State report

State of Vet Care in California

As of October 2026, California has 3,283 veterinary practices tracked; 27.3% are corporately owned , led by VCA with 162 in-state locations . 72.7% of practices remain independently owned , and 11.6% are actively hiring .

Key takeaways

  • 3,283 veterinary practices tracked in California, of which 27.3% are corporately owned.
  • 11.5% of practices in California are private-equity-backed.
  • VCA (owned by Mars) leads all consolidators operating in the state with 162 locations.
  • General practices make up 79.9% of the state's practice mix.

Consolidation by city

At a glance

3,283
Practices tracked
72.7%
Independent
27.3%
Corporately owned
11.5%
PE-backed

11.6% of practices in California are actively hiring.

Ownership breakdown in California

Ownership type Practices Share
Independent 2,386 72.7%
PE-backed 377 11.5%
Corporate group 378 11.5%
Private group 63 1.9%
Nonprofit 5 0.2%
Public company 74 2.3%
National ownership-type breakdown, stacked by share Independent: 72.7% (2,386 practices) PE-backed: 11.5% (377 practices) Corporate group: 11.5% (378 practices) Private group: 1.9% (63 practices) Nonprofit: 0.2% (5 practices) Public company: 2.3% (74 practices) 73%11%12% Independent (72.7%) PE-backed (11.5%) Corporate group (11.5%) Private group (1.9%) Nonprofit (0.2%) Public company (2.3%)

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) 162 18.4%
2 Banfield Mars (Strategic) 124 14.1%
3 PetVet Care Centers KKR (Private Equity) 94 10.7%
4 NVA JAB Holding Company (Strategic) 85 9.6%
5 Vetco (Petco) Petco Health and Wellness Company (Public) 52 5.9%
6 Thrive Pet Healthcare TSG Consumer Partners (Private Equity) 47 5.3%
7 Curo Pet Care Curo (family-owned per company) (Family) 38 4.3%
8 VetCor Oak Hill Capital (Private Equity) 38 4.3%
9 AmeriVet AEA Investors / ADIA (Private Equity) 34 3.9%
10 Mission Pet Health Shore Capital Partners / Silver Lake (Private Equity) 31 3.5%

Practice-type mix

Type Practices Share
General 2,623 79.9%
Mobile 244 7.4%
Specialty Referral 192 5.8%
Emergency 116 3.5%
Urgent Care 79 2.4%
Mixed 26 0.8%
Telehealth 3 0.1%

Species mix

Segment Practices Share
Small Animal 2,888 88.0%
Mixed 233 7.1%
Equine 117 3.6%
Exotic 29 0.9%
Other 10 0.3%
Avian 3 0.1%
Food Animal 3 0.1%

Browse by city

Veterinary careers in California

2,491 open veterinary jobs

Who's hiring in California right now.

See jobs →

Veterinarian salary

What veterinarians earn in California.

See pay →

Vet tech salary

What veterinary technicians earn in California.

See pay →

Frequently asked questions

How many veterinary practices are in California?

As of October 2026, VetPulse tracks 3,283 veterinary practices in California.

What percentage of veterinary practices in California are corporately owned?

27.3% of veterinary practices in California are corporately owned — part of a consolidator, private-equity-backed group, or public company — while 72.7% remain independent.

Who is the largest veterinary consolidator in California?

VCA (owned by Mars) is the largest veterinary consolidator operating in California, with 162 in-state locations.

What share of veterinary practices in California are hiring?

11.6% 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.