Flagship Report

The State of US Veterinary Consolidation

As of August 2026

21.6% of the 34,813 US veterinary practices VetPulse tracks across 51 states are now corporately owned. Banfield (owned by Mars) is the largest single consolidator, with 932 locations across 43 states, while 65 identified ownership groups collectively operate 8,382 locations nationwide. District of Columbia is the most consolidated state at 34.2% corporate ownership, while South Dakota remains the most independent market at just 4.7%.

34,813

Practices tracked

21.6%

Corporately owned

51

States covered

65

Ownership groups tracked

Key takeaways

  • 21.6% of practices are corporately owned nationally, out of 34,813 tracked as of August 2026.
  • Banfield (owned by Mars) leads all owners with 932 locations in 43 states.
  • District of Columbia is the most consolidated state at 34.2% corporate ownership; South Dakota is the least, at 4.7%.
  • Private-equity-backed groups account for 13.7% of all tracked practices, versus 7.5% held by other named corporate groups.
  • VetPulse tracks 65 distinct ownership groups, collectively operating 8,382 locations across the 51 states covered.
  • The gap between the most and least consolidated states is 29.5 percentage points, showing consolidation is highly regional rather than uniform.

National ownership breakdown

Ownership type Practices Share
Independent 27,301 78.4%
PE-backed 4,784 13.7%
Corporate group 2,597 7.5%
Nonprofit 20 0.1%
Public company 11 0.0%
National ownership-type breakdown, stacked by share Independent: 78.4% (27,301 practices) PE-backed: 13.7% (4,784 practices) Corporate group: 7.5% (2,597 practices) Nonprofit: 0.1% (20 practices) Public company: 0.0% (11 practices) 78%14%7% Independent (78.4%) PE-backed (13.7%) 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: 34.2% corporately owned, 28.9% PE-backed, 38 practices tracked. Top owner: Mission Pet Health. DC 34% Massachusetts: 31.8% corporately owned, 18.9% PE-backed, 661 practices tracked. Top owner: VCA. MA 32% Arizona: 30.0% corporately owned, 19.8% PE-backed, 753 practices tracked. Top owner: NVA. AZ 30% Rhode Island: 29.4% corporately owned, 19.6% PE-backed, 102 practices tracked. Top owner: Vetco (Petco). RI 29% Washington: 27.8% corporately owned, 17.9% PE-backed, 882 practices tracked. Top owner: NVA. WA 28% New York: 27.3% corporately owned, 19.2% PE-backed, 1,515 practices tracked. Top owner: NVA. NY 27% Connecticut: 26.9% corporately owned, 17.1% PE-backed, 387 practices tracked. Top owner: VCA. CT 27% New Jersey: 26.8% corporately owned, 15.8% PE-backed, 745 practices tracked. Top owner: Banfield. NJ 27% Alaska: 26.7% corporately owned, 16.3% PE-backed, 86 practices tracked. Top owner: NVA. AK 27% New Hampshire: 26.6% corporately owned, 20.2% PE-backed, 218 practices tracked. Top owner: AmeriVet. NH 27% California: 26.3% corporately owned, 12.0% PE-backed, 3,243 practices tracked. Top owner: VCA. CA 26% Utah: 26.2% corporately owned, 14.8% PE-backed, 263 practices tracked. Top owner: VCA. UT 26% Maine: 26.2% corporately owned, 22.9% PE-backed, 214 practices tracked. Top owner: Rarebreed Veterinary Partners. ME 26% Maryland: 25.6% corporately owned, 15.6% PE-backed, 598 practices tracked. Top owner: Banfield. MD 26% Colorado: 25.4% corporately owned, 16.7% PE-backed, 916 practices tracked. Top owner: NVA. CO 25% Illinois: 25.2% corporately owned, 17.3% PE-backed, 1,182 practices tracked. Top owner: NVA. IL 25% Oregon: 25.1% corporately owned, 13.9% PE-backed, 589 practices tracked. Top owner: Banfield. OR 25% Nevada: 24.9% corporately owned, 10.4% PE-backed, 249 practices tracked. Top owner: VCA. NV 25% Texas: 24.9% corporately owned, 16.2% PE-backed, 2,825 practices tracked. Top owner: Banfield. TX 25% North Carolina: 24.4% corporately owned, 15.6% PE-backed, 1,244 practices tracked. Top owner: Banfield. NC 24% Virginia: 24.1% corporately owned, 15.6% PE-backed, 1,023 practices tracked. Top owner: NVA. VA 24% Delaware: 23.3% corporately owned, 10.0% PE-backed, 90 practices tracked. Top owner: VCA. DE 23% Florida: 22.7% corporately owned, 13.7% PE-backed, 2,511 practices tracked. Top owner: Banfield. FL 23% Georgia: 22.0% corporately owned, 15.2% PE-backed, 1,129 practices tracked. Top owner: Banfield. GA 22% Minnesota: 19.6% corporately owned, 12.4% PE-backed, 627 practices tracked. Top owner: Banfield. MN 20% Tennessee: 19.3% corporately owned, 14.7% PE-backed, 796 practices tracked. Top owner: PetVet Care Centers. TN 19% Pennsylvania: 18.5% corporately owned, 10.7% PE-backed, 1,319 practices tracked. Top owner: VCA. PA 19% South Carolina: 18.3% corporately owned, 12.7% PE-backed, 606 practices tracked. Top owner: Mission Pet Health. SC 18% Ohio: 17.6% corporately owned, 12.4% PE-backed, 1,202 practices tracked. Top owner: Banfield. OH 18% Wisconsin: 17.6% corporately owned, 13.4% PE-backed, 732 practices tracked. Top owner: Mission Pet Health. WI 18% New Mexico: 17.5% corporately owned, 11.8% PE-backed, 211 practices tracked. Top owner: VCA. NM 18% Indiana: 16.9% corporately owned, 11.1% PE-backed, 692 practices tracked. Top owner: NVA. IN 17% Louisiana: 15.6% corporately owned, 10.7% PE-backed, 494 practices tracked. Top owner: NVA. LA 16% Missouri: 15.5% corporately owned, 10.3% PE-backed, 757 practices tracked. Top owner: CareVet. MO 16% Michigan: 14.8% corporately owned, 8.8% PE-backed, 1,010 practices tracked. Top owner: Mission Pet Health. MI 15% Hawaii: 14.5% corporately owned, 8.1% PE-backed, 124 practices tracked. Top owner: VCA. HI 15% Idaho: 14.3% corporately owned, 10.5% PE-backed, 238 practices tracked. Top owner: Mission Pet Health. ID 14% Vermont: 14.2% corporately owned, 11.7% PE-backed, 120 practices tracked. Top owner: VCA. VT 14% Arkansas: 13.9% corporately owned, 12.7% PE-backed, 346 practices tracked. Top owner: Alliance Animal Health. AR 14% Kansas: 13.3% corporately owned, 9.7% PE-backed, 472 practices tracked. Top owner: Mission Pet Health. KS 13% Mississippi: 12.8% corporately owned, 12.1% PE-backed, 298 practices tracked. Top owner: Alliance Animal Health. MS 13% Nebraska: 12.4% corporately owned, 9.1% PE-backed, 331 practices tracked. Top owner: Blue River PetCare. NE 12% Oklahoma: 12.3% corporately owned, 7.8% PE-backed, 587 practices tracked. Top owner: Banfield. OK 12% Alabama: 11.8% corporately owned, 8.9% PE-backed, 575 practices tracked. Top owner: Banfield. AL 12% West Virginia: 11.5% corporately owned, 9.8% PE-backed, 174 practices tracked. Top owner: Alliance Animal Health. WV 12% Kentucky: 9.8% corporately owned, 7.5% PE-backed, 520 practices tracked. Top owner: United Veterinary Care. KY 10% Iowa: 8.7% corporately owned, 7.1% PE-backed, 496 practices tracked. Top owner: NVA. IA 9% Montana: 8.6% corporately owned, 7.8% PE-backed, 245 practices tracked. Top owner: NVA. MT 9% Wyoming: 7.8% corporately owned, 7.0% PE-backed, 115 practices tracked. Top owner: PetVet Care Centers. WY 8% North Dakota: 5.3% corporately owned, 5.3% PE-backed, 94 practices tracked. Top owner: CareVet. ND 5% South Dakota: 4.7% corporately owned, 4.7% PE-backed, 169 practices tracked. Top owner: NVA. SD 5%
% corporately owned: 4.7% 19.5% 34.2%

District of Columbia is the most corporatized state in the country, with 34.2% 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 4.7% 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 Banfield Mars (Strategic) 932 43
2 NVA TSG Consumer Partners (Private Equity) 878 50
3 VCA Mars (Strategic) 842 47
4 Vetco (Petco) Petco (Public) 682 44
5 Mission Pet Health The Vets Pets (Private Equity) 672 40
6 PetVet Care Centers KKR (Private Equity) 410 39
7 VetCor Harvest Partners / Oak Hill Capital (Private Equity) 385 41
8 Heartland Veterinary Partners Gryphon Investors 276 31
9 Western Veterinary Partners Tyree & D'Angelo Partners 230 37
10 Thrive Pet Healthcare TSG Consumer Partners (Private Equity) 225 36
11 Alliance Animal Health Latticework Capital / Bridgepoint (Private Equity) 218 29
12 Blue River PetCare Apax Partners (Private Equity) 214 40
13 AmeriVet North Castle Partners 202 36
14 CareVet Compass Group Equity Partners (Private Equity) 199 38
15 American Veterinary Group Oak Hill Capital 183 31
Top veterinary consolidators by number of locations Banfield Banfield: 932 locations 932 NVA NVA: 878 locations 878 VCA VCA: 842 locations 842 Vetco (Petco) Vetco (Petco): 682 locations 682 Mission Pet Health Mission Pet Health: 672 locations 672 PetVet Care Centers PetVet Care Centers: 410 locations 410 VetCor VetCor: 385 locations 385 Heartland Veterinary … Heartland Veterinary Partners: 276 locations 276 Western Veterinary Pa… Western Veterinary Partners: 230 locations 230 Thrive Pet Healthcare Thrive Pet Healthcare: 225 locations 225 Alliance Animal Health Alliance Animal Health: 218 locations 218 Blue River PetCare Blue River PetCare: 214 locations 214 AmeriVet AmeriVet: 202 locations 202 CareVet CareVet: 199 locations 199 American Veterinary G… American Veterinary Group: 183 locations 183

Frequently asked questions

What share of US veterinary practices are corporately owned?

As of August 2026, 21.6% of the 34,813 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?

Banfield — owned by Mars is the largest veterinary consolidator VetPulse tracks, with 932 locations across 43 states.

Which US state has the most consolidated veterinary market?

District of Columbia has the highest share of corporately owned veterinary practices, at 34.2%, 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 4.7% 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 13.7% of the 34,813 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 August 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.