BLS optometrist salaries by state and pay level, retail vs private practice pay, salary per hour and take-home after 2026 tax
Optometrists earned a median salary of $136,570 in May 2025 ($65.66 an hour), according to the Bureau of Labor Statistics' count of 42,790 employed optometrists. The bottom tenth earned under $74,870 and the top tenth over $202,180. Practice owners aren't in those numbers.
This is the BLS line for optometrists (SOC 29-1041) on employers' payrolls. Practice owners and the self-employed aren't counted, and neither are ophthalmologists, who are physicians, or opticians, who fit eyewear. Take-home assumes a single filer with 2026 federal tax and FICA and no state tax.
| Pay level | Hourly | Annual | Monthly | Take-home a year |
|---|---|---|---|---|
| 10th percentile | $35.99 | $74,870 | $6,239 | $61,501 |
| 25th percentile | $52.59 | $109,400 | $9,117 | $85,793 |
| Median | $65.66 | $136,570 | $11,381 | $104,612 |
| 75th percentile | $79.39 | $165,120 | $13,760 | $124,126 |
| 90th percentile | $97.20 | $202,180 | $16,848 | $150,533 |
Alaska ($170,310), Maryland ($165,840) and North Carolina ($161,560) have the highest medians; Oklahoma's $97,350 is the lowest. California employs by far the most optometrists, 6,890, at $136,300, almost exactly the national median. Texas pays $126,000, New York $161,140 and Florida $151,670.
| State | Median hourly | Median annual | Employed |
|---|---|---|---|
| Alaska | $81.88 | $170,310 | 60 |
| Maryland | $79.73 | $165,840 | 780 |
| North Carolina | $77.67 | $161,560 | 1,140 |
| Delaware | $77.54 | $161,270 | 190 |
| New York | $77.47 | $161,140 | 2,390 |
| New Jersey | $76.46 | $159,040 | 1,380 |
| Minnesota | $76.30 | $158,700 | 710 |
| Washington | $75.75 | $157,560 | 760 |
| Hawaii | $74.34 | $154,620 | 230 |
| Maine | $74.09 | $154,110 | 180 |
| Colorado | $73.08 | $152,000 | 880 |
| Massachusetts | $72.95 | $151,730 | 950 |
| Florida | $72.92 | $151,670 | 2,350 |
| Connecticut | $72.28 | $150,340 | 490 |
| South Carolina | $70.17 | $145,950 | 480 |
| Illinois | $70.01 | $145,620 | 1,540 |
| Alabama | $69.75 | $145,090 | 460 |
| New Mexico | $69.55 | $144,660 | 130 |
| Wisconsin | $67.17 | $139,720 | 790 |
| Kansas | $66.63 | $138,580 | 660 |
| Vermont | $66.01 | $137,290 | 90 |
| California | $65.53 | $136,300 | 6,890 |
| Nevada | $65.22 | $135,650 | 430 |
| Michigan | $65.21 | $135,650 | 1,410 |
| Indiana | $65.14 | $135,500 | 1,040 |
| Pennsylvania | $65.10 | $135,400 | 1,720 |
| District of Columbia | $64.83 | $134,840 | 50 |
| Ohio | $64.83 | $134,850 | 1,300 |
| Rhode Island | $64.67 | $134,520 | 250 |
| Tennessee | $64.51 | $134,170 | 660 |
| Missouri | $64.33 | $133,810 | 630 |
| North Dakota | $63.51 | $132,110 | 140 |
| Oregon | $63.47 | $132,020 | 560 |
| Virginia | $63.25 | $131,570 | 1,110 |
| Kentucky | $61.95 | $128,860 | 430 |
| Georgia | $61.94 | $128,830 | 870 |
| Texas | $60.58 | $126,000 | 4,110 |
| New Hampshire | $60.36 | $125,560 | 210 |
| Iowa | $60.28 | $125,380 | 450 |
| Nebraska | $60.12 | $125,040 | 340 |
| Arkansas | $59.84 | $124,470 | 320 |
| Arizona | $58.78 | $122,250 | 1,080 |
| Utah | $57.25 | $119,070 | 380 |
| Louisiana | $56.76 | $118,060 | 250 |
| West Virginia | $56.74 | $118,010 | 150 |
| Wyoming | $53.56 | $111,400 | 90 |
| Mississippi | $51.96 | $108,070 | 240 |
| Montana | $50.14 | $104,280 | 140 |
| Idaho | $49.71 | $103,390 | 160 |
| South Dakota | $49.19 | $102,320 | 190 |
| Oklahoma | $46.80 | $97,350 | 570 |
Optometrists in outpatient care centers have the highest median, $207,030, then retail stores ($159,250) and physicians' offices ($145,630). Optometrists' own offices, which employ 61% of them, pay the least of the four, $129,250 (BLS Occupational Outlook Handbook).
| Industry | Median annual wage |
|---|---|
| Outpatient care centers | $207,030 |
| Retail trade | $159,250 |
| Offices of physicians | $145,630 |
| Offices of optometrists | $129,250 |
Most optometrists work full time, but part-time work is common, and schedules can include evenings and weekends. They work in exam rooms in optometry practices, physicians' offices and stores that sell eyeglasses: optometrists' offices employ 61% of them, physicians' offices 14%, retail 13% and outpatient care centers 4%, and 5% are self-employed (BLS Occupational Outlook Handbook).
Federal rules count optometrists as "physicians" for the professional exemption, alongside medical doctors, dentists and podiatrists, and an optometrist holding a valid license and practicing is exempt from overtime with no minimum salary test (29 CFR 541.304). Extra evening or Saturday clinics therefore change pay per hour, not total pay, unless your contract says otherwise.
Because a licensed optometrist is exempt at any salary, a longer clinic week doesn't add pay. The table divides the BLS median and 75th percentile optometrist salaries by weekly hours over 52 weeks — and part-time optometrists can run the same arithmetic the other way by entering their own hours in the calculator.
| Hours a week | Median salary per hour | 75th percentile per hour |
|---|---|---|
| 35 | $75.04 | $90.73 |
| 40 | $65.66 | $79.38 |
| 45 | $58.36 | $70.56 |
| 50 | $52.53 | $63.51 |
| 55 | $47.75 | $57.73 |
| 60 | $43.77 | $52.92 |
Optometrists need a Doctor of Optometry (O.D.), a 4-year program entered after at least 3 years of college — most applicants have a bachelor's — and an entrance exam. Every state requires a license, which means passing all sections of a qualifying exam, sometimes a clinical or law exam too, and continuing education to renew. Some add a year of residency in areas such as primary care, cornea and contact lenses, or ocular disease, or an optional board certification (BLS Occupational Outlook Handbook).
More ways to work with your optometrist pay:
$136,570 a year ($65.66 an hour) at the BLS median for May 2025. The middle half earned $109,400 to $165,120.
Alaska ($81.88 an hour, $170,310 a year), then Maryland and North Carolina; Oklahoma pays least among the 51 states where BLS released a figure (BLS, May 2025).
In the Occupational Outlook Handbook's industry table, optometrists in retail trade have a higher median than those in optometrists' offices, which employ 61% of them. Outpatient care centers have the highest median of all. The figures are on this page.
No, generally not. Licensed, practicing optometrists count as physicians under the federal professional exemption, with no salary test (29 CFR 541.304).
Tax rules, limits and pay data change. Check the current figures with the primary source before acting on them.