State report

State of Vet Care in South Carolina

As of July 2026, South Carolina has 603 veterinary practices tracked; 22.1% are corporately owned , led by Mission Pet Health with 26 in-state locations . 77.9% of practices remain independently owned , and 11.3% are actively hiring .

Key takeaways

  • 603 veterinary practices tracked in South Carolina, of which 22.1% are corporately owned.
  • 16.4% of practices in South Carolina are private-equity-backed.
  • Mission Pet Health (owned by Shore Capital Partners) leads all consolidators operating in the state with 26 locations.
  • General practices make up 84.1% of the state's practice mix.

Consolidation by city

At a glance

603
Practices tracked
77.9%
Independent
22.1%
Corporately owned
16.4%
PE-backed

11.3% of practices in South Carolina are actively hiring.

Ownership breakdown in South Carolina

Ownership type Practices Share
Independent 470 77.9%
PE-backed 99 16.4%
Corporate group 34 5.6%
National ownership-type breakdown, stacked by share Independent: 77.9% (470 practices) PE-backed: 16.4% (99 practices) Corporate group: 5.6% (34 practices) 78%16% Independent (77.9%) PE-backed (16.4%) Corporate group (5.6%)

Top consolidators operating in South Carolina

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 Mission Pet Health Shore Capital Partners 26 19.5%
2 Banfield Mars (Strategic) 20 15.0%
3 VetCor Harvest Partners (Strategic) 12 9.0%
4 National Veterinary Associates JAB Holding Company (Strategic) 11 8.3%
5 Vetco (Petco) Petco (Public) 7 5.3%
6 Veterinary Practice Partners Audax Private Equity 7 5.3%
7 Western Veterinary Partners Tyree & D'Angelo Partners 6 4.5%
8 VCA Mars (Strategic) 5 3.8%
9 American Veterinary Group Oak Hill Capital 5 3.8%
10 Thrive Pet Healthcare TSG Consumer Partners (Strategic) 4 3.0%

Practice-type mix

Type Practices Share
General 507 84.1%
Mobile 36 6.0%
Specialty Referral 26 4.3%
Urgent Care 16 2.7%
Emergency 11 1.8%
Mixed 7 1.2%

Species mix

Segment Practices Share
Small Animal 536 88.9%
Mixed 53 8.8%
Equine 13 2.2%
Exotic 1 0.2%

Browse by city

Frequently asked questions

How many veterinary practices are in South Carolina?

As of July 2026, VetPulse tracks 603 veterinary practices in South Carolina.

What percentage of veterinary practices in South Carolina are corporately owned?

22.1% of veterinary practices in South Carolina are corporately owned — part of a consolidator, private-equity-backed group, or public company — while 77.9% remain independent.

Who is the largest veterinary consolidator in South Carolina?

Mission Pet Health (owned by Shore Capital Partners) is the largest veterinary consolidator operating in South Carolina, with 26 in-state locations.

What share of veterinary practices in South Carolina are hiring?

11.3% of veterinary practices in South Carolina 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 South Carolina against every other state on the ownership & consolidation statistics page, or browse the rankings.