State report

State of Vet Care in California

As of September 2026, California has 3,243 veterinary practices tracked; 28.8% are corporately owned , led by VCA with 165 in-state locations . 71.2% of practices remain independently owned , and 11.6% are actively hiring .

Key takeaways

  • 3,243 veterinary practices tracked in California, of which 28.8% are corporately owned.
  • 11.6% of practices in California are private-equity-backed.
  • VCA (owned by Mars) leads all consolidators operating in the state with 165 locations.
  • General practices make up 81.3% of the state's practice mix.

Consolidation by city

At a glance

3,243
Practices tracked
71.2%
Independent
28.8%
Corporately owned
11.6%
PE-backed

11.6% of practices in California are actively hiring.

Ownership breakdown in California

Ownership type Practices Share
Independent 2,309 71.2%
PE-backed 377 11.6%
Corporate group 363 11.2%
Private group 63 1.9%
Nonprofit 5 0.2%
Public company 126 3.9%
National ownership-type breakdown, stacked by share Independent: 71.2% (2,309 practices) PE-backed: 11.6% (377 practices) Corporate group: 11.2% (363 practices) Private group: 1.9% (63 practices) Nonprofit: 0.2% (5 practices) Public company: 3.9% (126 practices) 71%12%11% Independent (71.2%) PE-backed (11.6%) Corporate group (11.2%) Private group (1.9%) Nonprofit (0.2%) Public company (3.9%)

Top consolidators operating in California

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 VCA Mars (Strategic) 165 18.0%
2 Banfield Mars (Strategic) 119 12.9%
3 Vetco (Petco) Petco (Public) 103 11.2%
4 PetVet Care Centers KKR (Private Equity) 95 10.3%
5 NVA JAB Holding Company (Strategic) 69 7.5%
6 Thrive Pet Healthcare TSG Consumer Partners (Private Equity) 44 4.8%
7 Curo Pet Care Curo (family-owned per company) (Family) 38 4.1%
8 VetCor Oak Hill Capital (Private Equity) 38 4.1%
9 AmeriVet AEA Investors / ADIA (Private Equity) 33 3.6%
10 Mission Pet Health Shore Capital Partners / Silver Lake (Private Equity) 26 2.8%

Practice-type mix

Type Practices Share
General 2,636 81.3%
Mobile 223 6.9%
Specialty Referral 160 4.9%
Emergency 115 3.5%
Urgent Care 77 2.4%
Mixed 26 0.8%
Telehealth 6 0.2%

Species mix

Segment Practices Share
Small Animal 2,889 89.1%
Mixed 223 6.9%
Equine 92 2.8%
Exotic 23 0.7%
Other 10 0.3%
Food Animal 3 0.1%
Avian 2 0.1%
Unspecified 1 0.0%

Browse by city

Veterinary careers in California

4,228 open veterinary jobs

Who's hiring in California right now.

See jobs →

Veterinarian salary

What veterinarians earn in California.

See pay →

Vet tech salary

What veterinary technicians earn in California.

See pay →

Frequently asked questions

How many veterinary practices are in California?

As of September 2026, VetPulse tracks 3,243 veterinary practices in California.

What percentage of veterinary practices in California are corporately owned?

28.8% of veterinary practices in California are corporately owned — part of a consolidator, private-equity-backed group, or public company — while 71.2% remain independent.

Who is the largest veterinary consolidator in California?

VCA (owned by Mars) is the largest veterinary consolidator operating in California, with 165 in-state locations.

What share of veterinary practices in California are hiring?

11.6% of veterinary practices in California 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 California against every other state on the ownership & consolidation statistics page, or browse the rankings.