State report

State of Vet Care in Arkansas

As of September 2026, Arkansas has 346 veterinary practices tracked; 16.8% are corporately owned , led by Alliance Animal Health with 18 in-state locations . 83.2% of practices remain independently owned , and 7.2% are actively hiring .

Key takeaways

  • 346 veterinary practices tracked in Arkansas, of which 16.8% are corporately owned.
  • 14.7% of practices in Arkansas are private-equity-backed.
  • Alliance Animal Health (owned by L Catterton) leads all consolidators operating in the state with 18 locations.
  • General practices make up 88.7% of the state's practice mix.

Consolidation by city

At a glance

346
Practices tracked
83.2%
Independent
16.8%
Corporately owned
14.7%
PE-backed

7.2% of practices in Arkansas are actively hiring.

Ownership breakdown in Arkansas

Ownership type Practices Share
Independent 288 83.2%
PE-backed 51 14.7%
Corporate group 3 0.9%
Private group 1 0.3%
Public company 3 0.9%
National ownership-type breakdown, stacked by share Independent: 83.2% (288 practices) PE-backed: 14.7% (51 practices) Corporate group: 0.9% (3 practices) Private group: 0.3% (1 practices) Public company: 0.9% (3 practices) 83%15% Independent (83.2%) PE-backed (14.7%) Corporate group (0.9%) Private group (0.3%) Public company (0.9%)

Top consolidators operating in Arkansas

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 Alliance Animal Health L Catterton (Private Equity) 18 31.6%
2 CareVet Compass Group Equity Partners (Private Equity) 9 15.8%
3 Thrive Pet Healthcare TSG Consumer Partners (Private Equity) 5 8.8%
4 Heartland Veterinary Partners Gryphon Investors (Private Equity) 5 8.8%
5 PetVet Care Centers KKR (Private Equity) 4 7.0%
6 Western Veterinary Partners Tyree & D'Angelo Partners (Private Equity) 4 7.0%
7 Vetco (Petco) Petco (Public) 3 5.3%
8 Innovetive Pet Care Metalmark Capital (Private Equity) 2 3.5%
9 NVA JAB Holding Company (Strategic) 2 3.5%
10 Banfield Mars (Strategic) 1 1.8%

Practice-type mix

Type Practices Share
General 307 88.7%
Mobile 10 2.9%
Mixed 9 2.6%
Urgent Care 8 2.3%
Emergency 7 2.0%
Specialty Referral 5 1.4%

Species mix

Segment Practices Share
Small Animal 250 72.3%
Mixed 87 25.1%
Equine 6 1.7%
Exotic 3 0.9%

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Veterinary careers in Arkansas

882 open veterinary jobs

Who's hiring in Arkansas right now.

See jobs →

Veterinarian salary

What veterinarians earn in Arkansas.

See pay →

Vet tech salary

What veterinary technicians earn in Arkansas.

See pay →

Frequently asked questions

How many veterinary practices are in Arkansas?

As of September 2026, VetPulse tracks 346 veterinary practices in Arkansas.

What percentage of veterinary practices in Arkansas are corporately owned?

16.8% of veterinary practices in Arkansas are corporately owned — part of a consolidator, private-equity-backed group, or public company — while 83.2% remain independent.

Who is the largest veterinary consolidator in Arkansas?

Alliance Animal Health (owned by L Catterton) is the largest veterinary consolidator operating in Arkansas, with 18 in-state locations.

What share of veterinary practices in Arkansas are hiring?

7.2% of veterinary practices in Arkansas 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 Arkansas against every other state on the ownership & consolidation statistics page, or browse the rankings.