Money · 1 of 5
What optometrists make
Typical
$136,570
New graduate
$74,870
Top tenth
$202,180
The national median is $136,570 a year, and the bottom tenth start near $74,870. Employed optometrists in retail chains and clinics sit around the middle. Practice owners are at the top, and they are earning from the frames and lenses as well as from the exams.