents in 2024 to 5,049 in 2025.
Staten Island had the highest dog-bite rate among the city’s five boroughs. Officials recorded 395 reported bites there in 2025 — roughly one incident for every 1,261 residents.
Manhattan and Queens each reported 1,192 bites, the highest totals in the city. However, Manhattan’s smaller population gave it a higher per-resident rate: about one bite per 1,393 people, compared with one per 1,944 in Queens.
Brooklyn had the lowest rate, even though it recorded 1,126 reported incidents. Its figures worked out to approximately one dog bite for every 2,325 residents.
Nationally, Michigan ranked as the state with the greatest risk. According to the study, residents faced annual odds of about one in 7,073 of being involved in a dog-bite insurance claim.
The Wolverine State reported 1,432 claims in 2025. After adjusting for population, its claim rate was 69% higher than the national average and more than three times Texas’ rate.
The danger was underscored last March when a 5-day-old baby girl was mauled to death after being left alone with a dog the family had recently taken in.
Indiana ranked second, with 824 claims and odds of one in 8,463. Ohio followed with 1,348 claims and a one-in-8,828 chance, narrowly ahead of Pennsylvania, where 1,324 claims were filed and the odds stood at one in 9,864.
Illinois took fifth place after recording 1,283 claims, giving residents an estimated one-in-9,914 chance of being involved in a dog-bite insurance claim.
Florida ranked sixth with 2,347 claims, one of the highest totals in the analysis. Its much larger population, however, brought the estimated odds down to one in 9,958.
New Jersey came in seventh. The state recorded 818 claims, translating to odds of approximately one in 11,673.
California posted the highest number of claims on the list, with a striking 2,830. But because it has such a large population, the state ranked eighth, with residents facing odds of one in 13,933.
Texas rounded out the top 10 with 1,313 insurance claims. Its population-adjusted odds were considerably lower, at roughly one in 23,832 of suffering a dog bite.