State report

State of Vet Care in Colorado

As of October 2026, Colorado has 954 veterinary practices tracked; 29.2% are corporately owned , led by NVA with 39 in-state locations . 70.8% of practices remain independently owned , and 12.1% are actively hiring .

Key takeaways

  • 954 veterinary practices tracked in Colorado, of which 29.2% are corporately owned.
  • 16.6% of practices in Colorado are private-equity-backed.
  • NVA (owned by JAB Holding Company) leads all consolidators operating in the state with 39 locations.
  • General practices make up 73.8% of the state's practice mix.

Consolidation by city

At a glance

954
Practices tracked
70.8%
Independent
29.2%
Corporately owned
16.6%
PE-backed

12.1% of practices in Colorado are actively hiring.

Ownership breakdown in Colorado

Ownership type Practices Share
Independent 675 70.8%
PE-backed 158 16.6%
Corporate group 102 10.7%
Private group 5 0.5%
Nonprofit 2 0.2%
Public company 12 1.3%
National ownership-type breakdown, stacked by share Independent: 70.8% (675 practices) PE-backed: 16.6% (158 practices) Corporate group: 10.7% (102 practices) Private group: 0.5% (5 practices) Nonprofit: 0.2% (2 practices) Public company: 1.3% (12 practices) 71%17%11% Independent (70.8%) PE-backed (16.6%) Corporate group (10.7%) Private group (0.5%) Nonprofit (0.2%) Public company (1.3%)

Top consolidators operating in Colorado

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 NVA JAB Holding Company (Strategic) 39 14.2%
2 Mission Pet Health Shore Capital Partners / Silver Lake (Private Equity) 37 13.5%
3 Banfield Mars (Strategic) 32 11.6%
4 VCA Mars (Strategic) 27 9.8%
5 PetVet Care Centers KKR (Private Equity) 19 6.9%
6 Western Veterinary Partners Tyree & D'Angelo Partners (Private Equity) 14 5.1%
7 Blue River PetCare Partners Group (Private Equity) 12 4.4%
8 Vetco (Petco) Petco Health and Wellness Company (Public) 11 4.0%
9 Thrive Pet Healthcare TSG Consumer Partners (Private Equity) 9 3.3%
10 CityVet RiverGlade Capital (Private Equity) 8 2.9%

Practice-type mix

Type Practices Share
General 704 73.8%
Mobile 92 9.6%
Specialty Referral 64 6.7%
Mixed 35 3.7%
Emergency 33 3.5%
Urgent Care 26 2.7%

Species mix

Segment Practices Share
Small Animal 744 78.0%
Mixed 148 15.5%
Equine 44 4.6%
Exotic 14 1.5%
Other 2 0.2%
Food Animal 2 0.2%

Browse by city

Veterinary careers in Colorado

753 open veterinary jobs

Who's hiring in Colorado right now.

See jobs →

Veterinarian salary

What veterinarians earn in Colorado.

See pay →

Vet tech salary

What veterinary technicians earn in Colorado.

See pay →

Frequently asked questions

How many veterinary practices are in Colorado?

As of October 2026, VetPulse tracks 954 veterinary practices in Colorado.

What percentage of veterinary practices in Colorado are corporately owned?

29.2% of veterinary practices in Colorado are corporately owned — part of a consolidator, private-equity-backed group, or public company — while 70.8% remain independent.

Who is the largest veterinary consolidator in Colorado?

NVA (owned by JAB Holding Company) is the largest veterinary consolidator operating in Colorado, with 39 in-state locations.

What share of veterinary practices in Colorado are hiring?

12.1% of veterinary practices in Colorado 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 Colorado against every other state on the ownership & consolidation statistics page, or browse the rankings.