State report

State of Vet Care in Delaware

As of July 2026, Delaware has 90 veterinary practices tracked; 24.4% are corporately owned , led by VCA with 6 in-state locations . 75.6% of practices remain independently owned , and 15.6% are actively hiring .

Key takeaways

  • 90 veterinary practices tracked in Delaware, of which 24.4% are corporately owned.
  • 11.1% of practices in Delaware are private-equity-backed.
  • VCA leads all consolidators operating in the state with 6 locations.
  • General practices make up 82.2% of the state's practice mix.

Consolidation by city

At a glance

90
Practices tracked
75.6%
Independent
24.4%
Corporately owned
11.1%
PE-backed

15.6% of practices in Delaware are actively hiring.

Ownership breakdown in Delaware

Ownership type Practices Share
Independent 68 75.6%
PE-backed 10 11.1%
Corporate group 12 13.3%
National ownership-type breakdown, stacked by share Independent: 75.6% (68 practices) PE-backed: 11.1% (10 practices) Corporate group: 13.3% (12 practices) 76%11%13% Independent (75.6%) PE-backed (11.1%) Corporate group (13.3%)

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 — 6 27.3%
2 National Veterinary Associates — 3 13.6%
3 Vetco (Petco) — 3 13.6%
4 Blue River PetCare — 3 13.6%
5 Banfield — 2 9.1%
6 VetCor — 2 9.1%
7 CareVet — 1 4.5%
8 Heart + Paw — 1 4.5%
9 BluePearl Pet Hospital — 1 4.5%

Practice-type mix

Type Practices Share
General 74 82.2%
Mobile 8 8.9%
Emergency 3 3.3%
Urgent Care 3 3.3%
Mixed 1 1.1%
Specialty Referral 1 1.1%

Species mix

Segment Practices Share
Small Animal 79 87.8%
Mixed 9 10.0%
Equine 2 2.2%

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Frequently asked questions

How many veterinary practices are in Delaware?

As of July 2026, VetPulse tracks 90 veterinary practices in Delaware.

What percentage of veterinary practices in Delaware are corporately owned?

24.4% of veterinary practices in Delaware are corporately owned — part of a consolidator, private-equity-backed group, or public company — while 75.6% remain independent.

Who is the largest veterinary consolidator in Delaware?

VCA is the largest veterinary consolidator operating in Delaware, with 6 in-state locations.

What share of veterinary practices in Delaware are hiring?

15.6% 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.