State report

State of Vet Care in North Carolina

As of September 2026, North Carolina has 1,244 veterinary practices tracked; 30.7% are corporately owned , led by Banfield with 49 in-state locations . 69.3% of practices remain independently owned , and 11.1% are actively hiring .

Key takeaways

  • 1,244 veterinary practices tracked in North Carolina, of which 30.7% are corporately owned.
  • 19.6% of practices in North Carolina are private-equity-backed.
  • Banfield (owned by Mars) leads all consolidators operating in the state with 49 locations.
  • General practices make up 79.8% of the state's practice mix.

Consolidation by city

At a glance

1,244
Practices tracked
69.3%
Independent
30.7%
Corporately owned
19.6%
PE-backed

11.1% of practices in North Carolina are actively hiring.

Ownership breakdown in North Carolina

Ownership type Practices Share
Independent 862 69.3%
PE-backed 244 19.6%
Corporate group 90 7.2%
Private group 32 2.6%
Nonprofit 2 0.2%
Public company 14 1.1%
National ownership-type breakdown, stacked by share Independent: 69.3% (862 practices) PE-backed: 19.6% (244 practices) Corporate group: 7.2% (90 practices) Private group: 2.6% (32 practices) Nonprofit: 0.2% (2 practices) Public company: 1.1% (14 practices) 69%20%7% Independent (69.3%) PE-backed (19.6%) Corporate group (7.2%) Private group (2.6%) Nonprofit (0.2%) Public company (1.1%)

Top consolidators operating in North Carolina

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 Banfield Mars (Strategic) 49 13.0%
2 Mission Pet Health Shore Capital Partners / Silver Lake (Private Equity) 48 12.7%
3 The Vets Pets Vets Pets (privately owned) (Independent) 27 7.2%
4 American Veterinary Group Oak Hill Capital (Private Equity) 24 6.4%
5 PetVet Care Centers KKR (Private Equity) 24 6.4%
6 NVA JAB Holding Company (Strategic) 23 6.1%
7 Heartland Veterinary Partners Gryphon Investors (Private Equity) 17 4.5%
8 Veterinary Practice Partners Audax Private Equity (Private Equity) 15 4.0%
9 Vetco (Petco) Petco (Public) 14 3.7%
10 VCA Mars (Strategic) 12 3.2%

Practice-type mix

Type Practices Share
General 993 79.8%
Mobile 114 9.2%
Specialty Referral 44 3.5%
Urgent Care 42 3.4%
Emergency 37 3.0%
Mixed 14 1.1%

Species mix

Segment Practices Share
Small Animal 1,095 88.0%
Mixed 107 8.6%
Equine 35 2.8%
Exotic 6 0.5%
Other 1 0.1%

Browse by city

Veterinary careers in North Carolina

2,358 open veterinary jobs

Who's hiring in North Carolina right now.

See jobs →

Veterinarian salary

What veterinarians earn in North Carolina.

See pay →

Vet tech salary

What veterinary technicians earn in North Carolina.

See pay →

Frequently asked questions

How many veterinary practices are in North Carolina?

As of September 2026, VetPulse tracks 1,244 veterinary practices in North Carolina.

What percentage of veterinary practices in North Carolina are corporately owned?

30.7% of veterinary practices in North Carolina are corporately owned — part of a consolidator, private-equity-backed group, or public company — while 69.3% remain independent.

Who is the largest veterinary consolidator in North Carolina?

Banfield (owned by Mars) is the largest veterinary consolidator operating in North Carolina, with 49 in-state locations.

What share of veterinary practices in North Carolina are hiring?

11.1% of veterinary practices in North Carolina 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 North Carolina against every other state on the ownership & consolidation statistics page, or browse the rankings.