Optometry Practices
Industry Profile Report
Dive Deep into the industry with a 25+ page industry report (pdf format) including the following chapters
Industry Overview Current Conditions, Industry Structure, How Firms Operate, Industry Trends, Credit Underwriting & Risks, and Industry Forecast.
Call Preparation Call Prep Questions, Industry Terms, and Weblinks.
Financial Insights Working Capital, Capital Financing, Business Valuation, and Financial Benchmarks.
Industry Profile Excerpts
Industry Overview
The 19,000 optometry practices in the US are the main providers of vision care. About 55% of optometrist revenue comes from fees for patient care, which includes exams and treatment for problems. The sale of eyeglasses and contact lenses, known as “dispensing revenue,” accounts for over 40% of overall revenue. There are about 36,690 optometrists in the US – a majority work in private optometry practices.
Competition From Retail Chains
Independent optometry practices face competition from large retail optical chains, as well as mass merchandisers offering optical services.
Reimbursement Issues Affect Profit
Since about 30% of their revenue comes from managed care and vision plans, changing reimbursement rates and rules creates challenges for optometry practices.
Industry size & Structure
The average optometry practice has a single location, 8 employees, and about $947,000 in annual revenue.
- There are about 19,000 optometry practices in the US with $18 billion in revenue.
- On an annual basis, the typical optometry practice logs 2,500-3,500 patient visits per optometrist.
- There are about 36,690 optometrists in the US - a majority work in private optometry practices. The rest work for ophthalmologists, retail optical chains, hospitals, HMOs, or the military.
- Optometrists need a Doctor of Optometry (OD) degree, which requires 4 years of graduate study at one of 20 accredited schools of optometry in the US.
- All states require that optometrists be licensed, which requires an OD degree and passing a written National Board exam and a National, Regional, or State clinical exam. Licenses must be renewed every 1-3 years and continuing education credits are required for renewal.
Industry Forecast
Optometry Practices Industry Growth
Recent Developments
Mar 3, 2025 - Individual Bankruptcies Increase
- Individual bankruptcy filings increased 13% year over year in January 2025, according to Epiq AACER, a provider of US bankruptcy filing data. Optometry practices may be impacted by changing expenditures on eye care due to bankruptcy filings. There were 22,938 individual chapter 7 filings in January 2025, a 17% increase over the 19,580 filings recorded in January 2024, and there were 16,087 individual chapter 13 filings in January 2025, an 8% increase over the 14,873 filings a year earlier. “Total bankruptcy filings continue to grow double digit percentages each month,” said Michael Hunter, Vice President of Epiq AACER. “The signs of consumer stress also have become more pronounced as credit card delinquency reach a 12-year high and the share of those active credit card holders making the minimum payments are at a 13-year high. I expect this growth trend to continue and then accelerate after tax season concludes into the summer months."
- Optometry is experiencing a growing emphasis on specialization to meet the changing needs of patients, according to the “Career Considerations in Optometry” survey conducted by Jobson Research. A majority of respondents (67%) described themselves as primary eye care providers while one-third identified themselves either as a primary optometrist with subspecialty skills (30%) or a subspecialist (3%). Top subspecialty areas included dry eye (65%), cornea and contact lenses (64%), ocular disease (55%), and glaucoma (51%).
- Optometry practice owners have been selling their practices and retiring at an increasing rate during the past five years, according to Invision Magazine. This has boosted demand for associate Doctors of Optometry to fill the vacant spots. Private practice is not appealing when it’s a choice between going into debt to start your business or accepting a high six-figure salary and a generous package as an employee, according to Invision. Compensation demanded by young optometrists reflects the disparity between low supply and high demand. The average day rate for a part-time optometrist is now above $700 and, in some markets, above $800.
- Optometry practice employment was unchanged and average wages for nonsupervisory employees increased slightly during the first month of 2025, according to the US Bureau of Labor Statistics. US optometry practice sales are forecast to grow at a 6.08% compounded annual rate from 2024 to 2028, faster than the growth of the overall economy, according to Inforum and the Interindustry Economic Research Fund, Inc.
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