State report

State of Vet Care in Massachusetts

As of September 2026, Massachusetts has 661 veterinary practices tracked; 36.9% are corporately owned , led by VCA with 33 in-state locations . 63.1% of practices remain independently owned , and 13.9% are actively hiring .

Key takeaways

  • 661 veterinary practices tracked in Massachusetts, of which 36.9% are corporately owned.
  • 21.2% of practices in Massachusetts are private-equity-backed.
  • VCA (owned by Mars) leads all consolidators operating in the state with 33 locations.
  • General practices make up 81.4% of the state's practice mix.

Consolidation by city

At a glance

661
Practices tracked
63.1%
Independent
36.9%
Corporately owned
21.2%
PE-backed

13.9% of practices in Massachusetts are actively hiring.

Ownership breakdown in Massachusetts

Ownership type Practices Share
Independent 417 63.1%
PE-backed 140 21.2%
Corporate group 75 11.3%
Private group 2 0.3%
Public company 27 4.1%
National ownership-type breakdown, stacked by share Independent: 63.1% (417 practices) PE-backed: 21.2% (140 practices) Corporate group: 11.3% (75 practices) Private group: 0.3% (2 practices) Public company: 4.1% (27 practices) 63%21%11% Independent (63.1%) PE-backed (21.2%) Corporate group (11.3%) Private group (0.3%) Public company (4.1%)

Top consolidators operating in Massachusetts

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) 33 13.6%
2 Vetco (Petco) Petco (Public) 26 10.7%
3 Rarebreed Veterinary Partners Revelstoke Capital Partners (Private Equity) 23 9.5%
4 Banfield Mars (Strategic) 21 8.7%
5 NVA JAB Holding Company (Strategic) 16 6.6%
6 VetCor Oak Hill Capital (Private Equity) 15 6.2%
7 Thrive Pet Healthcare TSG Consumer Partners (Private Equity) 14 5.8%
8 AmeriVet AEA Investors / ADIA (Private Equity) 13 5.4%
9 Mission Pet Health Shore Capital Partners / Silver Lake (Private Equity) 13 5.4%
10 United Veterinary Care Nordic Capital (Private Equity) 9 3.7%

Practice-type mix

Type Practices Share
General 538 81.4%
Mobile 51 7.7%
Specialty Referral 30 4.5%
Urgent Care 24 3.6%
Emergency 17 2.6%
Mixed 1 0.2%

Species mix

Segment Practices Share
Small Animal 607 91.8%
Mixed 34 5.1%
Equine 12 1.8%
Exotic 6 0.9%
Other 2 0.3%

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Veterinary careers in Massachusetts

744 open veterinary jobs

Who's hiring in Massachusetts right now.

See jobs →

Veterinarian salary

What veterinarians earn in Massachusetts.

See pay →

Vet tech salary

What veterinary technicians earn in Massachusetts.

See pay →

Frequently asked questions

How many veterinary practices are in Massachusetts?

As of September 2026, VetPulse tracks 661 veterinary practices in Massachusetts.

What percentage of veterinary practices in Massachusetts are corporately owned?

36.9% of veterinary practices in Massachusetts are corporately owned — part of a consolidator, private-equity-backed group, or public company — while 63.1% remain independent.

Who is the largest veterinary consolidator in Massachusetts?

VCA (owned by Mars) is the largest veterinary consolidator operating in Massachusetts, with 33 in-state locations.

What share of veterinary practices in Massachusetts are hiring?

13.9% of veterinary practices in Massachusetts 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 Massachusetts against every other state on the ownership & consolidation statistics page, or browse the rankings.