By the numbers: The number of vet establishments across the country has gone up 8.4% since 2012, according to 2021 Census Bureau data, the most recent available.
Zoom out: Many more vets are probably still needed to meet demand.
As of 2022, there were about 86 million dogs and 66 million cats in the U.S., an annual increase of about 2% a year since 2016, according to a spokesperson for the American Veterinary Medical Association, Mark Rosati.
In 2023, the AVMA noticed demand for companion animal veterinary services starting to return to pre-pandemic levels, a trend expected to continue this year, Rosati told Axios.