Flagship Report

The State of US Veterinary Consolidation

As of July 2026

25% of the 34,659 US veterinary practices VetPulse tracks across 51 states are now corporately owned. National Veterinary Associates (owned by JAB Holding Company) is the largest single consolidator, with 957 locations across 50 states, while 62 identified ownership groups collectively operate 8,612 locations nationwide. District of Columbia is the most consolidated state at 45.9% corporate ownership, while South Dakota remains the most independent market at just 4.7%.

34,659

Practices tracked

25%

Corporately owned

51

States covered

62

Ownership groups tracked

Key takeaways

  • 25% of practices are corporately owned nationally, out of 34,659 tracked as of July 2026.
  • National Veterinary Associates (owned by JAB Holding Company) leads all owners with 957 locations in 50 states.
  • District of Columbia is the most consolidated state at 45.9% corporate ownership; South Dakota is the least, at 4.7%.
  • Private-equity-backed groups account for 17.0% of all tracked practices, versus 7.5% held by other named corporate groups.
  • VetPulse tracks 62 distinct ownership groups, collectively operating 8,612 locations across the 51 states covered.
  • The gap between the most and least consolidated states is 41.2 percentage points, showing consolidation is highly regional rather than uniform.

National ownership breakdown

Ownership type Practices Share
Independent 25,996 75.0%
PE-backed 5,898 17.0%
Corporate group 2,595 7.5%
Nonprofit 20 0.1%
Public company 11 0.0%
National ownership-type breakdown, stacked by share Independent: 75.0% (25,996 practices) PE-backed: 17.0% (5,898 practices) Corporate group: 7.5% (2,595 practices) Nonprofit: 0.1% (20 practices) Public company: 0.0% (11 practices) 75%17%7% Independent (75.0%) PE-backed (17.0%) Corporate group (7.5%) Nonprofit (0.1%) Public company (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: 45.9% corporately owned, 40.5% PE-backed, 37 practices tracked. Top owner: Mission Pet Health. DC 46% Massachusetts: 36.6% corporately owned, 23.6% PE-backed, 656 practices tracked. Top owner: VCA. MA 37% Rhode Island: 36.3% corporately owned, 26.5% PE-backed, 102 practices tracked. Top owner: VetCor. RI 36% New Hampshire: 33.9% corporately owned, 27.5% PE-backed, 218 practices tracked. Top owner: VetCor. NH 34% Maine: 33.2% corporately owned, 29.9% PE-backed, 214 practices tracked. Top owner: Rarebreed Veterinary Partners. ME 33% Arizona: 32.9% corporately owned, 22.6% PE-backed, 753 practices tracked. Top owner: National Veterinary Associates. AZ 33% Utah: 31.2% corporately owned, 19.0% PE-backed, 263 practices tracked. Top owner: VCA. UT 31% Maryland: 30.7% corporately owned, 20.6% PE-backed, 593 practices tracked. Top owner: Banfield. MD 31% Connecticut: 30.6% corporately owned, 20.5% PE-backed, 386 practices tracked. Top owner: VCA. CT 31% New Jersey: 30.3% corporately owned, 19.2% PE-backed, 743 practices tracked. Top owner: VetCor. NJ 30% Washington: 29.7% corporately owned, 19.7% PE-backed, 879 practices tracked. Top owner: National Veterinary Associates. WA 30% Illinois: 29.6% corporately owned, 21.5% PE-backed, 1,179 practices tracked. Top owner: National Veterinary Associates. IL 30% Texas: 29.6% corporately owned, 20.7% PE-backed, 2,813 practices tracked. Top owner: Mission Pet Health. TX 30% Virginia: 29.5% corporately owned, 20.9% PE-backed, 1,016 practices tracked. Top owner: National Veterinary Associates. VA 30% Colorado: 29.4% corporately owned, 20.8% PE-backed, 908 practices tracked. Top owner: Mission Pet Health. CO 29% North Carolina: 29.1% corporately owned, 20.2% PE-backed, 1,239 practices tracked. Top owner: Mission Pet Health. NC 29% New York: 28.8% corporately owned, 20.7% PE-backed, 1,508 practices tracked. Top owner: National Veterinary Associates. NY 29% California: 28.4% corporately owned, 13.9% PE-backed, 3,228 practices tracked. Top owner: VCA. CA 28% Oregon: 27.8% corporately owned, 16.5% PE-backed, 583 practices tracked. Top owner: Banfield. OR 28% Alaska: 26.7% corporately owned, 16.3% PE-backed, 86 practices tracked. Top owner: VCA. AK 27% Nevada: 26.6% corporately owned, 12.1% PE-backed, 248 practices tracked. Top owner: VCA. NV 27% Georgia: 26.4% corporately owned, 19.6% PE-backed, 1,123 practices tracked. Top owner: Mission Pet Health. GA 26% Florida: 24.9% corporately owned, 15.9% PE-backed, 2,492 practices tracked. Top owner: Banfield. FL 25% Tennessee: 24.9% corporately owned, 20.2% PE-backed, 791 practices tracked. Top owner: PetVet Care Centers. TN 25% Wisconsin: 24.8% corporately owned, 20.5% PE-backed, 731 practices tracked. Top owner: VetCor. WI 25% Minnesota: 24.7% corporately owned, 17.5% PE-backed, 627 practices tracked. Top owner: Banfield. MN 25% Delaware: 24.4% corporately owned, 11.1% PE-backed, 90 practices tracked. Top owner: VCA. DE 24% South Carolina: 22.1% corporately owned, 16.4% PE-backed, 603 practices tracked. Top owner: Mission Pet Health. SC 22% Ohio: 22.0% corporately owned, 15.7% PE-backed, 1,198 practices tracked. Top owner: VetCor. OH 22% Missouri: 21.1% corporately owned, 15.9% PE-backed, 753 practices tracked. Top owner: CareVet. MO 21% Vermont: 20.0% corporately owned, 17.5% PE-backed, 120 practices tracked. Top owner: VetCor. VT 20% Indiana: 19.9% corporately owned, 14.0% PE-backed, 688 practices tracked. Top owner: VetCor. IN 20% Michigan: 19.6% corporately owned, 13.6% PE-backed, 1,008 practices tracked. Top owner: Mission Pet Health. MI 20% Pennsylvania: 19.5% corporately owned, 11.6% PE-backed, 1,316 practices tracked. Top owner: National Veterinary Associates. PA 20% Louisiana: 18.8% corporately owned, 13.5% PE-backed, 490 practices tracked. Top owner: National Veterinary Associates. LA 19% New Mexico: 18.0% corporately owned, 12.3% PE-backed, 211 practices tracked. Top owner: Thrive Pet Healthcare. NM 18% Idaho: 17.6% corporately owned, 13.0% PE-backed, 238 practices tracked. Top owner: Mission Pet Health. ID 18% Hawaii: 16.9% corporately owned, 10.5% PE-backed, 124 practices tracked. Top owner: VetCor. HI 17% Alabama: 15.3% corporately owned, 12.2% PE-backed, 574 practices tracked. Top owner: Mission Pet Health. AL 15% Oklahoma: 14.5% corporately owned, 10.0% PE-backed, 580 practices tracked. Top owner: Banfield. OK 15% Kansas: 14.4% corporately owned, 10.8% PE-backed, 472 practices tracked. Top owner: Mission Pet Health. KS 14% Arkansas: 14.2% corporately owned, 13.0% PE-backed, 345 practices tracked. Top owner: CareVet. AR 14% Mississippi: 12.8% corporately owned, 12.1% PE-backed, 298 practices tracked. Top owner: National Veterinary Associates. MS 13% West Virginia: 12.6% corporately owned, 10.9% PE-backed, 174 practices tracked. Top owner: National Veterinary Associates. WV 13% Kentucky: 12.6% corporately owned, 10.1% PE-backed, 516 practices tracked. Top owner: United Veterinary Care. KY 13% Iowa: 12.4% corporately owned, 10.8% PE-backed, 493 practices tracked. Top owner: National Veterinary Associates. IA 12% Nebraska: 12.4% corporately owned, 9.1% PE-backed, 330 practices tracked. Top owner: Blue River PetCare. NE 12% Montana: 9.0% corporately owned, 8.2% PE-backed, 245 practices tracked. Top owner: National Veterinary Associates. MT 9% Wyoming: 7.9% corporately owned, 7.0% PE-backed, 114 practices tracked. Top owner: PetVet Care Centers. WY 8% North Dakota: 5.3% corporately owned, 5.3% PE-backed, 94 practices tracked. Top owner: National Veterinary Associates. ND 5% South Dakota: 4.7% corporately owned, 4.7% PE-backed, 169 practices tracked. Top owner: National Veterinary Associates. SD 5%
% corporately owned: 4.7% 25.3% 45.9%

District of Columbia is the most corporatized state in the country, with 45.9% of its 37 tracked practices under corporate ownership , led locally by Mission Pet Health. At the other end, South Dakota remains the most independent market, at just 4.7% 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 National Veterinary Associates JAB Holding Company (Strategic) 957 50
2 Banfield Mars (Strategic) 932 43
3 VCA Mars (Strategic) 843 47
4 VetCor Harvest Partners (Strategic) 801 43
5 Mission Pet Health Shore Capital Partners 713 42
6 Vetco (Petco) Petco (Public) 681 44
7 PetVet Care Centers KKR (Strategic) 409 39
8 Thrive Pet Healthcare TSG Consumer Partners (Strategic) 318 36
9 Heartland Veterinary Partners Gryphon Investors 296 31
10 Western Veterinary Partners Tyree & D'Angelo Partners 211 37
11 Blue River PetCare Partners Group 209 40
12 CareVet Compass Group Equity Partners (Private Equity) 204 38
13 American Veterinary Group Oak Hill Capital 184 31
14 AmeriVet AEA Investors LP 164 35
15 Alliance Animal Health LightBay & L Catterton 142 27
Top veterinary consolidators by number of locations National Veterinary A… National Veterinary Associates: 957 locations 957 Banfield Banfield: 932 locations 932 VCA VCA: 843 locations 843 VetCor VetCor: 801 locations 801 Mission Pet Health Mission Pet Health: 713 locations 713 Vetco (Petco) Vetco (Petco): 681 locations 681 PetVet Care Centers PetVet Care Centers: 409 locations 409 Thrive Pet Healthcare Thrive Pet Healthcare: 318 locations 318 Heartland Veterinary … Heartland Veterinary Partners: 296 locations 296 Western Veterinary Pa… Western Veterinary Partners: 211 locations 211 Blue River PetCare Blue River PetCare: 209 locations 209 CareVet CareVet: 204 locations 204 American Veterinary G… American Veterinary Group: 184 locations 184 AmeriVet AmeriVet: 164 locations 164 Alliance Animal Health Alliance Animal Health: 142 locations 142

Frequently asked questions

What share of US veterinary practices are corporately owned?

As of July 2026, 25% of the 34,659 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?

National Veterinary Associates — owned by JAB Holding Company is the largest veterinary consolidator VetPulse tracks, with 957 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 45.9%, out of 37 practices tracked in the state.

Which US state has the most independent veterinary practices?

South Dakota has the most independent veterinary market, with only 4.7% of its 169 tracked practices under corporate ownership.

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

Private-equity-backed groups account for 17.0% of the 34,659 US practices tracked, compared with 7.5% 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 July 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.