State report

State of Vet Care in Missouri

As of July 2026, Missouri has 753 veterinary practices tracked; 21.1% are corporately owned , led by CareVet with 19 in-state locations . 78.9% of practices remain independently owned , and 6.5% are actively hiring .

Key takeaways

  • 753 veterinary practices tracked in Missouri, of which 21.1% are corporately owned.
  • 15.9% of practices in Missouri are private-equity-backed.
  • CareVet leads all consolidators operating in the state with 19 locations.
  • General practices make up 87.5% of the state's practice mix.

Consolidation by city

At a glance

753
Practices tracked
78.9%
Independent
21.1%
Corporately owned
15.9%
PE-backed

6.5% of practices in Missouri are actively hiring.

Ownership breakdown in Missouri

Ownership type Practices Share
Independent 594 78.9%
PE-backed 120 15.9%
Corporate group 37 4.9%
Nonprofit 1 0.1%
National ownership-type breakdown, stacked by share Independent: 78.9% (594 practices) PE-backed: 15.9% (120 practices) Corporate group: 4.9% (37 practices) Nonprofit: 0.1% (1 practices) 79%16% Independent (78.9%) PE-backed (15.9%) Corporate group (4.9%) Nonprofit (0.1%)

Top consolidators operating in Missouri

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 CareVet — 19 12.0%
2 Banfield — 18 11.4%
3 Heartland Veterinary Partners — 17 10.8%
4 VetCor — 16 10.1%
5 National Veterinary Associates — 15 9.5%
6 Vetco (Petco) — 13 8.2%
7 Mission Pet Health — 13 8.2%
8 Alliance Animal Health — 8 5.1%
9 Blue River PetCare — 8 5.1%
10 Veterinary Practice Partners — 6 3.8%

Practice-type mix

Type Practices Share
General 659 87.5%
Mixed 32 4.2%
Mobile 21 2.8%
Specialty Referral 19 2.5%
Emergency 12 1.6%
Urgent Care 10 1.3%

Species mix

Segment Practices Share
Small Animal 534 70.9%
Mixed 197 26.2%
Equine 13 1.7%
Exotic 5 0.7%
Food Animal 2 0.3%
Avian 1 0.1%
Other 1 0.1%

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Frequently asked questions

How many veterinary practices are in Missouri?

As of July 2026, VetPulse tracks 753 veterinary practices in Missouri.

What percentage of veterinary practices in Missouri are corporately owned?

21.1% of veterinary practices in Missouri are corporately owned — part of a consolidator, private-equity-backed group, or public company — while 78.9% remain independent.

Who is the largest veterinary consolidator in Missouri?

CareVet is the largest veterinary consolidator operating in Missouri, with 19 in-state locations.

What share of veterinary practices in Missouri are hiring?

6.5% of veterinary practices in Missouri 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 Missouri against every other state on the ownership & consolidation statistics page, or browse the rankings.