Occupational Employment and Wages, May 2017

29-2081 Opticians, Dispensing

Design, measure, fit, and adapt lenses and frames for client according to written optical prescription or specification. Assist client with inserting, removing, and caring for contact lenses. Assist client with selecting frames. Measure customer for size of eyeglasses and coordinate frames with facial and eye measurements and optical prescription. Prepare work order for optical laboratory containing instructions for grinding and mounting lenses in frames. Verify exactness of finished lens spectacles. Adjust frame and lens position to fit client. May shape or reshape frames. Includes contact lens opticians.

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National estimates for this occupation
Industry profile for this occupation
Geographic profile for this occupation

National estimates for this occupation: Top

Employment estimate and mean wage estimates for this occupation:

Employment (1)	Employment RSE (3)	Mean hourly wage	Mean annual wage (2)	Wage RSE (3)
75,450	2.1 %	$18.79	$39,070	1.0 %

Percentile wage estimates for this occupation:

Percentile	10%	25%	50% (Median)	75%	90%
Hourly Wage	$11.56	$13.81	$17.43	$22.62	$28.25
Annual Wage (2)	$24,040	$28,730	$36,250	$47,040	$58,750

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Industry profile for this occupation: Top

Industries with the highest published employment and wages for this occupation are provided. For a list of all industries with employment in this occupation, see the Create Customized Tables function.

Industries with the highest levels of employment in this occupation:

Industry	Employment (1)	Percent of industry employment	Hourly mean wage	Annual mean wage (2)
Offices of Other Health Practitioners	29,520	3.37	$17.55	$36,500
Health and Personal Care Stores	23,700	2.21	$19.44	$40,440
General Merchandise Stores	12,960	0.40	$19.15	$39,820
Offices of Physicians	6,750	0.27	$19.86	$41,300
Outpatient Care Centers	1,280	0.15	$22.88	$47,590

Industries with the highest concentration of employment in this occupation:

Industry	Employment (1)	Percent of industry employment	Hourly mean wage	Annual mean wage (2)
Offices of Other Health Practitioners	29,520	3.37	$17.55	$36,500
Health and Personal Care Stores	23,700	2.21	$19.44	$40,440
General Merchandise Stores	12,960	0.40	$19.15	$39,820
Offices of Physicians	6,750	0.27	$19.86	$41,300
Outpatient Care Centers	1,280	0.15	$22.88	$47,590

Top paying industries for this occupation:

Industry	Employment (1)	Percent of industry employment	Hourly mean wage	Annual mean wage (2)
Medical Equipment and Supplies Manufacturing	200	0.07	$28.54	$59,370
Outpatient Care Centers	1,280	0.15	$22.88	$47,590
Colleges, Universities, and Professional Schools	220	0.01	$21.53	$44,790
Local Government, excluding schools and hospitals (OES Designation)	40	(7)	$21.42	$44,550
General Medical and Surgical Hospitals	380	0.01	$20.52	$42,680

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Geographic profile for this occupation: Top

States and areas with the highest published employment, location quotients, and wages for this occupation are provided. For a list of all areas with employment in this occupation, see the Create Customized Tables function.

States with the highest employment level in this occupation:

State	Employment (1)	Employment per thousand jobs	Location quotient (9)	Hourly mean wage	Annual mean wage (2)
California	7,600	0.46	0.86	$20.32	$42,270
Texas	6,100	0.51	0.97	$16.04	$33,360
Florida	4,900	0.58	1.10	$18.85	$39,200
Michigan	3,650	0.85	1.61	$16.72	$34,790
New York	3,440	0.37	0.71	$26.19	$54,470

States with the highest concentration of jobs and location quotients in this occupation:

State	Employment (1)	Employment per thousand jobs	Location quotient (9)	Hourly mean wage	Annual mean wage (2)
South Dakota	430	1.02	1.92	$14.79	$30,770
Wyoming	260	0.96	1.81	$15.05	$31,310
North Dakota	390	0.93	1.75	$15.68	$32,620
Delaware	390	0.88	1.66	$17.45	$36,290
New Hampshire	550	0.85	1.60	$19.11	$39,740

Top paying States for this occupation:

State	Employment (1)	Employment per thousand jobs	Location quotient (9)	Hourly mean wage	Annual mean wage (2)
Massachusetts	1,750	0.50	0.94	$30.07	$62,540
New Jersey	1,390	0.35	0.66	$27.61	$57,430
New York	3,440	0.37	0.71	$26.19	$54,470
Rhode Island	290	0.60	1.14	$23.10	$48,040
Washington	1,280	0.40	0.76	$22.07	$45,900

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Metropolitan areas with the highest employment level in this occupation:

Metropolitan area	Employment (1)	Employment per thousand jobs	Location quotient (9)	Hourly mean wage	Annual mean wage (2)
New York-Jersey City-White Plains, NY-NJ Metropolitan Division	1,910	0.29	0.54	$27.31	$56,800
Chicago-Naperville-Arlington Heights, IL Metropolitan Division	1,720	0.47	0.89	$18.84	$39,200
Los Angeles-Long Beach-Glendale, CA Metropolitan Division	1,720	0.39	0.73	$20.67	$43,000
Houston-The Woodlands-Sugar Land, TX	1,470	0.50	0.95	$15.82	$32,900
Phoenix-Mesa-Scottsdale, AZ	1,380	0.70	1.32	$17.93	$37,300
Warren-Troy-Farmington Hills, MI Metropolitan Division	1,370	1.11	2.10	$16.48	$34,270
Anaheim-Santa Ana-Irvine, CA Metropolitan Division	1,190	0.73	1.39	$19.40	$40,350
Washington-Arlington-Alexandria, DC-VA-MD-WV Metropolitan Division	1,160	0.46	0.87	$21.97	$45,700
Dallas-Plano-Irving, TX Metropolitan Division	1,100	0.44	0.84	$17.33	$36,040
Minneapolis-St. Paul-Bloomington, MN-WI	1,070	0.56	1.05	$20.51	$42,670

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Metropolitan areas with the highest concentration of jobs and location quotients in this occupation:

Metropolitan area	Employment (1)	Employment per thousand jobs	Location quotient (9)	Hourly mean wage	Annual mean wage (2)
Kalamazoo-Portage, MI	300	2.18	4.12	$15.68	$32,620
Hammond, LA	90	2.15	4.06	$14.59	$30,340
Lafayette-West Lafayette, IN	180	1.91	3.62	$16.17	$33,630
Mansfield, OH	90	1.83	3.46	$19.35	$40,260
Victoria, TX	70	1.82	3.43	$14.25	$29,650
Kokomo, IN	70	1.71	3.23	$14.46	$30,080
Bismarck, ND	120	1.64	3.10	$15.75	$32,760
Grand Island, NE	60	1.60	3.03	$13.92	$28,960
Muncie, IN	70	1.59	3.00	$14.94	$31,070
Flint, MI	210	1.55	2.92	$16.49	$34,310