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Occupational Employment and Wage Statistics

Occupational Employment and Wages, May 2019

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.


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

National estimates for this occupation:

Employment estimate and mean wage estimates for this occupation:

Employment (1) Employment
RSE (3)
Mean hourly
wage
Mean annual
wage (2)
Wage RSE (3)
72,330 2.2 % $19.58 $40,730 0.8 %

Percentile wage estimates for this occupation:

Percentile 10% 25% 50%
(Median)
75% 90%
Hourly Wage $12.33 $14.45 $18.19 $23.64 $29.25
Annual Wage (2) $25,640 $30,050 $37,840 $49,170 $60,840


Industry profile for this occupation:

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 30,430 3.18 $18.47 $38,420
Health and Personal Care Stores 21,650 2.04 $19.64 $40,850
Offices of Physicians 7,450 0.28 $20.51 $42,660
Outpatient Care Centers 1,560 0.16 (8) (8)
General Medical and Surgical Hospitals 290 0.01 $21.75 $45,240

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 30,430 3.18 $18.47 $38,420
Health and Personal Care Stores 21,650 2.04 $19.64 $40,850
Offices of Physicians 7,450 0.28 $20.51 $42,660
Outpatient Care Centers 1,560 0.16 (8) (8)
Commercial and Service Industry Machinery Manufacturing 100 0.11 $23.70 $49,290

Top paying industries for this occupation:

Industry Employment (1) Percent of industry employment Hourly mean wage Annual mean wage (2)
Professional and Commercial Equipment and Supplies Merchant Wholesalers (8) (8) $29.73 $61,840
Employment Services (8) (8) $26.39 $54,900
Colleges, Universities, and Professional Schools 270 0.01 $24.05 $50,020
Commercial and Service Industry Machinery Manufacturing 100 0.11 $23.70 $49,290
Medical Equipment and Supplies Manufacturing 90 0.03 $23.58 $49,040


Geographic profile for this occupation:

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 8,050 0.46 0.94 $22.42 $46,620
Texas 6,390 0.51 1.04 $17.11 $35,590
Florida 4,070 0.46 0.94 $20.82 $43,300
Michigan 3,590 0.83 1.68 $17.34 $36,070
Ohio 3,240 0.59 1.21 $20.43 $42,490




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 560 1.32 2.69 $15.83 $32,930
Delaware 420 0.93 1.88 $18.08 $37,610
North Dakota 380 0.90 1.83 $18.02 $37,470
Montana 390 0.83 1.68 $17.46 $36,320
Michigan 3,590 0.83 1.68 $17.34 $36,070




Top paying States for this occupation:

State Employment (1) Employment per thousand jobs Location quotient (9) Hourly mean wage Annual mean wage (2)
New Jersey 1,720 0.42 0.85 $29.57 $61,520
District of Columbia (8) (8) (8) $27.97 $58,170
Connecticut 600 0.36 0.74 $27.10 $56,360
New York 2,840 0.30 0.61 $26.28 $54,670
Alaska 130 0.41 0.83 $26.01 $54,110





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-Newark-Jersey City, NY-NJ-PA 3,020 0.31 0.64 $28.11 $58,460
Los Angeles-Long Beach-Anaheim, CA 2,940 0.47 0.96 $23.40 $48,670
Chicago-Naperville-Elgin, IL-IN-WI 2,290 0.49 0.99 $17.01 $35,370
Dallas-Fort Worth-Arlington, TX 1,840 0.50 1.02 $18.86 $39,230
Detroit-Warren-Dearborn, MI 1,770 0.89 1.81 $17.80 $37,030
Houston-The Woodlands-Sugar Land, TX 1,770 0.58 1.17 $17.48 $36,370
Washington-Arlington-Alexandria, DC-VA-MD-WV 1,380 0.43 0.88 $24.62 $51,210
Miami-Fort Lauderdale-West Palm Beach, FL 1,300 0.49 1.00 $19.45 $40,460
Minneapolis-St. Paul-Bloomington, MN-WI 1,250 0.63 1.29 $19.80 $41,190
San Francisco-Oakland-Hayward, CA 1,100 0.45 0.91 $24.44 $50,840




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)
Victoria, TX 70 1.78 3.62 $14.81 $30,810
Bloomington, IL 160 1.75 3.55 $14.29 $29,730
Flint, MI 240 1.72 3.50 $16.16 $33,600
Muncie, IN 70 1.66 3.38 $15.59 $32,420
Sioux Falls, SD 250 1.58 3.20 $16.66 $34,650
Great Falls, MT 60 1.55 3.15 $15.96 $33,200
Bay City, MI 50 1.52 3.08 $14.77 $30,720
Walla Walla, WA 40 1.39 2.82 $20.30 $42,230
Rapid City, SD 90 1.38 2.80 $14.52 $30,210
Casper, WY 50 1.38 2.80 $15.46 $32,160




Top paying metropolitan areas for this occupation:

Metropolitan area Employment (1) Employment per thousand jobs Location quotient (9) Hourly mean wage Annual mean wage (2)
Utica-Rome, NY 50 0.41 0.83 $34.01 $70,730
Bridgeport-Stamford-Norwalk, CT 90 0.22 0.46 $33.16 $68,970
New Haven, CT 80 0.29 0.58 $31.74 $66,020
Danbury, CT (8) (8) (8) $31.60 $65,730
Atlantic City-Hammonton, NJ 80 0.57 1.16 $30.85 $64,170
Albany-Schenectady-Troy, NY 190 0.41 0.83 $30.65 $63,750
Trenton, NJ 50 0.21 0.42 $29.42 $61,190
New York-Newark-Jersey City, NY-NJ-PA 3,020 0.31 0.64 $28.11 $58,460
Norwich-New London-Westerly, CT-RI (8) (8) (8) $28.04 $58,330
Anchorage, AK 90 0.54 1.10 $27.48 $57,160

Nonmetropolitan areas with the highest employment in this occupation:

Nonmetropolitan area Employment (1) Employment per thousand jobs Location quotient (9) Hourly mean wage Annual mean wage (2)
North Northeastern Ohio non-metropolitan area (non-contiguous) 250 0.76 1.54 $18.51 $38,490
Balance of Lower Peninsula of Michigan nonmetropolitan area 240 0.86 1.75 $17.03 $35,410
Northwest Minnesota nonmetropolitan area 210 1.10 2.23 $19.29 $40,120
Kansas nonmetropolitan area 200 0.50 1.01 $15.14 $31,490
Southwest Maine nonmetropolitan area 190 0.99 2.02 $20.66 $42,970

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

Nonmetropolitan area Employment (1) Employment per thousand jobs Location quotient (9) Hourly mean wage Annual mean wage (2)
Northwest Lower Peninsula of Michigan nonmetropolitan area 150 1.22 2.48 $16.46 $34,230
Northeast Lower Peninsula of Michigan nonmetropolitan area 80 1.13 2.29 $13.03 $27,100
Upper Peninsula of Michigan nonmetropolitan area 130 1.13 2.29 $15.75 $32,760
Central New Hampshire nonmetropolitan area 110 1.12 2.27 $20.98 $43,630
Central Oregon nonmetropolitan area 70 1.11 2.25 $15.21 $31,630

Top paying nonmetropolitan areas for this occupation:

Nonmetropolitan area Employment (1) Employment per thousand jobs Location quotient (9) Hourly mean wage Annual mean wage (2)
Central East New York nonmetropolitan area 80 0.50 1.02 $23.52 $48,920
Capital/Northern New York nonmetropolitan area 90 0.63 1.27 $22.99 $47,810
Eastern Sierra-Mother Lode Region of California nonmetropolitan area 30 0.55 1.11 $22.17 $46,110
Upper Savannah South Carolina nonmetropolitan area (8) (8) (8) $21.94 $45,630
West Arkansas nonmetropolitan area 30 0.35 0.71 $21.51 $44,750


About May 2019 National, State, Metropolitan, and Nonmetropolitan Area Occupational Employment and Wage Estimates

These estimates are calculated with data collected from employers in all industry sectors, all metropolitan and nonmetropolitan areas, and all states and the District of Columbia. The top employment and wage figures are provided above. The complete list is available in the downloadable XLS files.

The percentile wage estimate is the value of a wage below which a certain percent of workers fall. The median wage is the 50th percentile wage estimate--50 percent of workers earn less than the median and 50 percent of workers earn more than the median. More about percentile wages.


(1) Estimates for detailed occupations do not sum to the totals because the totals include occupations not shown separately. Estimates do not include self-employed workers.

(2) Annual wages have been calculated by multiplying the hourly mean wage by a "year-round, full-time" hours figure of 2,080 hours; for those occupations where there is not an hourly wage published, the annual wage has been directly calculated from the reported survey data.

(3) The relative standard error (RSE) is a measure of the reliability of a survey statistic. The smaller the relative standard error, the more precise the estimate.

(8) Estimate not released.

(9) The location quotient is the ratio of the area concentration of occupational employment to the national average concentration. A location quotient greater than one indicates the occupation has a higher share of employment than average, and a location quotient less than one indicates the occupation is less prevalent in the area than average.


Other OES estimates and related information:

May 2019 National Occupational Employment and Wage Estimates

May 2019 State Occupational Employment and Wage Estimates

May 2019 Metropolitan and Nonmetropolitan Area Occupational Employment and Wage Estimates

May 2019 National Industry-Specific Occupational Employment and Wage Estimates

May 2019 Occupation Profiles

Technical Notes

 

Last Modified Date: July 6, 2020