SOC 29-1041

Optometrists: pay, outlook and skills

Median pay
$136,570
Per year, OEWS May 2025
People employed
42,790
United States, OEWS May 2025
Projected change
9.5%
2025-2035 projection
Projected openings
2,000
Average per year, 2025-2035

Pay distribution and location comparison

These are published pay distribution points for everyone working in this occupation, not pay levels for junior, mid, or senior roles. Location figures are pay as published; no cost-of-living adjustment is applied.

United States, all industries

National pay distribution and the selected area, annual wages
Pay pointUnited StatesSelected area
10th percentile$74,870-
25th percentile$109,400-
Median$136,570-
75th percentile$165,120-
90th percentile$202,180-
People employed42,790-

Source: OEWS May 2025, U.S. Bureau of Labor Statistics (imported 9/17/2026) official file Reference period: OEWS May 2025.

Long-term outlook

Official ten-year projection for 2025 to 2035. Projected annual openings are an average per year over the decade, including openings from workers leaving the occupation. They are not a count of jobs open today.

Employment 2025
45,100 jobs
Projected 2035
49,400 jobs
Change
9.5%
2025-2035
Openings per year
2,000
Decade average, in people
Typical entry education
Doctoral or professional degree
Related work experience
None
On-the-job training
None

Source: BLS Employment Projections 2025-2035, U.S. Bureau of Labor Statistics (imported 9/17/2026) official file Employment is published in thousands of jobs and converted here to people.

OptimizeResume Job Market Score™
58
Balanced
Stable
Confidence: High
Reference period: Jul 2026

OptimizeResume analysis using U.S. Bureau of Labor Statistics data. This is not a BLS statistic or a prediction that an individual will be hired.

Current Demand50%
48
Occupation Fundamentals30%
76
Long-Term Outlook20%
57

Confidence

  • At least 90% of required inputs and occupation-industry mapping are covered.

How this score is built

Monthly industry demand is mapped to this occupation using official occupation-industry relationships, then combined with occupation fundamentals and long-term projections.

Read Methodology v1.0

Skills, software, and day-to-day work

O*NET occupation profiles is not available for this occupation yet. Everything else on this page comes from official sources that did publish data.

Guides for applying to this work

Sources and how to read this page

Source: OEWS May 2025, U.S. Bureau of Labor Statistics (imported 9/17/2026) official file

Source: BLS Employment Projections 2025-2035, U.S. Bureau of Labor Statistics (imported 9/17/2026) official file

Not available for this occupation: O*NET occupation profiles for this occupation.

How each number should be read
  • Pay percentiles describe the spread of pay across everyone in the occupation, not experience levels.
  • Employment counts are jobs, not people hired during the year.
  • Projected annual openings are a decade average from the official projection, not current vacancies.
  • O*NET skill ratings describe the work, not employer hiring demand.
  • Values BLS did not publish, suppressed, or top-coded are shown as such and never treated as zero.