2023 Best Value Optometry Schools
Identifying Quality Schools at More Affordable Prices
Finding the Best Optometry School for You
In 2020-2021, 1,822 people earned a degree or certificate in optometry, making the major the #23 most popular in the United States.
It's not easy to decide which healthcare program to enroll in when you have so many options available. Along with traditional schools that require in-person attendence, you can attend one of many reputable online schools. Some programs even offer a hybrid experience. Alternatively, you may choose a trade school that prepares you to enter the workforce with knowledge in a specific field.
Along with in-depth profiles of schools and the programs they offer, Healthcare Degree Search has created the Best Value Optometry Schools to help you in your search for the best school for you. Our analysis looked at 21 schools in the United States to see which programs offered the best value experiences for optometry students with the aim of identifying those quality schools that are more affordable than some of their counterparts.
This ranking is not just a list of inexpensive schools. We also consider each school's quality, since we believe a low-quality school may not be a 'bargain' at any price. More specifically, we discount our quality score by the published tuition and fees charged by a school. This gives the cost per unit of quality for each college. The value is determined by how much quality your dollar buys.
For nationwide and regional rankings, we use out-of-state tuition and fees in our calculations. Average in-state tuition and fees are used for our statewide rankings.
Top 10 Best Optometry Schools
Our analysis found Ferris State University to be the best value school for optometry students who want to pursue a degree in the United States. Ferris is a large public school located in the town of Big Rapids.
The average tuition and fees for an out-of-state undergraduate student at Ferris are $13,188 a year.
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You’ll be in good company if you decide to attend Northeastern State University. It ranked #2 on our 2023 Best Value Optometry Schools list. NSU is a medium-sized public school located in the remote town of Tahlequah.
The average tuition and fees for an out-of-state undergraduate student at NSU are $15,755 a year.
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You’ll join some of the best and brightest minds around you if you attend Salus University. The school came in at #3 on this year’s Best Value Optometry Schools list. Located in the suburb of Elkins Park, Salus University is a private not-for-profit college with a small student population.
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You’ll join some of the best and brightest minds around you if you attend University of Pikeville. The school came in at #4 on this year’s Best Value Optometry Schools list. UPIKE is a small private not-for-profit school located in the remote town of Pikeville.
The average tuition and fees for an out-of-state undergraduate student at UPIKE are $22,650 a year.
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A rank of #5 on this year’s list means University of Houston is a great value for optometry students. UH is a very large public school located in the large city of Houston.
The average tuition and fees for an out-of-state undergraduate student at UH are $21,891 a year.
UH excels when it comes to quality. It’s ranked in the top 20% of all schools on our Best Optometry Schools list.
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With a ranking of #6, University of the Incarnate Word did quite well on this year’s best value schools for optometry students. UIW is a moderately-sized private not-for-profit school located in the city of San Antonio.
UIW undergraduate students pay an average of $33,100 in tuition and fees each year.
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University of Alabama at Birmingham landed the #7 spot in the 2023 rankings for the best value optometry programs. UAB is a very large public school located in the medium-sized city of Birmingham.
The average tuition and fees for an out-of-state undergraduate student at UAB are $20,400 a year.
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SUNY College of Optometry did quite well in this year’s ranking of the best value schools for optometry students. It came in at #8 on the list. Located in the city of New York, SUNY Optometry is a public college with a small student population.
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Indiana University - Bloomington landed the #9 spot in the 2023 rankings for the best value optometry programs. IU Bloomington is a fairly large public school located in the small city of Bloomington.
Out-of-state tuition fees for undergraduate students at IU Bloomington are $38,352 per year.
IU Bloomington also claimed a spot on our Best Optometry Schools list. It’s in the top 5% of all schools in this category.
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With a ranking of #10, Pacific University did quite well on this year’s best value schools for optometry students. Pacific is a small private not-for-profit school located in the large suburb of Forest Grove.
Out-of-state tuition fees for undergraduate students at Pacific are $50,070 per year.
In addition to its great value ranking, Pacific is in the top 5% of all schools on our Best Optometry Schools list.
Full Optometry at Pacific University Report
Request InformationOptometry by Region
View the Best Value Optometry Schools for a specific region near you.
| Region |
|---|
| Southeast |
| New England |
| Rocky Mountains |
| Plains States |
| Middle Atlantic |
| Far Western US |
| Southwest |
| Great Lakes |
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Optometry Related Majors for Optometry
One of 30 majors within the healthcare area of study, optometry has other similar majors worth exploring.
Optometry Focus Areas
| Major | Annual Graduates |
|---|---|
| Optometry | 1,822 |
Majors Similar to Optometry
| Related Major | Annual Graduates |
|---|---|
| Nursing | 322,592 |
| Health & Medical Administrative Services | 89,359 |
| Allied Health & Medical Assisting Services | 84,492 |
| Practical Nursing & Nursing Assistants | 84,274 |
| Allied Health Professions | 82,308 |
Notes and References
*These averages are for the top 21 schools only.
- The Integrated Postsecondary Education Data System (IPEDS) from the National Center for Education Statistics (NCES), a branch of the U.S. Department of Education (DOE) serves as the core of the rest of our data about colleges.
- Some other college data, including much of the graduate earnings data, comes from the U.S. Department of Education’s (College Scorecard).
More about our data sources and methodologies.
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