State report

State of Vet Care in Missouri

As of September 2026, Missouri has 757 veterinary practices tracked; 20.1% are corporately owned , led by CareVet with 20 in-state locations . 79.9% of practices remain independently owned , and 6.9% are actively hiring .

Key takeaways

  • 757 veterinary practices tracked in Missouri, of which 20.1% are corporately owned.
  • 12.7% of practices in Missouri are private-equity-backed.
  • CareVet (owned by Compass Group Equity Partners) leads all consolidators operating in the state with 20 locations.
  • General practices make up 87.5% of the state's practice mix.

Consolidation by city

At a glance

757
Practices tracked
79.9%
Independent
20.1%
Corporately owned
12.7%
PE-backed

6.9% of practices in Missouri are actively hiring.

Ownership breakdown in Missouri

Ownership type Practices Share
Independent 605 79.9%
PE-backed 96 12.7%
Corporate group 39 5.2%
Private group 2 0.3%
Nonprofit 1 0.1%
Public company 14 1.8%
National ownership-type breakdown, stacked by share Independent: 79.9% (605 practices) PE-backed: 12.7% (96 practices) Corporate group: 5.2% (39 practices) Private group: 0.3% (2 practices) Nonprofit: 0.1% (1 practices) Public company: 1.8% (14 practices) 80%13% Independent (79.9%) PE-backed (12.7%) Corporate group (5.2%) Private group (0.3%) Nonprofit (0.1%) Public company (1.8%)

Top consolidators operating in Missouri

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 CareVet Compass Group Equity Partners (Private Equity) 20 13.2%
2 Heartland Veterinary Partners Gryphon Investors (Private Equity) 18 11.9%
3 Banfield Mars (Strategic) 18 11.9%
4 NVA JAB Holding Company (Strategic) 16 10.6%
5 Vetco (Petco) Petco (Public) 13 8.6%
6 Mission Pet Health Shore Capital Partners / Silver Lake (Private Equity) 11 7.3%
7 Veterinary Practice Partners Audax Private Equity (Private Equity) 10 6.6%
8 Alliance Animal Health L Catterton (Private Equity) 8 5.3%
9 Blue River PetCare Partners Group (Private Equity) 8 5.3%
10 VetCor Oak Hill Capital (Private Equity) 4 2.6%

Practice-type mix

Type Practices Share
General 662 87.5%
Mixed 32 4.2%
Mobile 22 2.9%
Specialty Referral 19 2.5%
Emergency 12 1.6%
Urgent Care 10 1.3%

Species mix

Segment Practices Share
Small Animal 536 70.8%
Mixed 197 26.0%
Equine 13 1.7%
Exotic 5 0.7%
Unspecified 2 0.3%
Food Animal 2 0.3%
Avian 1 0.1%
Other 1 0.1%

Browse by city

Veterinary careers in Missouri

1,314 open veterinary jobs

Who's hiring in Missouri right now.

See jobs →

Veterinarian salary

What veterinarians earn in Missouri.

See pay →

Vet tech salary

What veterinary technicians earn in Missouri.

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Frequently asked questions

How many veterinary practices are in Missouri?

As of September 2026, VetPulse tracks 757 veterinary practices in Missouri.

What percentage of veterinary practices in Missouri are corporately owned?

20.1% of veterinary practices in Missouri are corporately owned — part of a consolidator, private-equity-backed group, or public company — while 79.9% remain independent.

Who is the largest veterinary consolidator in Missouri?

CareVet (owned by Compass Group Equity Partners) is the largest veterinary consolidator operating in Missouri, with 20 in-state locations.

What share of veterinary practices in Missouri are hiring?

6.9% of veterinary practices in Missouri 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 Missouri against every other state on the ownership & consolidation statistics page, or browse the rankings.