U.S. Veterinarians Market Size, Share & Trends Analysis Report By Sector (Public, Private (Food Animal Exclusive, Companion Animal Exclusive, Mixed Animal, Equine, Others), Academics), And Segment Forecasts, 2022 - 2030

Report Overview

The U.S. veterinarians market size was valued at USD 11.03 billion in 2021 and is expected to expand at a compound annual growth rate (CAGR) of 8.7% from 2022 to 2030. The growing animal population, uptake of pet insurance, and expenditure on well-being of pets are the key market drivers. The demand for veterinary professionals is poised to increase in coming years, as retirement of existing ones is due. For instance, a survey conducted by the American Veterinary Medical Association (AVMA) in 2019 stated that around 20% of existing veterinarians were projected to retire in the following decade.

About 1 out of 3 professionals in this sector were identified to be a part of the baby boomer generation, and around 60% of these were estimated to be veterinary practice owners. As this generation retires, a notable amount of workforce is expected to exit the profession, thereby contributing to the demand for more veterinarians during the forecast period.

The COVID-19 pandemic resulted in a fall in the number of veterinary visits, practice revenue, and disruption in veterinary care delivery during the first few months of 2020. In March 2020, the U.S. FDA relaxed restrictions on veterinary telemedicine practices. As per new guidelines, veterinarian-client-patient relationship requirements were temporarily suspended. Veterinarians were also allowed to prescribe extra-label drugs and veterinary feed directive drugs after a remote examination & diagnosis of animals.

Various public, regulatory, nonprofit, and private health institutions released guidelines to ensure continuity of care for animals during the pandemic. These included AVMA, FDA, and CDC. The CDC, for instance, released interim guidelines for prevention and control of infection for veterinary clinics treating pets during the pandemic.

The veterinary services sector had been facing retention challenges for a long time as a result of the emotional toll of work and intense work hours. The rise in demand for veterinary services during the pandemic highlighted the crucial need for greater number of skilled veterinarians. The pandemic also exacerbated workflow burdens, as many patient visits were either deferred or canceled during the first half of 2020, thus creating a backlog when services resumed.

The loss of staff members due to sickness or burnout is estimated to have further contributed to demand for veterinarians across the U.S., to ensure continued provision of quality patient care. This demand is estimated to continue post-COVID. The pandemic escalated the digitalization of veterinary care as veterinarians began adopting telemedicine to ensure business continuity, while following social distancing norms. Furthermore, growing initiatives by market players fueled the digital transition of vet care services.

For instance, in October 2020, in response to the COVID-19 pandemic, Guardian Vets launched Curbside, a safe and contactless appointment solution for pet owners. This expanded the company’s offerings while allowing vet clinics and hospitals to treat patients in-line with social distancing protocols. In September 2020, TeleVet launched ClinicConnect, an online veterinary solution, to support clinics operating during the COVID-19 pandemic.

Supportive initiatives undertaken by the government are expected to facilitate the growth of the market in the coming years. For instance, the Veterinary Services Grant Program is intended to support veterinary services and veterinarian shortage situations. It comprises of 2 types of grants. These include the Rural Practice Enhancement (RPE) grants and Education, Extension, and Training (EET) grants.

During FY 2021, about 3 million in funds were distributed to the selected grant applicants. Some of the initiatives funded by the program in 2021 include the Iowa State University’s expansion of rural veterinary practice in organic and non-conventional livestock through continuing education, and the Virginia Polytechnic Institute & State University’s ‘Training the Veterinary Public Practitioner’ project.

Sector Insights

By sector, the private segment held the largest share of over 60% of the U.S. Veterinarians market in 2021. This is owing to a large number of veterinarians engaged in private clinical practice, driven by high demand and ROI. Private practitioners, however, must be licensed by respective states to practice and are mainly involved in the diagnosis & treatment of diseases, disorders, or injuries in animals. They also provide preventive medicine to help animals avoid diseases and maintain health.

Private veterinarians typically work with technicians, technologists, assistants, and laboratory animal caretakers to diagnose, examine, & treat animals. They work in veterinarians’ offices & clinics, animal hospitals, and veterinary testing laboratories. Over 90% of patients at companion animal exclusive veterinary practices are pets. This contributed to the dominant share of the companion animal exclusive segment in the private sector in 2021.

The demand for quality & affordable pet care is anticipated to increase over time, owing to rise in prevalence of chronic diseases, awareness about pet health, adoption of pet insurance, and expenditure on pet diagnostics & treatments. For instance, Banfield Pet Hospital registered a spike in barfy, itchy, anxious, and overweight pets in 2020, as compared to 2019. The hospital also registered a 58.7% increase in pet skin allergies, 25% increase in fear/anxiety, and 11.4% increase in visits related to vomiting. In addition, in 2020, there was a 20.4% increase in hospital visits for kittens and 14.3% for puppies. Veterinarians are also increasingly adopting telehealth to increase their practice revenue.

Around 49,730 veterinarians are involved in treatment of cats, dogs, birds, and exotic animals. The demand for companion animal exclusive practices is expected to be on the rise due to high compensation rate for these practices as compared to others. The average starting salary for a companion animal exclusive professional was estimated to be USD 90,893 in 2019. Moreover, increasing pet owner visits for regular checkups, increasing awareness pertinent to the pet health, and rising spending capacity are some of the factors attributed to the dominant share held by companion animal exclusive practices.

The others segment comprising of veterinarians working with nonprofit organizations as care providers, researchers, or consultants is anticipated to grow at the fastest rate in the near future. Nonprofit organizations include humane organizations, professional societies, charitable organizations, missionaries, zoos or aquariums, and wildlife services.

Rise in the number of charities and nonprofit organizations in the U.S. is estimated to fuel the segment growth. The U.S. has around 45,857 animal health organizations. These include around 724 organizations supporting an animal nonprofit, 25,079 animal shelters, 11,360 wildlife protection organizations, and 228 zoos.

U.S. Veterinarians Market Report Scope

Segments Covered in the Report 

This report forecasts revenue growth at the country level and provides an analysis of the latest industry trends and opportunities in each of the sub-segments from 2017 to 2030. For the purpose of this study, Grand View Research has segmented the U.S. Veterinarians market report on the basis of sector:

• Sector Outlook (Revenue, USD Million, 2017 - 2030)

  • Public

  • Private

    • Food Animal Exclusive

    • Food Animal Predominant

    • Mixed Animal

    • Companion Animal Predominant

    • Companion Animal Exclusive

    • Equine

    • Others

  • Academics

  • Others