Optometrist salary
What optometrists actually earn, from U.S. Department of Labor wage data for May 2025 — the low end, the median and what the top 10% make, across 52 states and 241 metro areas.
- 10th percentile
- $74,870
- 25th percentile
- $109,400
- Median percentile
- $136,570
- 75th percentile
- $165,120
- 90th percentile
- $202,180
- Mean
- $141,550
- Employed
- 42,790
How much does a optometrist make?
Half of optometrists earn more than $136,570 a year and half earn less. The bottom 10% earn under $74,870 — typically early-career, part-time or partial-year — while the top 10% earn $202,180 or more. BLS counts 42,790 people in this occupation. The spread between those two ends is the number worth paying attention to: it is far wider in medicine than in most professions, and where you practise and who employs you moves you along it more than seniority alone does.
Optometrist salary by state
Low end, average, median and top 10% in each state, ranked by median annual wage. BLS suppresses states with too few reporting employers, so not every state appears.
| State | Low (10th) | Average | Median | Top 10% | Employed |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| Alaska | $98,530 | $165,120 | $170,310 | $218,180 | 60 |
| Maryland | $50,560 | $148,910 | $165,840 | $215,420 | 780 |
| North Carolina | $94,320 | $161,030 | $161,560 | $215,340 | 1,140 |
| Delaware | $77,980 | $142,820 | $161,270 | $188,490 | 190 |
| New York | $95,460 | $153,130 | $161,140 | $203,040 | 2,390 |
| New Jersey | $104,730 | $161,110 | $159,040 | $232,960 | 1,380 |
| Minnesota | $96,670 | $151,450 | $158,700 | $206,960 | 710 |
| Washington | $103,880 | $159,380 | $157,560 | $217,900 | 760 |
| Hawaii | $107,090 | $149,920 | $154,620 | $205,390 | 230 |
| Maine | $102,600 | $160,730 | $154,110 | $241,200 | 180 |
| Colorado | $65,910 | $152,460 | $152,000 | $212,120 | 880 |
| Massachusetts | $95,780 | $152,550 | $151,730 | $196,470 | 950 |
| Florida | $62,490 | $143,020 | $151,670 | $196,210 | 2,350 |
| Connecticut | $99,200 | $147,820 | $150,340 | $214,040 | 490 |
| South Carolina | $51,740 | $129,570 | $145,950 | $172,060 | 480 |
| Illinois | $93,350 | $143,720 | $145,620 | $190,620 | 1,540 |
| Alabama | $56,740 | $137,460 | $145,090 | $196,600 | 460 |
| New Mexico | $88,160 | $153,180 | $144,660 | $202,980 | 130 |
| Wisconsin | $75,390 | $142,800 | $139,720 | $203,670 | 790 |
| Kansas | $85,010 | $140,510 | $138,580 | $192,720 | 660 |
| Vermont | $60,290 | $146,240 | $137,290 | $194,190 | 90 |
| California | $99,890 | $147,420 | $136,300 | $213,710 | 6,890 |
| Michigan | $98,110 | $144,610 | $135,650 | $213,850 | 1,410 |
| Nevada | $74,530 | $137,020 | $135,650 | $181,520 | 430 |
| Indiana | $76,860 | $137,020 | $135,500 | $193,270 | 1,040 |
| Pennsylvania | $92,970 | $139,660 | $135,400 | $173,380 | 1,720 |
| Ohio | $63,650 | $133,960 | $134,850 | $190,630 | 1,300 |
| District of Columbia | $102,570 | $145,590 | $134,840 | $207,570 | 50 |
| Rhode Island | $71,670 | $145,800 | $134,520 | $215,640 | 250 |
| Tennessee | $47,630 | $120,920 | $134,170 | $167,420 | 660 |
| Missouri | $64,610 | $133,680 | $133,810 | $175,270 | 630 |
| Puerto Rico | $44,190 | $148,910 | $132,790 | $300,250 | 280 |
| North Dakota | $74,610 | $132,080 | $132,110 | $178,900 | 140 |
| Oregon | $83,830 | $127,920 | $132,020 | $161,480 | 560 |
| Virginia | $62,430 | $155,530 | $131,570 | $235,980 | 1,110 |
| Kentucky | $82,240 | $142,710 | $128,860 | $254,630 | 430 |
| Georgia | $51,030 | $128,630 | $128,830 | $189,610 | 870 |
| Texas | $54,180 | $124,760 | $126,000 | $164,420 | 4,110 |
| New Hampshire | $76,360 | $146,430 | $125,560 | $205,560 | 210 |
| Iowa | $73,660 | $123,250 | $125,380 | $175,460 | 450 |
| Nebraska | $65,170 | $132,660 | $125,040 | $205,450 | 340 |
| Arkansas | $57,960 | $125,460 | $124,470 | $181,520 | 320 |
| Arizona | $99,570 | $135,280 | $122,250 | $171,490 | 1,080 |
| Utah | $44,470 | $128,180 | $119,070 | $172,480 | 380 |
| Louisiana | $45,420 | $121,000 | $118,060 | $183,670 | 250 |
| West Virginia | $69,830 | $130,750 | $118,010 | $198,570 | 150 |
| Wyoming | $51,580 | $115,500 | $111,400 | $178,860 | 90 |
| Mississippi | $63,470 | $126,580 | $108,070 | $215,640 | 240 |
| Montana | $58,450 | $106,200 | $104,280 | $163,030 | 140 |
| Idaho | $52,000 | $113,870 | $103,390 | $189,570 | 160 |
| South Dakota | $90,560 | $118,060 | $102,320 | $174,920 | 190 |
| Oklahoma | $59,990 | $114,710 | $97,350 | $174,620 | 570 |
Highest-paying areas for optometrists
| Area | Low (10th) | Average | Median | Top 10% |
|---|---|---|---|---|
| La Crosse-Onalaska, WI-MN | $110,530 | $168,910 | $175,810 | $224,140 |
| Asheville, NC | $95,220 | $162,950 | $167,980 | $207,200 |
| Seattle-Tacoma-Bellevue, WA | $121,350 | $171,750 | $167,810 | $227,540 |
| Anchorage, AK | $78,190 | $158,180 | $167,000 | $204,680 |
| Durham-Chapel Hill, NC | $100,870 | $164,510 | $166,880 | $217,510 |
| Peoria, IL | $128,400 | $155,720 | $166,600 | $203,410 |
| Albuquerque, NM | $62,110 | $160,830 | $165,810 | $209,220 |
| Dover, DE | $103,000 | $155,270 | $165,660 | $202,850 |
| Buffalo-Cheektowaga, NY | $106,650 | $149,220 | $165,640 | $170,880 |
| Santa Rosa-Petaluma, CA | $122,310 | $172,860 | $165,360 | $227,770 |
| Albany-Schenectady-Troy, NY | $65,960 | $146,400 | $164,020 | $193,610 |
| Wilmington, NC | $109,780 | $204,680 | $163,800 | $355,440 |
| Raleigh-Cary, NC | $100,240 | $164,790 | $163,290 | $213,860 |
| Fort Collins-Loveland, CO | $104,210 | $183,350 | $163,240 | $320,350 |
| Birmingham, AL | $73,750 | $150,310 | $162,890 | $196,600 |
| North Port-Bradenton-Sarasota, FL | $96,520 | $158,550 | $162,690 | $215,730 |
| Winston-Salem, NC | $96,100 | $157,630 | $162,540 | $201,130 |
| Eastern North Carolina nonmetropolitan area | $103,720 | $166,990 | $162,010 | $260,220 |
| Kiryas Joel-Poughkeepsie-Newburgh, NY | $107,340 | $157,230 | $161,850 | $197,520 |
| Jacksonville, FL | $100,340 | $154,490 | $161,560 | $210,490 |
| Cape Coral-Fort Myers, FL | $100,760 | $146,920 | $161,540 | $185,190 |
| Portland-South Portland, ME | $109,170 | $154,900 | $161,220 | $214,200 |
| Huntsville, AL | $74,670 | $148,490 | $161,170 | $199,050 |
| New York-Newark-Jersey City, NY-NJ | $104,730 | $157,350 | $161,030 | $203,050 |
| Daphne-Fairhope-Foley, AL | $57,880 | $141,540 | $160,680 | $218,300 |
| Killeen-Temple, TX | $66,360 | $168,490 | $160,460 | $296,370 |
| Orlando-Kissimmee-Sanford, FL | $85,620 | $148,670 | $160,090 | $193,700 |
| Minneapolis-St. Paul-Bloomington, MN-WI | $95,640 | $153,240 | $159,790 | $196,290 |
| Rochester, NY | $99,030 | $145,460 | $159,380 | $187,690 |
| Savannah, GA | $91,740 | $154,300 | $159,330 | $224,280 |
Salary is only half the picture
Wages tell you what a clinician is paid. They say nothing about what that clinician bills, prescribes, or receives from industry — all of which are published separately by CMS and none of which appear in a salary survey. If you want the rest of the picture for an individual doctor rather than an occupation, that is what the profiles on this site are for.
Look up an individual clinician →·Medicare billing by specialty →
Where this comes from. U.S. Bureau of Labor Statistics, Occupational Employment and Wage Statistics, May 2025, for the occupation Optometrists. Employers report the wages they actually pay, and the methodology is published — unlike self-reported salary surveys, which nobody can verify.
What it leaves out. OES counts wage-and-salary employees. Self-employed physicians and practice owners are outside its scope, and partnership distributions are not wages, so in specialties where private practice is common these figures are likely to be conservative. Bonuses and profit-sharing are excluded from the wage measure as well.