State report

State of Vet Care in South Carolina

As of September 2026, South Carolina has 606 veterinary practices tracked; 24.1% are corporately owned , led by Mission Pet Health with 25 in-state locations . 75.9% of practices remain independently owned , and 11.6% are actively hiring .

Key takeaways

  • 606 veterinary practices tracked in South Carolina, of which 24.1% are corporately owned.
  • 16.7% of practices in South Carolina are private-equity-backed.
  • Mission Pet Health (owned by Shore Capital Partners / Silver Lake) leads all consolidators operating in the state with 25 locations.
  • General practices make up 83.7% of the state's practice mix.

Consolidation by city

At a glance

606
Practices tracked
75.9%
Independent
24.1%
Corporately owned
16.7%
PE-backed

11.6% of practices in South Carolina are actively hiring.

Ownership breakdown in South Carolina

Ownership type Practices Share
Independent 460 75.9%
PE-backed 101 16.7%
Corporate group 36 5.9%
Private group 2 0.3%
Public company 7 1.2%
National ownership-type breakdown, stacked by share Independent: 75.9% (460 practices) PE-backed: 16.7% (101 practices) Corporate group: 5.9% (36 practices) Private group: 0.3% (2 practices) Public company: 1.2% (7 practices) 76%17% Independent (75.9%) PE-backed (16.7%) Corporate group (5.9%) Private group (0.3%) Public company (1.2%)

Top consolidators operating in South 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 Mission Pet Health Shore Capital Partners / Silver Lake (Private Equity) 25 17.1%
2 Banfield Mars (Strategic) 20 13.7%
3 Alliance Animal Health L Catterton (Private Equity) 13 8.9%
4 Veterinary Practice Partners Audax Private Equity (Private Equity) 11 7.5%
5 NVA JAB Holding Company (Strategic) 9 6.2%
6 VetCor Oak Hill Capital (Private Equity) 8 5.5%
7 Western Veterinary Partners Tyree & D'Angelo Partners (Private Equity) 7 4.8%
8 Vetco (Petco) Petco (Public) 7 4.8%
9 American Veterinary Group Oak Hill Capital (Private Equity) 5 3.4%
10 VCA Mars (Strategic) 5 3.4%

Practice-type mix

Type Practices Share
General 507 83.7%
Mobile 38 6.3%
Specialty Referral 26 4.3%
Urgent Care 17 2.8%
Emergency 11 1.8%
Mixed 7 1.2%

Species mix

Segment Practices Share
Small Animal 539 88.9%
Mixed 53 8.7%
Equine 13 2.1%
Exotic 1 0.2%

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Veterinary careers in South Carolina

1,265 open veterinary jobs

Who's hiring in South Carolina right now.

See jobs →

Veterinarian salary

What veterinarians earn in South Carolina.

See pay →

Vet tech salary

What veterinary technicians earn in South Carolina.

See pay →

Frequently asked questions

How many veterinary practices are in South Carolina?

As of September 2026, VetPulse tracks 606 veterinary practices in South Carolina.

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

24.1% of veterinary practices in South Carolina are corporately owned — part of a consolidator, private-equity-backed group, or public company — while 75.9% remain independent.

Who is the largest veterinary consolidator in South Carolina?

Mission Pet Health (owned by Shore Capital Partners / Silver Lake) is the largest veterinary consolidator operating in South Carolina, with 25 in-state locations.

What share of veterinary practices in South Carolina are hiring?

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