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Optometrists in California

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Optometrists in California

Want to work in California as an Optometrist? Read this first!

19.0% Jobs Projection
$111,790 Median Salary
220 Job Openings

You’re in luck! Jobs for Optometrists in California are projected to grow and these jobs tend to pay higher than average.

  • Projected employment for Optometrists in California is growing faster than average.

  • Optometrists in California earn higher salaries than the typical U.S. wage earner.

How Many Optometrists Work in California?

In California, there were 3,760 people working as Optometrists in the year 2018.

There were 3,810 Optometrists employed in this state in 2017.

That’s a decline of 50 jobs between 2017 and 2018.

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The typical state has 505 Optometrists working in it, which means California has more Optometrists than average.

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Job Projections for California

Jobs for Optometrists in this state are growing at a rate of 19.0% which is faster than the nationwide estimated projection of 17.9%.

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California Annual Job Openings

The BLS estimates 220 annual job openings, and a total of 5,000 jobs for California Optometrists in 2026.

Nationwide, the prediction is 2,000 annual jobs and 47,400 total jobs in 2026.

What do Optometrists Make in California?

In 2018 wages for Optometrists ranged from $69,450 to $180,410 with $111,790 being the median annual salary.

Broken down to an hourly rate, workers in this field made anywhere from $33.39 to $86.74. The median hourly rate was $53.74.

Workers in this field were paid a median of $53.39 an hour in 2017.

The hourly rate grew by $0.35.

The median salary in California is higher than the nationwide median salary.

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Top California Metros for Optometrists

The table below shows some of the metros in this state with the most Optometrists.

Metro Number Employed Annual Median Salary
Los Angeles-Long Beach-Anaheim, CA 1,240 $111,520
San Francisco-Oakland-Hayward, CA 480 $113,610
San Jose-Sunnyvale-Santa Clara, CA 410 $116,880
San Diego-Carlsbad, CA 370 $97,430
Riverside-San Bernardino-Ontario, CA 360 $108,320
Sacramento–Roseville–Arden-Arcade, CA 240 $113,670
Fresno, CA 80 $104,270
Vallejo-Fairfield, CA 60 $128,040
Santa Maria-Santa Barbara, CA 50 $102,120
Bakersfield, CA 50 $117,360
Salinas, CA 50 $109,770
Modesto, CA 50 $112,430
Oxnard-Thousand Oaks-Ventura, CA 40 $103,720
Santa Rosa, CA 30 $122,270

Top States for Optometrists Employment

View the list below to see where most Optometrists work.

State Number Employed Annual Median Salary
California 3,760 $111,790
Texas 2,750 $111,720
Illinois 2,300 $113,770
New York 2,040 $122,230
Michigan 1,590 $112,120
Florida 1,590 $104,280
Pennsylvania 1,450 $110,930
Massachusetts 1,200 $124,890
Ohio 1,200 $112,380
New Jersey 1,160 $116,340
Virginia 1,090 $120,940
Indiana 1,080 $92,480
North Carolina 1,080 $116,520
Georgia 990 $91,900
Minnesota 900 $117,380
Colorado 830 $131,190
Tennessee 720 $105,590
Washington 700 $113,220
Arizona 660 $123,700
Oklahoma 630 $87,780

Below are the states where Optometrists get paid the most:

State Annual Median Salary
North Dakota $155,030
Vermont $141,880
Alaska $134,040
Colorado $131,190
Maryland $130,600
Connecticut $129,540
Massachusetts $124,890
Arizona $123,700
New Hampshire $122,720
New York $122,230

References

More about our data sources and methodologies.

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