Optometrists
Examine eyes, prescribe corrective lenses, and catch eye disease.
At a glance
Pay for Optometrists centers on a $136,570 median, $69,380 above the typical occupation we cover, and 40% above the median across Healthcare Practitioners. Works-with-AI scores 33/100 against low displacement risk, closer to help than to displacement, with modeled exposure at the 44th percentile. For Optometrists, the typical entry route is a doctoral degree. Projected employment change for 2025 to 2035 is +9.5%, well ahead of the typical occupation we cover. Hiring volume is roughly 2,000 openings a year, a thin hiring pool by comparison. Set against Nurse Practitioners (+41%), the +9.5% projection here is 32 points lower.
Similar pay in Healthcare Practitioners
Key skills
- Reading Comprehension
- Active Listening
- Critical Thinking
- Writing
- Speaking
- Science
Pay and jobs by state
BLS OEWS May 2025, 50 states and DC. Sorted by jobs; per 1,000 is jobs per thousand workers in the state; vs national compares that rate with the country's.
| State | Jobs | Per 1,000 | vs national | Median pay |
|---|---|---|---|---|
| California | 6,890 | 0.4 | 1.4× | $136k |
| Texas | 4,110 | 0.3 | 1.1× | $126k |
| New York | 2,390 | 0.2 | 0.9× | $161k |
| Florida | 2,350 | 0.2 | 0.9× | $152k |
| Pennsylvania | 1,720 | 0.3 | 1.0× | $135k |
| Illinois | 1,540 | 0.3 | 0.9× | $146k |
| Michigan | 1,410 | 0.3 | 1.2× | $136k |
| New Jersey | 1,380 | 0.3 | 1.2× | $159k |
| Ohio | 1,300 | 0.2 | 0.8× | $135k |
| North Carolina | 1,140 | 0.2 | 0.8× | $162k |
All 50 states and DC
| State | Jobs | Per 1,000 | vs national | Median pay |
|---|---|---|---|---|
| Virginia | 1,110 | 0.3 | 1.0× | $132k |
| Arizona | 1,080 | 0.3 | 1.2× | $122k |
| Indiana | 1,040 | 0.3 | 1.2× | $136k |
| Massachusetts | 950 | 0.3 | 0.9× | $152k |
| Colorado | 880 | 0.3 | 1.1× | $152k |
| Georgia | 870 | 0.2 | 0.7× | $129k |
| Wisconsin | 790 | 0.3 | 1.0× | $140k |
| Maryland | 780 | 0.3 | 1.0× | $166k |
| Washington | 760 | 0.2 | 0.8× | $158k |
| Minnesota | 710 | 0.2 | 0.9× | $159k |
| Kansas | 660 | 0.5 | 1.7× | $139k |
| Tennessee | 660 | 0.2 | 0.7× | $134k |
| Missouri | 630 | 0.2 | 0.8× | $134k |
| Oklahoma | 570 | 0.3 | 1.2× | $97k |
| Oregon | 560 | 0.3 | 1.0× | $132k |
| Connecticut | 490 | 0.3 | 1.1× | $150k |
| South Carolina | 480 | 0.2 | 0.8× | $146k |
| Alabama | 460 | 0.2 | 0.8× | $145k |
| Iowa | 450 | 0.3 | 1.1× | $125k |
| Kentucky | 430 | 0.2 | 0.8× | $129k |
| Nevada | 430 | 0.3 | 1.0× | $136k |
| Utah | 380 | 0.2 | 0.8× | $119k |
| Nebraska | 340 | 0.3 | 1.2× | $125k |
| Arkansas | 320 | 0.2 | 0.9× | $124k |
| Louisiana | 250 | 0.1 | 0.5× | $118k |
| Rhode Island | 250 | 0.5 | 1.8× | $135k |
| Mississippi | 240 | 0.2 | 0.8× | $108k |
| Hawaii | 230 | 0.4 | 1.3× | $155k |
| New Hampshire | 210 | 0.3 | 1.1× | $126k |
| Delaware | 190 | 0.4 | 1.4× | $161k |
| South Dakota | 190 | 0.4 | 1.5× | $102k |
| Maine | 180 | 0.3 | 1.0× | $154k |
| Idaho | 160 | 0.2 | 0.7× | $103k |
| West Virginia | 150 | 0.2 | 0.8× | $118k |
| Montana | 140 | 0.3 | 1.0× | $104k |
| North Dakota | 140 | 0.3 | 1.2× | $132k |
| New Mexico | 130 | 0.1 | 0.5× | $145k |
| Vermont | 90 | 0.3 | 1.1× | $137k |
| Wyoming | 90 | 0.3 | 1.2× | $111k |
| Alaska | 60 | 0.2 | 0.7× | $170k |
| Washington DC | 50 | 0.1 | 0.3× | $135k |
Top metro areas
- New York-Newark-Jersey City, NY-NJ2,580 jobs · $161k median
- Los Angeles-Long Beach-Anaheim, CA2,360 jobs · $139k median
- Houston-Pasadena-The Woodlands, TX1,250 jobs · $125k median
- San Francisco-Oakland-Fremont, CA1,180 jobs · $143k median
- Chicago-Naperville-Elgin, IL-IN1,160 jobs · $146k median
- Philadelphia-Camden-Wilmington, PA-NJ-DE-MD890 jobs · $154k median
- Dallas-Fort Worth-Arlington, TX870 jobs · $141k median
- Phoenix-Mesa-Chandler, AZ860 jobs · $116k median
Where this ranks
Explore Optometrists interactively →Pay and outlook from BLS (OEWS 2025, Employment Projections 2025-2035). Skills and work activities from O*NET 30.3. AI exposure and future-proof scores are modeled estimates. How these numbers are made.