State report

State of Vet Care in Alabama

As of September 2026, Alabama has 575 veterinary practices tracked; 11.8% are corporately owned , led by Banfield with 10 in-state locations . 88.2% of practices remain independently owned , and 6.3% are actively hiring .

Key takeaways

  • 575 veterinary practices tracked in Alabama, of which 11.8% are corporately owned.
  • 8.9% of practices in Alabama are private-equity-backed.
  • Banfield (owned by Mars) leads all consolidators operating in the state with 10 locations.
  • General practices make up 90.6% of the state's practice mix.

Consolidation by city

At a glance

575
Practices tracked
88.2%
Independent
11.8%
Corporately owned
8.9%
PE-backed

6.3% of practices in Alabama are actively hiring.

Ownership breakdown in Alabama

Ownership type Practices Share
Independent 507 88.2%
PE-backed 51 8.9%
Corporate group 17 3.0%
National ownership-type breakdown, stacked by share Independent: 88.2% (507 practices) PE-backed: 8.9% (51 practices) Corporate group: 3.0% (17 practices) 88%9% Independent (88.2%) PE-backed (8.9%) Corporate group (3.0%)

Top consolidators operating in Alabama

Ranked by in-state locations. See the full national leaderboard on ownership & consolidation statistics.

# Group Ultimate owner In-state locations Share of corporate practices
1 Banfield Mars (Strategic) 10 13.7%
2 Mission Pet Health The Vets Pets (Private Equity) 9 12.3%
3 VetCor Harvest Partners / Oak Hill Capital (Private Equity) 7 9.6%
4 PetVet Care Centers KKR (Private Equity) 7 9.6%
5 American Veterinary Group Oak Hill Capital 6 8.2%
6 NVA TSG Consumer Partners (Private Equity) 6 8.2%
7 CareVet Compass Group Equity Partners (Private Equity) 4 5.5%
8 Heartland Veterinary Partners Gryphon Investors 4 5.5%
9 VCA Mars (Strategic) 4 5.5%
10 Alliance Animal Health Latticework Capital / Bridgepoint (Private Equity) 4 5.5%

Practice-type mix

Type Practices Share
General 521 90.6%
Specialty Referral 16 2.8%
Mobile 14 2.4%
Mixed 10 1.7%
Emergency 10 1.7%
Urgent Care 4 0.7%

Species mix

Segment Practices Share
Small Animal 475 82.6%
Mixed 90 15.7%
Equine 8 1.4%
Other 1 0.2%
Exotic 1 0.2%

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Frequently asked questions

How many veterinary practices are in Alabama?

As of September 2026, VetPulse tracks 575 veterinary practices in Alabama.

What percentage of veterinary practices in Alabama are corporately owned?

11.8% of veterinary practices in Alabama are corporately owned — part of a consolidator, private-equity-backed group, or public company — while 88.2% remain independent.

Who is the largest veterinary consolidator in Alabama?

Banfield (owned by Mars) is the largest veterinary consolidator operating in Alabama, with 10 in-state locations.

What share of veterinary practices in Alabama are hiring?

6.3% of veterinary practices in Alabama are actively hiring, based on live job-signal data.

Every figure above is queried live from our practice-level dataset — see the methodology for how ownership is triangulated from multiple independent sources. Compare Alabama against every other state on the ownership & consolidation statistics page, or browse the rankings.