Veterinary Ownership & Consolidation, State by State
Which US states have the most corporately owned veterinary practices, who the largest consolidators are, and how the national ownership mix breaks down — read live from our practice-level dataset.
As of September 2026, 21.6% of US veterinary practices are corporately owned; Banfield is the largest consolidator with 932+ locations across 43 states. District of Columbia has the highest share of corporate ownership at 34.2%, while South Dakota is the most independent market at just 4.7% corporately owned.
Key takeaways
-
21.6% of practices are corporately owned nationally, out of 34,813 tracked. -
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%.
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.
Every state, ranked
| State ⇅ | Practices ⇅ | % Consolidator ⇅ | % PE-backed ⇅ | Top owner ⇅ |
|---|---|---|---|---|
| District of Columbia | 38 | 34.2% | 28.9% | Mission Pet Health |
| Massachusetts | 661 | 31.8% | 18.9% | VCA |
| Arizona | 753 | 30.0% | 19.8% | NVA |
| Rhode Island | 102 | 29.4% | 19.6% | Vetco (Petco) |
| Washington | 882 | 27.8% | 17.9% | NVA |
| New York | 1,515 | 27.3% | 19.2% | NVA |
| Connecticut | 387 | 26.9% | 17.1% | VCA |
| New Jersey | 745 | 26.8% | 15.8% | Banfield |
| Alaska | 86 | 26.7% | 16.3% | NVA |
| New Hampshire | 218 | 26.6% | 20.2% | AmeriVet |
| California | 3,243 | 26.3% | 12.0% | VCA |
| Utah | 263 | 26.2% | 14.8% | VCA |
| Maine | 214 | 26.2% | 22.9% | Rarebreed Veterinary Partners |
| Maryland | 598 | 25.6% | 15.6% | Banfield |
| Colorado | 916 | 25.4% | 16.7% | NVA |
| Illinois | 1,182 | 25.2% | 17.3% | NVA |
| Oregon | 589 | 25.1% | 13.9% | Banfield |
| Nevada | 249 | 24.9% | 10.4% | VCA |
| Texas | 2,825 | 24.9% | 16.2% | Banfield |
| North Carolina | 1,244 | 24.4% | 15.6% | Banfield |
| Virginia | 1,023 | 24.1% | 15.6% | NVA |
| Delaware | 90 | 23.3% | 10.0% | VCA |
| Florida | 2,511 | 22.7% | 13.7% | Banfield |
| Georgia | 1,129 | 22.0% | 15.2% | Banfield |
| Minnesota | 627 | 19.6% | 12.4% | Banfield |
| Tennessee | 796 | 19.3% | 14.7% | PetVet Care Centers |
| Pennsylvania | 1,319 | 18.5% | 10.7% | VCA |
| South Carolina | 606 | 18.3% | 12.7% | Mission Pet Health |
| Ohio | 1,202 | 17.6% | 12.4% | Banfield |
| Wisconsin | 732 | 17.6% | 13.4% | Mission Pet Health |
| New Mexico | 211 | 17.5% | 11.8% | VCA |
| Indiana | 692 | 16.9% | 11.1% | NVA |
| Louisiana | 494 | 15.6% | 10.7% | NVA |
| Missouri | 757 | 15.5% | 10.3% | CareVet |
| Michigan | 1,010 | 14.8% | 8.8% | Mission Pet Health |
| Hawaii | 124 | 14.5% | 8.1% | VCA |
| Idaho | 238 | 14.3% | 10.5% | Mission Pet Health |
| Vermont | 120 | 14.2% | 11.7% | VCA |
| Arkansas | 346 | 13.9% | 12.7% | Alliance Animal Health |
| Kansas | 472 | 13.3% | 9.7% | Mission Pet Health |
| Mississippi | 298 | 12.8% | 12.1% | Alliance Animal Health |
| Nebraska | 331 | 12.4% | 9.1% | Blue River PetCare |
| Oklahoma | 587 | 12.3% | 7.8% | Banfield |
| Alabama | 575 | 11.8% | 8.9% | Banfield |
| West Virginia | 174 | 11.5% | 9.8% | Alliance Animal Health |
| Kentucky | 520 | 9.8% | 7.5% | United Veterinary Care |
| Iowa | 496 | 8.7% | 7.1% | NVA |
| Montana | 245 | 8.6% | 7.8% | NVA |
| Wyoming | 115 | 7.8% | 7.0% | PetVet Care Centers |
| North Dakota | 94 | 5.3% | 5.3% | CareVet |
| South Dakota | 169 | 4.7% | 4.7% | NVA |
Owner leaderboard: top consolidators 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 |
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% |
Frequently asked questions
What share of US veterinary practices are corporate-owned?
As of September 2026, 21.6% of the 34,813 US veterinary practices VetPulse tracks are corporately owned — part of a consolidator, private-equity-backed group, or public company — rather than independent.
Who is the largest veterinary consolidator?
Banfield — owned by Mars is the largest veterinary consolidator VetPulse tracks, with 932+ locations across 43 states.
Which US state has the highest share of corporately owned veterinary practices?
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.
Every figure above is queried live from our practice-level dataset — see the methodology for how ownership is triangulated from multiple independent sources. Browse the full owners directory or the practice directory.