Department of Labor Logo United States Department of Labor
Dot gov

The .gov means it's official.
Federal government websites often end in .gov or .mil. Before sharing sensitive information, make sure you're on a federal government site.

Https

The site is secure.
The https:// ensures that you are connecting to the official website and that any information you provide is encrypted and transmitted securely.

Occupational Employment and Wage Statistics

Occupational Employment and Wages, May 2019

51-9083 Ophthalmic Laboratory Technicians

Cut, grind, and polish eyeglasses, contact lenses, or other precision optical elements. Assemble and mount lenses into frames or process other optical elements. Includes precision lens polishers or grinders, centerer-edgers, and lens mounters. Excludes “Opticians, Dispensing ” (29-2081).


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)
29,150 4.5 % $16.73 $34,800 0.9 %

Percentile wage estimates for this occupation:

Percentile 10% 25% 50%
(Median)
75% 90%
Hourly Wage $11.13 $12.89 $15.68 $19.26 $23.97
Annual Wage (2) $23,140 $26,810 $32,620 $40,060 $49,850


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)
Medical Equipment and Supplies Manufacturing 9,620 3.02 $16.47 $34,260
Health and Personal Care Stores 8,440 0.80 $15.64 $32,530
Offices of Other Health Practitioners 4,040 0.42 $16.37 $34,060
Professional and Commercial Equipment and Supplies Merchant Wholesalers 2,450 0.36 $16.21 $33,720
Commercial and Service Industry Machinery Manufacturing 1,850 2.00 $20.26 $42,140

Industries with the highest concentration of employment in this occupation:

Industry Employment (1) Percent of industry employment Hourly mean wage Annual mean wage (2)
Medical Equipment and Supplies Manufacturing 9,620 3.02 $16.47 $34,260
Commercial and Service Industry Machinery Manufacturing 1,850 2.00 $20.26 $42,140
Health and Personal Care Stores 8,440 0.80 $15.64 $32,530
Offices of Other Health Practitioners 4,040 0.42 $16.37 $34,060
Professional and Commercial Equipment and Supplies Merchant Wholesalers 2,450 0.36 $16.21 $33,720

Top paying industries for this occupation:

Industry Employment (1) Percent of industry employment Hourly mean wage Annual mean wage (2)
Outpatient Care Centers 450 0.05 $24.82 $51,630
Federal Executive Branch (OES Designation) 110 0.01 $23.41 $48,700
Colleges, Universities, and Professional Schools 30 (7) $20.84 $43,340
Management of Companies and Enterprises 90 (7) $20.78 $43,220
Commercial and Service Industry Machinery Manufacturing 1,850 2.00 $20.26 $42,140


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 3,290 0.19 0.95 $18.23 $37,920
Texas 2,940 0.24 1.19 $15.15 $31,520
Florida 2,930 0.33 1.68 $15.91 $33,100
New York 2,850 0.30 1.51 $18.03 $37,510
Ohio 1,510 0.28 1.40 $16.40 $34,120




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)
Minnesota 1,010 0.35 1.76 $16.73 $34,790
Washington 1,090 0.33 1.65 $19.09 $39,700
Florida 2,930 0.33 1.68 $15.91 $33,100
Rhode Island 150 0.32 1.59 $17.32 $36,020
New York 2,850 0.30 1.51 $18.03 $37,510




Top paying States for this occupation:

State Employment (1) Employment per thousand jobs Location quotient (9) Hourly mean wage Annual mean wage (2)
New Hampshire 130 0.20 0.99 $22.05 $45,870
Maryland 750 0.28 1.40 $21.44 $44,600
Washington 1,090 0.33 1.65 $19.09 $39,700
Connecticut 190 0.12 0.59 $18.58 $38,650
Vermont (8) (8) (8) $18.51 $38,500





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 1,740 0.18 0.91 $18.21 $37,870
Dallas-Fort Worth-Arlington, TX 1,390 0.38 1.91 $15.77 $32,810
Chicago-Naperville-Elgin, IL-IN-WI 980 0.21 1.06 $16.57 $34,470
Seattle-Tacoma-Bellevue, WA 900 0.45 2.25 $19.16 $39,860
Rochester, NY 850 1.64 8.25 $18.43 $38,340
Miami-Fort Lauderdale-West Palm Beach, FL 780 0.29 1.48 $14.82 $30,820
Atlanta-Sandy Springs-Roswell, GA 750 0.27 1.37 $13.55 $28,190
Tampa-St. Petersburg-Clearwater, FL 730 0.54 2.74 $16.56 $34,450
St. Louis, MO-IL 590 0.43 2.17 $15.27 $31,760
Jacksonville, FL 590 0.84 4.21 $16.74 $34,820




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)
St. Cloud, MN 530 5.03 25.34 $15.31 $31,850
Rochester, NY 850 1.64 8.25 $18.43 $38,340
Bloomington, IL 100 1.17 5.90 $12.21 $25,400
Jacksonville, FL 590 0.84 4.21 $16.74 $34,820
Gulfport-Biloxi-Pascagoula, MS 120 0.78 3.92 $15.06 $31,320
Syracuse, NY 240 0.77 3.90 $15.51 $32,270
Tampa-St. Petersburg-Clearwater, FL 730 0.54 2.74 $16.56 $34,450
San Antonio-New Braunfels, TX 530 0.51 2.59 $14.69 $30,560
Salt Lake City, UT 360 0.49 2.46 $12.54 $26,080
Sacramento--Roseville--Arden-Arcade, CA 500 0.49 2.48 $15.00 $31,200




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)
New Haven, CT 40 0.13 0.65 $25.19 $52,390
Washington-Arlington-Alexandria, DC-VA-MD-WV 570 0.18 0.91 $23.25 $48,350
Cleveland-Elyria, OH (8) (8) (8) $21.76 $45,270
Pensacola-Ferry Pass-Brent, FL 40 0.23 1.15 $21.01 $43,710
Oxnard-Thousand Oaks-Ventura, CA (8) (8) (8) $20.96 $43,590
San Jose-Sunnyvale-Santa Clara, CA 120 0.11 0.53 $20.90 $43,470
San Francisco-Oakland-Hayward, CA 180 0.07 0.36 $20.68 $43,010
Charleston-North Charleston, SC 40 0.11 0.57 $20.42 $42,470
Madison, WI 50 0.13 0.66 $20.32 $42,270
South Bend-Mishawaka, IN-MI (8) (8) (8) $20.30 $42,220

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)
Southern Vermont nonmetropolitan area 40 0.38 1.93 $15.51 $32,260

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)
Southern Vermont nonmetropolitan area 40 0.38 1.93 $15.51 $32,260

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)
Southern Vermont nonmetropolitan area 40 0.38 1.93 $15.51 $32,260
North Florida nonmetropolitan area (8) (8) (8) $14.27 $29,680


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.

(7) The value is less than .005 percent of industry employment.

(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