State report

State of Vet Care in California

As of July 2026, California has 3,228 veterinary practices tracked; 28.4% are corporately owned , led by VCA with 166 in-state locations . 71.6% of practices remain independently owned , and 11.4% are actively hiring .

Key takeaways

  • 3,228 veterinary practices tracked in California, of which 28.4% are corporately owned.
  • 13.9% of practices in California are private-equity-backed.
  • VCA (owned by Mars) leads all consolidators operating in the state with 166 locations.
  • General practices make up 81.5% of the state's practice mix.

Consolidation by city

At a glance

3,228
Practices tracked
71.6%
Independent
28.4%
Corporately owned
13.9%
PE-backed

11.4% of practices in California are actively hiring.

Ownership breakdown in California

Ownership type Practices Share
Independent 2,310 71.6%
PE-backed 450 13.9%
Corporate group 415 12.9%
Nonprofit 4 0.1%
Public company 1 0.0%
National ownership-type breakdown, stacked by share Independent: 71.6% (2,310 practices) PE-backed: 13.9% (450 practices) Corporate group: 12.9% (415 practices) Nonprofit: 0.1% (4 practices) Public company: 0.0% (1 practices) 72%14%13% Independent (71.6%) PE-backed (13.9%) Corporate group (12.9%) Nonprofit (0.1%) Public company (0.0%)

Top consolidators operating in California

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 VCA Mars (Strategic) 166 18.3%
2 Banfield Mars (Strategic) 119 13.1%
3 Vetco (Petco) Petco (Public) 103 11.3%
4 PetVet Care Centers KKR (Strategic) 93 10.2%
5 National Veterinary Associates JAB Holding Company (Strategic) 78 8.6%
6 VetCor Harvest Partners (Strategic) 71 7.8%
7 Thrive Pet Healthcare TSG Consumer Partners (Strategic) 44 4.8%
8 Curo Pet Care Curo Pet Care 38 4.2%
9 AmeriVet AEA Investors LP 25 2.8%
10 Modern Animal Chewy, Inc. (NYSE: CHWY) (Private Equity) 21 2.3%

Practice-type mix

Type Practices Share
General 2,632 81.5%
Mobile 215 6.7%
Specialty Referral 158 4.9%
Emergency 115 3.6%
Urgent Care 77 2.4%
Mixed 26 0.8%
Telehealth 5 0.2%

Species mix

Segment Practices Share
Small Animal 2,876 89.1%
Mixed 222 6.9%
Equine 92 2.9%
Exotic 23 0.7%
Other 10 0.3%
Food Animal 3 0.1%
Avian 2 0.1%

Browse by city

Frequently asked questions

How many veterinary practices are in California?

As of July 2026, VetPulse tracks 3,228 veterinary practices in California.

What percentage of veterinary practices in California are corporately owned?

28.4% of veterinary practices in California are corporately owned — part of a consolidator, private-equity-backed group, or public company — while 71.6% remain independent.

Who is the largest veterinary consolidator in California?

VCA (owned by Mars) is the largest veterinary consolidator operating in California, with 166 in-state locations.

What share of veterinary practices in California are hiring?

11.4% of veterinary practices in California 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 California against every other state on the ownership & consolidation statistics page, or browse the rankings.