Flagship Report

The State of US Veterinary Consolidation

As of August 2026

25.6% of the 34,813 US veterinary practices VetPulse tracks across 51 states are now corporately owned. Banfield (owned by Mars) is the largest single consolidator, with 932 locations across 43 states, while 70 identified ownership groups collectively operate 8,808 locations nationwide. District of Columbia is the most consolidated state at 60.5% corporate ownership, while South Dakota remains the most independent market at just 4.7%.

34,813

Practices tracked

25.6%

Corporately owned

51

States covered

70

Ownership groups tracked

Key takeaways

  • 25.6% of practices are corporately owned nationally, out of 34,813 tracked as of August 2026.
  • Banfield (owned by Mars) leads all owners with 932 locations in 43 states.
  • District of Columbia is the most consolidated state at 60.5% corporate ownership; South Dakota is the least, at 4.7%.
  • Private-equity-backed groups account for 14.5% of all tracked practices, versus 8.0% held by other named corporate groups.
  • VetPulse tracks 70 distinct ownership groups, collectively operating 8,808 locations across the 51 states covered.
  • The gap between the most and least consolidated states is 55.8 percentage points, showing consolidation is highly regional rather than uniform.

National ownership breakdown

Ownership type Practices Share
Independent 25,913 74.4%
PE-backed 5,042 14.5%
Corporate group 2,780 8.0%
Public company 727 2.1%
Private group 328 0.9%
Nonprofit 23 0.1%
National ownership-type breakdown, stacked by share Independent: 74.4% (25,913 practices) PE-backed: 14.5% (5,042 practices) Corporate group: 8.0% (2,780 practices) Public company: 2.1% (727 practices) Private group: 0.9% (328 practices) Nonprofit: 0.1% (23 practices) 74%14%8% Independent (74.4%) PE-backed (14.5%) Corporate group (8.0%) Public company (2.1%) Private group (0.9%) Nonprofit (0.1%)

Consolidation choropleth: % of practices corporately owned, by state

Each tile is one state, colored by the share of tracked practices that are corporately owned. Hover or focus a tile for the exact figure — every number also appears in the table on this page.

US veterinary practice consolidation by state District of Columbia: 60.5% corporately owned, 52.6% PE-backed, 38 practices tracked. Top owner: Mission Pet Health. DC 61% Massachusetts: 36.9% corporately owned, 21.2% PE-backed, 661 practices tracked. Top owner: VCA. MA 37% Arizona: 35.7% corporately owned, 18.2% PE-backed, 753 practices tracked. Top owner: NVA. AZ 36% Rhode Island: 34.3% corporately owned, 21.6% PE-backed, 102 practices tracked. Top owner: Vetco (Petco). RI 34% New Hampshire: 32.6% corporately owned, 22.0% PE-backed, 218 practices tracked. Top owner: VetCor. NH 33% Maryland: 32.1% corporately owned, 16.7% PE-backed, 598 practices tracked. Top owner: Banfield. MD 32% Utah: 31.9% corporately owned, 15.6% PE-backed, 263 practices tracked. Top owner: VCA. UT 32% Virginia: 31.1% corporately owned, 17.0% PE-backed, 1,023 practices tracked. Top owner: Banfield. VA 31% North Carolina: 30.7% corporately owned, 19.6% PE-backed, 1,244 practices tracked. Top owner: Banfield. NC 31% Connecticut: 30.7% corporately owned, 19.4% PE-backed, 387 practices tracked. Top owner: VCA. CT 31% Illinois: 30.5% corporately owned, 17.7% PE-backed, 1,182 practices tracked. Top owner: NVA. IL 31% Washington: 30.3% corporately owned, 14.4% PE-backed, 882 practices tracked. Top owner: NVA. WA 30% Colorado: 30.3% corporately owned, 17.4% PE-backed, 916 practices tracked. Top owner: NVA. CO 30% Texas: 29.8% corporately owned, 18.5% PE-backed, 2,825 practices tracked. Top owner: Banfield. TX 30% New York: 29.6% corporately owned, 18.1% PE-backed, 1,515 practices tracked. Top owner: NVA. NY 30% New Jersey: 29.5% corporately owned, 16.2% PE-backed, 745 practices tracked. Top owner: Banfield. NJ 30% California: 28.8% corporately owned, 11.6% PE-backed, 3,243 practices tracked. Top owner: VCA. CA 29% Oregon: 28.4% corporately owned, 11.7% PE-backed, 589 practices tracked. Top owner: Banfield. OR 28% Nevada: 27.7% corporately owned, 10.4% PE-backed, 249 practices tracked. Top owner: VCA. NV 28% Georgia: 27.1% corporately owned, 18.0% PE-backed, 1,129 practices tracked. Top owner: Banfield. GA 27% Maine: 27.1% corporately owned, 23.4% PE-backed, 214 practices tracked. Top owner: Rarebreed Veterinary Partners. ME 27% Alaska: 26.7% corporately owned, 4.7% PE-backed, 86 practices tracked. Top owner: NVA. AK 27% Florida: 25.9% corporately owned, 14.0% PE-backed, 2,511 practices tracked. Top owner: Banfield. FL 26% Minnesota: 25.0% corporately owned, 13.1% PE-backed, 627 practices tracked. Top owner: Banfield. MN 25% Tennessee: 24.4% corporately owned, 15.7% PE-backed, 796 practices tracked. Top owner: PetVet Care Centers. TN 24% South Carolina: 24.1% corporately owned, 16.7% PE-backed, 606 practices tracked. Top owner: Mission Pet Health. SC 24% Delaware: 23.3% corporately owned, 8.9% PE-backed, 90 practices tracked. Top owner: VCA. DE 23% Pennsylvania: 22.6% corporately owned, 11.5% PE-backed, 1,319 practices tracked. Top owner: VCA. PA 23% Wisconsin: 22.1% corporately owned, 15.0% PE-backed, 732 practices tracked. Top owner: Mission Pet Health. WI 22% Ohio: 21.0% corporately owned, 12.9% PE-backed, 1,202 practices tracked. Top owner: Banfield. OH 21% Louisiana: 20.9% corporately owned, 11.3% PE-backed, 494 practices tracked. Top owner: NVA. LA 21% Indiana: 20.2% corporately owned, 10.8% PE-backed, 692 practices tracked. Top owner: NVA. IN 20% Missouri: 20.1% corporately owned, 12.7% PE-backed, 757 practices tracked. Top owner: CareVet. MO 20% Idaho: 19.3% corporately owned, 12.2% PE-backed, 238 practices tracked. Top owner: Mission Pet Health. ID 19% New Mexico: 19.0% corporately owned, 10.0% PE-backed, 211 practices tracked. Top owner: Thrive Pet Healthcare. NM 19% Michigan: 18.5% corporately owned, 10.2% PE-backed, 1,010 practices tracked. Top owner: Mission Pet Health. MI 19% Vermont: 18.3% corporately owned, 14.2% PE-backed, 120 practices tracked. Top owner: AmeriVet. VT 18% Arkansas: 16.8% corporately owned, 14.7% PE-backed, 346 practices tracked. Top owner: Alliance Animal Health. AR 17% West Virginia: 16.7% corporately owned, 12.1% PE-backed, 174 practices tracked. Top owner: Alliance Animal Health. WV 17% Kansas: 16.1% corporately owned, 10.6% PE-backed, 472 practices tracked. Top owner: Mission Pet Health. KS 16% Oklahoma: 15.8% corporately owned, 9.0% PE-backed, 587 practices tracked. Top owner: Banfield. OK 16% Nebraska: 14.8% corporately owned, 10.9% PE-backed, 331 practices tracked. Top owner: Alliance Animal Health. NE 15% Hawaii: 14.5% corporately owned, 7.3% PE-backed, 124 practices tracked. Top owner: VCA. HI 15% Mississippi: 14.4% corporately owned, 10.7% PE-backed, 298 practices tracked. Top owner: Alliance Animal Health. MS 14% Alabama: 13.7% corporately owned, 9.4% PE-backed, 575 practices tracked. Top owner: Banfield. AL 14% Kentucky: 13.1% corporately owned, 9.2% PE-backed, 520 practices tracked. Top owner: Banfield. KY 13% Iowa: 12.5% corporately owned, 8.1% PE-backed, 496 practices tracked. Top owner: NVA. IA 13% Montana: 9.4% corporately owned, 4.9% PE-backed, 245 practices tracked. Top owner: NVA. MT 9% Wyoming: 8.7% corporately owned, 7.0% PE-backed, 115 practices tracked. Top owner: PetVet Care Centers. WY 9% North Dakota: 5.3% corporately owned, 3.2% PE-backed, 94 practices tracked. Top owner: CareVet. ND 5% South Dakota: 4.7% corporately owned, 1.2% PE-backed, 169 practices tracked. Top owner: NVA. SD 5%
% corporately owned: 4.7% 32.6% 60.5%

District of Columbia is the most corporatized state in the country, with 60.5% of its 38 tracked practices under corporate ownership , led locally by Mission Pet Health. At the other end, South Dakota remains the most independent market, at just 4.7% corporately owned. See every state ranked on most corporatized states and most independent states.

Largest consolidators: top owners by locations

Ranked by total US locations. See the full list on the owners directory.

# Group Ultimate owner Locations States
1 Banfield Mars (Strategic) 932 43
2 NVA JAB Holding Company (Strategic) 850 50
3 VCA Mars (Strategic) 841 47
4 Vetco (Petco) Petco (Public) 682 44
5 Mission Pet Health Shore Capital Partners / Silver Lake (Private Equity) 670 41
6 PetVet Care Centers KKR (Private Equity) 424 39
7 VetCor Oak Hill Capital (Private Equity) 404 41
8 Thrive Pet Healthcare TSG Consumer Partners (Private Equity) 317 36
9 Heartland Veterinary Partners Gryphon Investors (Private Equity) 292 31
10 Alliance Animal Health L Catterton (Private Equity) 255 29
11 Western Veterinary Partners Tyree & D'Angelo Partners (Private Equity) 255 38
12 Blue River PetCare Partners Group (Private Equity) 216 40
13 CareVet Compass Group Equity Partners (Private Equity) 207 38
14 AmeriVet AEA Investors / ADIA (Private Equity) 201 36
15 Veterinary Practice Partners Audax Private Equity (Private Equity) 194 35
Top veterinary consolidators by number of locations Banfield Banfield: 932 locations 932 NVA NVA: 850 locations 850 VCA VCA: 841 locations 841 Vetco (Petco) Vetco (Petco): 682 locations 682 Mission Pet Health Mission Pet Health: 670 locations 670 PetVet Care Centers PetVet Care Centers: 424 locations 424 VetCor VetCor: 404 locations 404 Thrive Pet Healthcare Thrive Pet Healthcare: 317 locations 317 Heartland Veterinary … Heartland Veterinary Partners: 292 locations 292 Alliance Animal Health Alliance Animal Health: 255 locations 255 Western Veterinary Pa… Western Veterinary Partners: 255 locations 255 Blue River PetCare Blue River PetCare: 216 locations 216 CareVet CareVet: 207 locations 207 AmeriVet AmeriVet: 201 locations 201 Veterinary Practice P… Veterinary Practice Partners: 194 locations 194

Frequently asked questions

What share of US veterinary practices are corporately owned?

As of August 2026, 25.6% of the 34,813 US veterinary practices VetPulse tracks are corporately owned — part of a private-equity-backed group, corporate group, nonprofit network, or public company — rather than independent.

Who owns the most veterinary practices in the US?

Banfield — owned by Mars is the largest veterinary consolidator VetPulse tracks, with 932 locations across 43 states.

Which US state has the most consolidated veterinary market?

District of Columbia has the highest share of corporately owned veterinary practices, at 60.5%, out of 38 practices tracked in the state.

Which US state has the most independent veterinary practices?

South Dakota has the most independent veterinary market, with only 4.7% of its 169 tracked practices under corporate ownership.

How much of the veterinary industry is backed by private equity?

Private-equity-backed groups account for 14.5% of the 34,813 US practices tracked, compared with 8.0% held by other named corporate groups.

How is veterinary practice ownership determined in this report?

We triangulate ownership signals across multiple independent sources — a practice’s own site, public brand and group pages, state business filings, and press coverage of acquisitions — and only publish a claim once two or more sources agree. See the methodology page for full detail on confidence labels and refresh cadence.

Every figure above is queried live from our practice-level dataset as of August 2026 — see the methodology for how ownership is triangulated from multiple independent sources. Explore the full statistics hub, browse state rankings, the owners directory, or the full practice directory.