State report

State of Vet Care in Massachusetts

As of October 2026, Massachusetts has 650 veterinary practices tracked; 34.5% are corporately owned , led by VCA with 33 in-state locations . 65.5% of practices remain independently owned , and 13.5% are actively hiring .

Key takeaways

  • 650 veterinary practices tracked in Massachusetts, of which 34.5% are corporately owned.
  • 20.8% of practices in Massachusetts are private-equity-backed.
  • VCA (owned by Mars) leads all consolidators operating in the state with 33 locations.
  • General practices make up 80.9% of the state's practice mix.

Consolidation by city

At a glance

650
Practices tracked
65.5%
Independent
34.5%
Corporately owned
20.8%
PE-backed

13.5% of practices in Massachusetts are actively hiring.

Ownership breakdown in Massachusetts

Ownership type Practices Share
Independent 426 65.5%
PE-backed 135 20.8%
Corporate group 77 11.8%
Private group 2 0.3%
Public company 10 1.5%
National ownership-type breakdown, stacked by share Independent: 65.5% (426 practices) PE-backed: 20.8% (135 practices) Corporate group: 11.8% (77 practices) Private group: 0.3% (2 practices) Public company: 1.5% (10 practices) 66%21%12% Independent (65.5%) PE-backed (20.8%) Corporate group (11.8%) Private group (0.3%) Public company (1.5%)

Top consolidators operating in Massachusetts

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) 33 14.9%
2 Rarebreed Veterinary Partners Revelstoke Capital Partners (Private Equity) 21 9.5%
3 Banfield Mars (Strategic) 21 9.5%
4 Mission Pet Health Shore Capital Partners / Silver Lake (Private Equity) 20 9.0%
5 NVA JAB Holding Company (Strategic) 18 8.1%
6 Thrive Pet Healthcare TSG Consumer Partners (Private Equity) 14 6.3%
7 VetCor Oak Hill Capital (Private Equity) 14 6.3%
8 AmeriVet AEA Investors / ADIA (Private Equity) 13 5.9%
9 United Veterinary Care Nordic Capital (Private Equity) 9 4.1%
10 Vetco (Petco) Petco Health and Wellness Company (Public) 9 4.1%

Practice-type mix

Type Practices Share
General 526 80.9%
Mobile 53 8.2%
Specialty Referral 31 4.8%
Urgent Care 22 3.4%
Emergency 17 2.6%
Mixed 1 0.2%

Species mix

Segment Practices Share
Small Animal 592 91.1%
Mixed 33 5.1%
Equine 17 2.6%
Exotic 6 0.9%
Other 2 0.3%

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Veterinary careers in Massachusetts

450 open veterinary jobs

Who's hiring in Massachusetts right now.

See jobs →

Veterinarian salary

What veterinarians earn in Massachusetts.

See pay →

Vet tech salary

What veterinary technicians earn in Massachusetts.

See pay →

Frequently asked questions

How many veterinary practices are in Massachusetts?

As of October 2026, VetPulse tracks 650 veterinary practices in Massachusetts.

What percentage of veterinary practices in Massachusetts are corporately owned?

34.5% of veterinary practices in Massachusetts are corporately owned — part of a consolidator, private-equity-backed group, or public company — while 65.5% remain independent.

Who is the largest veterinary consolidator in Massachusetts?

VCA (owned by Mars) is the largest veterinary consolidator operating in Massachusetts, with 33 in-state locations.

What share of veterinary practices in Massachusetts are hiring?

13.5% of veterinary practices in Massachusetts 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 Massachusetts against every other state on the ownership & consolidation statistics page, or browse the rankings.