Veterinary marketing: how to reach US vet practices

How many vet practices are there?

BLS counted 36,619 establishments with employees in the fourth quarter of 2025 (QCEW, NAICS 541940). The American Veterinary Medical Association (AVMA) counts people, not practices: 133,475 US veterinarians as of 31 December 2025 (AVMA).

Map data gives a second view. Overture Maps places (release of 2026-09-23) has ~41,000 veterinary clinic locations listed on public maps in the 50 states and DC. That count includes closed practices that kept their listing and practices listed twice, so it is an upper bound. The strictest version, ~34,000 listings marked open and at a confidence of 0.8 or higher, falls below the BLS figure.

The two counts for the three largest states:

Map counts are from Overture Maps places; BLS counts are exact. The two differ slightly, and neither is exact: maps keep stale listings, and BLS misses practices without paid employees. Every state is on how many veterinarians are in the US. Contains data from Overture Maps Foundation, licensed under CDLA Permissive 2.0.

Per resident, vet clinics are most common in rural and mountain states; Montana has 21.7 listings per 100,000 people.

How much of the market do corporate groups own?

Roughly a quarter of general practices and three quarters of specialty practices, by one consultancy's estimate. AAHA's Trends magazine reported in January 2025 that, according to Brakke Consulting, 25% of general practices and 75% of specialty practices are corporately owned, and that corporate consolidators were estimated to control almost half of the veterinary care market share in 2021 (AAHA Trends, 7 Jan 2025). The same article notes that fewer than 15% of consolidators put their own brand on the practices they buy, so a clinic with a local name may belong to a group.

The pace has slowed. At VMX in January 2026, Brakke's John Volk said consolidation "remains in a holding pattern", with fewer and cheaper acquisitions as higher interest rates raise the cost of debt-funded deals. About 10% of practice owners said they were considering selling (AVMA News, 13 Feb 2026).

For a seller, this splits the market in two:

• Corporate groups buy supplies, software, labs and often marketing at head office. One contract can cover hundreds of clinics, but the sale is slow and the group may already have a preferred vendor.
• Independent practices decide locally, usually the owner veterinarian with the practice manager. Most of the general practices are still in this group.

Find out which kind a clinic is before you write. The practice website's footer, privacy policy or careers page often names the group.

What kinds of practices are there?

Most listings with a stated type are companion animal practices, but emergency, specialty, equine and mixed practices buy different things. We read each listing's type from its map category and name:

Map listings by practice type, Overture Maps places, release of 2026-09-23. Emergency, equine and mixed counts are likely undercounts, because many such practices have a plain name and fall under "Not stated" or "Companion animal".

Match the offer to the type. An emergency hospital runs around the clock and buys critical-care equipment and staffing. An equine or mixed practice often treats animals at farms and stables as well as at the clinic. A specialty or referral hospital buys imaging and surgical equipment and depends on referrals from general practices.

When do vet practices buy?

We found no buying season in public data, but the year has a pattern.

• Staffing peaks in summer. BLS counted 467,493 employees in private veterinary services in February 2025 and 479,886 in July 2025, the low and high months of the year (BLS QCEW). The extra summer staff suggest that is when practices are busiest and managers have least time for sales calls.
• Conferences cluster in winter. The VMX meeting in Orlando ran in January 2026 and the Western Veterinary Conference (WVC) in February (AVMA News, 13 Feb 2026). Many vendors plan launches and outreach around them.
• Practice numbers grow slowly. BLS counted 35,987 establishments in the first quarter of 2025 and 36,619 in the fourth, so a list needs refreshing for new clinics as well as closures.

Demand is softer than during the pandemic. Brakke reported practice revenue up about 2.5% in 2025 with visits down roughly 3%, and 81% of surveyed veterinarians said clients were more price-sensitive than a year earlier (same AVMA News article). Products that save staff time or protect revenue are an easier sale in that climate than ones that add cost.

What a good vet practice list contains

93% of the clinic listings on the map carry a website, which is where most practices publish their office email. Emails to practices are commercial email under CAN-SPAM: accurate headers, an honest subject line, your postal address and a working opt-out (FTC). Our guide is buying an email list legal? covers the rules.

Our veterinarian email list has one row per clinic location, with the email the practice publishes on its website and the page where we found it. You can order it nationwide or by state.

What this guide can't tell you

• Which practices belong to a corporate group. No public register records ownership, and many groups keep the local name.
• How many practices are open today. Map listings keep some closed clinics, and BLS counts only establishments with employees.
• How a given practice's year runs. The staffing pattern above is national; a practice's own busy season depends on its location and patients.

This is general information, not legal advice.