State report

State of Vet Care in Delaware

As of October 2026, Delaware has 87 veterinary practices tracked; 21.8% are corporately owned , led by VCA with 6 in-state locations . 78.2% of practices remain independently owned , and 16.1% are actively hiring .

Key takeaways

  • 87 veterinary practices tracked in Delaware, of which 21.8% are corporately owned.
  • 6.9% of practices in Delaware are private-equity-backed.
  • VCA (owned by Mars) leads all consolidators operating in the state with 6 locations.
  • General practices make up 82.8% of the state's practice mix.

Consolidation by city

At a glance

87
Practices tracked
78.2%
Independent
21.8%
Corporately owned
6.9%
PE-backed

16.1% of practices in Delaware are actively hiring.

Ownership breakdown in Delaware

Ownership type Practices Share
Independent 68 78.2%
PE-backed 6 6.9%
Corporate group 12 13.8%
Public company 1 1.1%
National ownership-type breakdown, stacked by share Independent: 78.2% (68 practices) PE-backed: 6.9% (6 practices) Corporate group: 13.8% (12 practices) Public company: 1.1% (1 practices) 78%7%14% Independent (78.2%) PE-backed (6.9%) Corporate group (13.8%) Public company (1.1%)

Top consolidators operating in Delaware

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) 6 31.6%
2 NVA JAB Holding Company (Strategic) 3 15.8%
3 Blue River PetCare Partners Group (Private Equity) 3 15.8%
4 Banfield Mars (Strategic) 2 10.5%
5 BluePearl Pet Hospital Mars (Strategic) 1 5.3%
6 Heart + Paw Whistler Capital Partners (Private Equity) 1 5.3%
7 CareVet Compass Group Equity Partners (Private Equity) 1 5.3%
8 VetCor Oak Hill Capital (Private Equity) 1 5.3%
9 Vetco (Petco) Petco Health and Wellness Company (Public) 1 5.3%

Practice-type mix

Type Practices Share
General 72 82.8%
Mobile 7 8.0%
Emergency 3 3.4%
Urgent Care 3 3.4%
Mixed 1 1.1%
Specialty Referral 1 1.1%

Species mix

Segment Practices Share
Small Animal 76 87.4%
Mixed 9 10.3%
Equine 2 2.3%

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Veterinary careers in Delaware

112 open veterinary jobs

Who's hiring in Delaware right now.

See jobs →

Vet tech salary

What veterinary technicians earn in Delaware.

See pay →

Frequently asked questions

How many veterinary practices are in Delaware?

As of October 2026, VetPulse tracks 87 veterinary practices in Delaware.

What percentage of veterinary practices in Delaware are corporately owned?

21.8% of veterinary practices in Delaware are corporately owned — part of a consolidator, private-equity-backed group, or public company — while 78.2% remain independent.

Who is the largest veterinary consolidator in Delaware?

VCA (owned by Mars) is the largest veterinary consolidator operating in Delaware, with 6 in-state locations.

What share of veterinary practices in Delaware are hiring?

16.1% of veterinary practices in Delaware 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 Delaware against every other state on the ownership & consolidation statistics page, or browse the rankings.