How Much Do Optometrists Make in 2021 (including Starting Salary)

Stan T.Career, SalaryLeave a Comment

Annual Salary, Salary Range, and Highest Paying States and Industries

Optometrists

Optometrists diagnose, manage, and treat conditions and diseases of the human eye and visual system. Examine eyes and visual system, diagnose problems or impairments, prescribe corrective lenses, and provide treatment. May prescribe therapeutic drugs to treat specific eye conditions.

Salary
$125440
Becoming One
Very Hard
Education
Doctoral degree
Job Satisfaction
Job Growth

Personality
Interest Match



Table of contents
  1. Average salary
  2. Starting salary
  3. Salary rank
  4. Salary range
  5. Highest paying states
  6. Highest paying industries

Average salary

Annual salary
$125440 per year
Hourly wage
$60 per hour

Starting salary

Entry-level annual salary
$60,750 to $91,180 per year
Entry-level hourly wage
$29 to $44 per hour

Entry-level Optometrists with little to no experience can expect to make anywhere between $60,750 to $91,180 per year or $29 to $44 per hour. Similar to any other job, their salary will increase as they gain experience.

Salary rank

Salary rank
A

We wanted to make it easy for our readers to compare the salary of Optometrists to all the other careers out there. So we created Salary Rank. We compared the salary of all careers then we gave them a rank of A, B, C, or D depending on where their average salary sit in comparison to other careers.

Salary range

Level Hourly Annual
Highest (Top 10%) $94 $195,810
Senior (Top 25%) $70 $145,720
Middle (Mid 50%) $57 $118,050
Junior (Bottom 25%) $44 $91,180
No experience (Bottom 10%) $29 $60,750

Highest paying states

State Hourly Annual
DC $91 $189,750
CT $86 $178,530
ND $83 $172,430
AK $71 $146,680
KY $69 $144,320
WV $69 $143,330
NC $69 $143,320
IL $69 $143,270
NY $67 $139,410
MN $66 $137,530

Another simple way to increase your salary as an Optometrist is to move to a higher paying state. However moving to a higher paying state like DC doesn’t guarantee that you will make more because the expenses at DC might be much higher than where you are currently living at right now.

According to BLS, the highest paid Optometrists are in the states of DC, CT, ND, AK and KY.

Highest paying industries

Salary by industry Annual Hourly
Outpatient Care Centers $162870 $78.30
Offices of Dentists $162320 $78.04
General Medical and Surgical Hospitals $140670 $67.63
Offices of Physicians $140080 $67.35
Employment Services $122490 $58.89
Management of Companies and Enterprises $121890 $58.60
Offices of Other Health Practitioners $119690 $57.54
Health and Personal Care Stores $119540 $57.47
Colleges, Universities, and Professional Schools $116870 $56.19
Local Government $111220 $53.47
Federal Executive Branch $77610 $37.31
Other Ambulatory Health Care Services $ $*

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