Flagship Report

The State of US Veterinary Consolidation

As of October 2026

24.5% of the 34,832 US veterinary practices VetPulse tracks across 51 states are now corporately owned. NVA (owned by JAB Holding Company) is the largest single consolidator, with 997 locations across 50 states, while 61 identified ownership groups collectively operate 8,451 locations nationwide. District of Columbia is the most consolidated state at 60.5% corporate ownership, while South Dakota remains the most independent market at just 4.8%.

34,832

Practices tracked

24.5%

Corporately owned

51

States covered

61

Ownership groups tracked

Key takeaways

  • 24.5% of practices are corporately owned nationally, out of 34,832 tracked as of October 2026.
  • NVA (owned by JAB Holding Company) leads all owners with 997 locations in 50 states.
  • District of Columbia is the most consolidated state at 60.5% corporate ownership; South Dakota is the least, at 4.8%.
  • Private-equity-backed groups account for 0.0% of all tracked practices, versus 0.0% held by other named corporate groups.
  • VetPulse tracks 61 distinct ownership groups, collectively operating 8,451 locations across the 51 states covered.
  • The gap between the most and least consolidated states is 55.7 percentage points, showing consolidation is highly regional rather than uniform.

National ownership breakdown

Ownership type Practices Share
Private group 329 0.9%
Public company 320 0.9%
Nonprofit 23 0.1%
Independent 0 0.0%
PE-backed 0 0.0%
Corporate group 0 0.0%
National ownership-type breakdown, stacked by share Private group: 0.9% (329 practices) Public company: 0.9% (320 practices) Nonprofit: 0.1% (23 practices) Independent: 0.0% (0 practices) PE-backed: 0.0% (0 practices) Corporate group: 0.0% (0 practices) Private group (0.9%) Public company (0.9%) Nonprofit (0.1%) Independent (0.0%) PE-backed (0.0%) Corporate group (0.0%)

Consolidation choropleth: % of practices corporately owned, by state

Each tile is one state, colored by the share of tracked practices that are corporately owned. Hover or focus a tile for the exact figure — every number also appears in the table on this page.

US veterinary practice consolidation by state District of Columbia: 60.5% corporately owned, 52.6% PE-backed, 38 practices tracked. Top owner: Mission Pet Health. DC 61% Massachusetts: 34.5% corporately owned, 20.8% PE-backed, 650 practices tracked. Top owner: VCA. MA 35% Arizona: 34.3% corporately owned, 17.6% PE-backed, 760 practices tracked. Top owner: NVA. AZ 34% New Hampshire: 31.3% corporately owned, 20.7% PE-backed, 217 practices tracked. Top owner: AmeriVet. NH 31% Rhode Island: 31.3% corporately owned, 20.2% PE-backed, 99 practices tracked. Top owner: NVA. RI 31% North Carolina: 30.3% corporately owned, 19.6% PE-backed, 1,257 practices tracked. Top owner: Banfield. NC 30% Utah: 30.3% corporately owned, 16.5% PE-backed, 267 practices tracked. Top owner: VCA. UT 30% Virginia: 30.2% corporately owned, 16.0% PE-backed, 1,023 practices tracked. Top owner: NVA. VA 30% Maryland: 29.8% corporately owned, 16.7% PE-backed, 587 practices tracked. Top owner: Banfield. MD 30% Colorado: 29.2% corporately owned, 16.6% PE-backed, 954 practices tracked. Top owner: NVA. CO 29% Texas: 29.0% corporately owned, 17.2% PE-backed, 2,842 practices tracked. Top owner: Banfield. TX 29% Illinois: 28.9% corporately owned, 17.6% PE-backed, 1,161 practices tracked. Top owner: NVA. IL 29% Washington: 28.5% corporately owned, 14.0% PE-backed, 881 practices tracked. Top owner: NVA. WA 29% Nevada: 27.8% corporately owned, 10.9% PE-backed, 248 practices tracked. Top owner: VCA. NV 28% New York: 27.7% corporately owned, 18.0% PE-backed, 1,492 practices tracked. Top owner: NVA. NY 28% California: 27.3% corporately owned, 11.5% PE-backed, 3,283 practices tracked. Top owner: VCA. CA 27% Connecticut: 27.3% corporately owned, 19.1% PE-backed, 377 practices tracked. Top owner: VCA. CT 27% New Jersey: 27.0% corporately owned, 14.7% PE-backed, 727 practices tracked. Top owner: Banfield. NJ 27% Georgia: 26.7% corporately owned, 18.0% PE-backed, 1,116 practices tracked. Top owner: Mission Pet Health. GA 27% Oregon: 26.2% corporately owned, 11.0% PE-backed, 581 practices tracked. Top owner: Banfield. OR 26% Maine: 26.0% corporately owned, 24.0% PE-backed, 208 practices tracked. Top owner: Rarebreed Veterinary Partners. ME 26% Alaska: 25.0% corporately owned, 4.8% PE-backed, 84 practices tracked. Top owner: NVA. AK 25% Florida: 24.8% corporately owned, 13.6% PE-backed, 2,609 practices tracked. Top owner: Banfield. FL 25% Minnesota: 24.4% corporately owned, 13.2% PE-backed, 628 practices tracked. Top owner: Heartland Veterinary Partners. MN 24% Tennessee: 23.6% corporately owned, 15.8% PE-backed, 802 practices tracked. Top owner: PetVet Care Centers. TN 24% South Carolina: 23.4% corporately owned, 16.3% PE-backed, 612 practices tracked. Top owner: Mission Pet Health. SC 23% Delaware: 21.8% corporately owned, 6.9% PE-backed, 87 practices tracked. Top owner: VCA. DE 22% Wisconsin: 20.7% corporately owned, 14.7% PE-backed, 726 practices tracked. Top owner: Mission Pet Health. WI 21% Pennsylvania: 20.6% corporately owned, 11.3% PE-backed, 1,293 practices tracked. Top owner: NVA. PA 21% Ohio: 20.3% corporately owned, 12.4% PE-backed, 1,195 practices tracked. Top owner: Banfield. OH 20% Louisiana: 20.0% corporately owned, 11.0% PE-backed, 491 practices tracked. Top owner: NVA. LA 20% Missouri: 19.9% corporately owned, 13.2% PE-backed, 745 practices tracked. Top owner: CareVet. MO 20% Indiana: 19.7% corporately owned, 11.0% PE-backed, 674 practices tracked. Top owner: NVA. IN 20% New Mexico: 18.8% corporately owned, 10.3% PE-backed, 213 practices tracked. Top owner: Thrive Pet Healthcare. NM 19% Michigan: 18.0% corporately owned, 10.3% PE-backed, 1,013 practices tracked. Top owner: Mission Pet Health. MI 18% Vermont: 17.9% corporately owned, 13.0% PE-backed, 123 practices tracked. Top owner: AmeriVet. VT 18% Idaho: 17.8% corporately owned, 12.3% PE-backed, 236 practices tracked. Top owner: Mission Pet Health. ID 18% Arkansas: 17.1% corporately owned, 15.0% PE-backed, 340 practices tracked. Top owner: Alliance Animal Health. AR 17% Kansas: 16.6% corporately owned, 10.6% PE-backed, 481 practices tracked. Top owner: Mission Pet Health. KS 17% West Virginia: 15.9% corporately owned, 10.6% PE-backed, 170 practices tracked. Top owner: Alliance Animal Health. WV 16% Oklahoma: 15.8% corporately owned, 8.8% PE-backed, 589 practices tracked. Top owner: Banfield. OK 16% Hawaii: 14.5% corporately owned, 6.5% PE-backed, 124 practices tracked. Top owner: VCA. HI 15% Mississippi: 14.2% corporately owned, 10.8% PE-backed, 295 practices tracked. Top owner: Alliance Animal Health. MS 14% Nebraska: 14.1% corporately owned, 10.7% PE-backed, 326 practices tracked. Top owner: Alliance Animal Health. NE 14% Alabama: 13.7% corporately owned, 8.9% PE-backed, 571 practices tracked. Top owner: Banfield. AL 14% Kentucky: 12.9% corporately owned, 9.1% PE-backed, 527 practices tracked. Top owner: Banfield. KY 13% Iowa: 12.5% corporately owned, 8.0% PE-backed, 489 practices tracked. Top owner: NVA. IA 13% Montana: 9.3% corporately owned, 4.9% PE-backed, 246 practices tracked. Top owner: NVA. MT 9% Wyoming: 8.7% corporately owned, 7.0% PE-backed, 115 practices tracked. Top owner: PetVet Care Centers. WY 9% North Dakota: 5.3% corporately owned, 3.2% PE-backed, 94 practices tracked. Top owner: CareVet. ND 5% South Dakota: 4.8% corporately owned, 1.2% PE-backed, 166 practices tracked. Top owner: NVA. SD 5%
% corporately owned: 4.8% 32.6% 60.5%

District of Columbia is the most corporatized state in the country, with 60.5% of its 38 tracked practices under corporate ownership , led locally by Mission Pet Health. At the other end, South Dakota remains the most independent market, at just 4.8% corporately owned. See every state ranked on most corporatized states and most independent states.

Largest consolidators: top owners by locations

Ranked by total US locations. See the full list on the owners directory.

# Group Ultimate owner Locations States
1 NVA JAB Holding Company (Strategic) 997 50
2 Banfield Mars (Strategic) 981 43
3 VCA Mars (Strategic) 833 47
4 Mission Pet Health Shore Capital Partners / Silver Lake (Private Equity) 713 41
5 PetVet Care Centers KKR (Private Equity) 422 39
6 VetCor Oak Hill Capital (Private Equity) 401 41
7 Thrive Pet Healthcare TSG Consumer Partners (Private Equity) 325 36
8 Heartland Veterinary Partners Gryphon Investors (Private Equity) 290 31
9 Vetco (Petco) Petco Health and Wellness Company (Public) 282 36
10 Alliance Animal Health L Catterton (Private Equity) 254 29
11 Western Veterinary Partners Tyree & D'Angelo Partners (Private Equity) 254 38
12 Blue River PetCare Partners Group (Private Equity) 215 40
13 AmeriVet AEA Investors / ADIA (Private Equity) 206 36
14 CareVet Compass Group Equity Partners (Private Equity) 204 38
15 Veterinary Practice Partners Audax Private Equity (Private Equity) 194 35
Top veterinary consolidators by number of locations NVA NVA: 997 locations 997 Banfield Banfield: 981 locations 981 VCA VCA: 833 locations 833 Mission Pet Health Mission Pet Health: 713 locations 713 PetVet Care Centers PetVet Care Centers: 422 locations 422 VetCor VetCor: 401 locations 401 Thrive Pet Healthcare Thrive Pet Healthcare: 325 locations 325 Heartland Veterinary … Heartland Veterinary Partners: 290 locations 290 Vetco (Petco) Vetco (Petco): 282 locations 282 Alliance Animal Health Alliance Animal Health: 254 locations 254 Western Veterinary Pa… Western Veterinary Partners: 254 locations 254 Blue River PetCare Blue River PetCare: 215 locations 215 AmeriVet AmeriVet: 206 locations 206 CareVet CareVet: 204 locations 204 Veterinary Practice P… Veterinary Practice Partners: 194 locations 194

Frequently asked questions

What share of US veterinary practices are corporately owned?

As of October 2026, 24.5% of the 34,832 US veterinary practices VetPulse tracks are corporately owned — part of a private-equity-backed group, corporate group, nonprofit network, or public company — rather than independent.

Who owns the most veterinary practices in the US?

NVA — owned by JAB Holding Company is the largest veterinary consolidator VetPulse tracks, with 997 locations across 50 states.

Which US state has the most consolidated veterinary market?

District of Columbia has the highest share of corporately owned veterinary practices, at 60.5%, out of 38 practices tracked in the state.

Which US state has the most independent veterinary practices?

South Dakota has the most independent veterinary market, with only 4.8% of its 166 tracked practices under corporate ownership.

How much of the veterinary industry is backed by private equity?

Private-equity-backed groups account for 0.0% of the 34,832 US practices tracked, compared with 0.0% held by other named corporate groups.

How is veterinary practice ownership determined in this report?

We triangulate ownership signals across multiple independent sources — a practice’s own site, public brand and group pages, state business filings, and press coverage of acquisitions — and only publish a claim once two or more sources agree. See the methodology page for full detail on confidence labels and refresh cadence.

Every figure above is queried live from our practice-level dataset as of October 2026 — see the methodology for how ownership is triangulated from multiple independent sources. Explore the full statistics hub, browse state rankings, the owners directory, or the full practice directory.