State report

State of Vet Care in Missouri

As of October 2026, Missouri has 745 veterinary practices tracked; 19.9% are corporately owned , led by CareVet with 20 in-state locations . 80.1% of practices remain independently owned , and 7.2% are actively hiring .

Key takeaways

  • 745 veterinary practices tracked in Missouri, of which 19.9% are corporately owned.
  • 13.2% of practices in Missouri are private-equity-backed.
  • CareVet (owned by Compass Group Equity Partners) leads all consolidators operating in the state with 20 locations.
  • General practices make up 87.0% of the state's practice mix.

Consolidation by city

At a glance

745
Practices tracked
80.1%
Independent
19.9%
Corporately owned
13.2%
PE-backed

7.2% of practices in Missouri are actively hiring.

Ownership breakdown in Missouri

Ownership type Practices Share
Independent 597 80.1%
PE-backed 98 13.2%
Corporate group 39 5.2%
Private group 2 0.3%
Nonprofit 1 0.1%
Public company 8 1.1%
National ownership-type breakdown, stacked by share Independent: 80.1% (597 practices) PE-backed: 13.2% (98 practices) Corporate group: 5.2% (39 practices) Private group: 0.3% (2 practices) Nonprofit: 0.1% (1 practices) Public company: 1.1% (8 practices) 80%13% Independent (80.1%) PE-backed (13.2%) Corporate group (5.2%) Private group (0.3%) Nonprofit (0.1%) Public company (1.1%)

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 Compass Group Equity Partners (Private Equity) 20 13.6%
2 Heartland Veterinary Partners Gryphon Investors (Private Equity) 18 12.2%
3 Banfield Mars (Strategic) 18 12.2%
4 NVA JAB Holding Company (Strategic) 16 10.9%
5 Mission Pet Health Shore Capital Partners / Silver Lake (Private Equity) 11 7.5%
6 Veterinary Practice Partners Audax Private Equity (Private Equity) 11 7.5%
7 Alliance Animal Health L Catterton (Private Equity) 8 5.4%
8 Blue River PetCare Partners Group (Private Equity) 8 5.4%
9 Vetco (Petco) Petco Health and Wellness Company (Public) 7 4.8%
10 VetCor Oak Hill Capital (Private Equity) 4 2.7%

Practice-type mix

Type Practices Share
General 648 87.0%
Mixed 32 4.3%
Mobile 23 3.1%
Specialty Referral 19 2.6%
Emergency 12 1.6%
Urgent Care 11 1.5%

Species mix

Segment Practices Share
Small Animal 526 70.6%
Mixed 191 25.6%
Equine 15 2.0%
Exotic 5 0.7%
Food Animal 4 0.5%
Unspecified 2 0.3%
Avian 1 0.1%
Other 1 0.1%

Browse by city

Veterinary careers in Missouri

634 open veterinary jobs

Who's hiring in Missouri right now.

See jobs →

Veterinarian salary

What veterinarians earn in Missouri.

See pay →

Vet tech salary

What veterinary technicians earn in Missouri.

See pay →

Frequently asked questions

How many veterinary practices are in Missouri?

As of October 2026, VetPulse tracks 745 veterinary practices in Missouri.

What percentage of veterinary practices in Missouri are corporately owned?

19.9% of veterinary practices in Missouri are corporately owned — part of a consolidator, private-equity-backed group, or public company — while 80.1% remain independent.

Who is the largest veterinary consolidator in Missouri?

CareVet (owned by Compass Group Equity Partners) is the largest veterinary consolidator operating in Missouri, with 20 in-state locations.

What share of veterinary practices in Missouri are hiring?

7.2% 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.