Health care · Metro area · Alabama
Optometrists and eye clinics in the Birmingham, AL metro area
How the Birmingham, AL metro area compares with other metro areas and the U.S. for optometrists and eye clinics: competitors, household spending, official counts and growth.
Groundwork market score · out of 100
Score 23 out of 100: Low
Ranked #365 of 386 scored metro areas
#10 of 12 scored metro areas based in Alabama
- Listings
- 213
- 55 chain locations (26%)
- Official establishments
- 105
- −3.8% since 2019
- Household spending a year
- $515.9M
- On medical and dental services · $1,109 a household
- Spending per listing
- $2.4M
- 23% below the U.S.
- Listings per 10k households
- 4.6
- 12% above the U.S.
- Population, 2025
- 1,197,766
- +1.4% since 2020
See the optometrists and eye clinics around any address in the Birmingham metro area
The site report maps the optometrists and eye clinics on map listings near the address, by name and distance, and sizes the households and spending around it. Or open the report at the center of the Birmingham metro area. Signed out, you see a blurred preview; on an account, each report is one action.
Free10 actions over 3 days, no cardSurvey estimates 2020–2024 · population estimates 2025 · official business counts 2023 · map listings September 2026 · Data credits · How we measure
What this means
For optometrists and eye clinics, the Birmingham metro area has a Groundwork market score of 23 (low): #365 of 386 scored metro areas and #10 of 12 scored metro areas based in Alabama. That puts it in the bottom quarter of metro areas.
As of September 2026, map listings count 213 optometrists and eye clinics in the Birmingham metro area. 55 of them (26%) are chain locations, against 20% across the U.S. That comes to 4.6 for every 10,000 households, 12% above the U.S. rate of 4.1.
At $1,109 per household (14% below the U.S. average), households in the Birmingham metro area spend about $515.9M a year on medical and dental services. Spread across 213 optometrists and eye clinics, that is $2.4M per practice, 23% below the U.S. figure of $3.1M. That spending covers all medical and dental services, which optometrists and eye clinics share with other businesses in the trade.
In 2023, official counts showed 105 businesses with payroll in the Birmingham metro area classed as offices of optometrists, down 3.8% from 2019. That is one for every 4,429 households, against one for every 5,742 across the U.S. Since fiscal 2022, 4 SBA-backed loans worth $2.2M have gone to businesses classed as offices of optometrists in the Birmingham metro area. Population estimates show the Birmingham metro area grew 1.4% from 2020 to 2025, slower than the U.S. (+3.1%).
How the Birmingham metro area compares
The same measures for Alabama and the whole U.S. Spending per listing divides a year of household spending on all medical and dental services by the optometrists and eye clinics counted, so it measures the demand for each competitor, not any business’s revenue. Households per establishment does the same with the official count.
| Measure | Birmingham metro area | Alabama | U.S. |
|---|---|---|---|
| Listings per 10k households | 4.6 | 3.7 | 4.1 |
| Spending per listing | $2.4M | $2.9M | $3.1M |
| Households per official establishment | 4,429 | 5,626 | 5,742 |
| Official establishment growth, 2019–2023 | −3.8% | +2.6% | +0.2% |
| Population growth, 2020–2025 | +1.4% | +3.2% | +3.1% |
| Spending per household on medical and dental services | $1,109 | $1,050 | $1,288 |
| Median household income | $71,498 | $63,999 | $80,734 |
| Groundwork market score | 23 | 33 |
Official counts and lending
Businesses
- Official establishments, 2019 to 2023
- 105−3.8% over the period
- Employees, 2023
- 656
- Annual payroll, 2023
- $31.8M
- One-person businesses, 2023
- Not publishedNot published for this business type
- Map listings, September 2026
- 21355 chain locations
- Listings at the U.S. rate for this spending
- 165The U.S. ratio of listings to household spending, applied here
SBA-backed loans since fiscal 2022
- Loans
- 4
- Amount
- $2.2M
SBA-backed loans to businesses classed as offices of optometrists in the Birmingham metro area, through June 2026, placed by the borrower’s ZIP code. Official establishments are businesses with payroll; the official counts leave out places with fewer than 3.
Population and households in the Birmingham metro area
- Population, 2025 estimate
- 1,197,766+1.4% since 2020
- Households
- 465,003
- Median age
- 40.0
- Homes lived in by their owners
- 71%
- Vehicles per household
- 1.9
- Land area
- 5,280 sq. mi.
- People per square mile
- 224
- Median household income
- $71,498
- Average household income
- $100,521
- Median home value
- $240,200
- Jobs located here
- 555,318
- Daytime population
- 1,227,371Residents who don’t work, plus everyone whose job is here
Looking at a specific site in the Birmingham metro area?
These figures cover the whole metro area. A site report draws rings around one address and counts what’s inside them: households, spending, jobs, and the optometrists and eye clinics on map listings by name and distance.
Or open the report at the center of the Birmingham metro area. Signed out, you see a blurred preview; on an account, each report is one action.
Free10 actions over 3 days, no cardOptometrists and eye care across Alabama
Every Alabama market ranked →The highest-scoring metro areas in Alabama for optometrists and eye clinics, numbered among those based in Alabama (a market based in another state is listed without a number), with the Birmingham metro area marked.
Top metro areas in Alabama
| Market | Score | Listings | Per 10k households | Spending per listing | Population growth | U.S. rank |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| 1Montgomery, AL | 56 | 41 | 2.7 | $3.8M | +0.9% | #130 of 386 |
| 2Mobile, AL | 54 | 45 | 2.8 | $3.6M | −0.7% | #149 of 386 |
| 3Huntsville, AL | 52 | 76 | 3.7 | $3.2M | +12.5% | #180 of 386 |
| 4Tuscaloosa, AL | 50 | 35 | 3.3 | $3.1M | +2.9% | #204 of 386 |
| 5Auburn-Opelika, AL | 49 | 25 | 3.3 | $3.2M | +7.1% | #211 of 386 |
| Columbus, GA-AL | 48 | 39 | 3.1 | $3.3M | −1.3% | #217 of 386 |
| 6Florence-Muscle Shoals, AL | 47 | 20 | 3.1 | $3.2M | +3.5% | #230 of 386 |
| 7Daphne-Fairhope-Foley, AL | 47 | 43 | 4.4 | $2.6M | +14.8% | #235 of 386 |
| 8Decatur, AL | 45 | 20 | 3.2 | $3.3M | +2.5% | #250 of 386 |
| 9Dothan, AL | 30 | 25 | 4.1 | $2.4M | +3.4% | #339 of 386 |
| 10Birmingham, AL | 23 | 213 | 4.6 | $2.4M | +1.4% | #365 of 386 |
Other business types in the Birmingham metro area
Each with its Groundwork market score here, out of 100, where it has one.
Food and drink
Groceries and convenience
Auto
Beauty and personal care
Fitness and classes
Health care
- Doctors, dentists and clinics39
- Dentists and orthodontists32
- Primary care and pediatrics38
- Urgent care and walk-in clinics40
- Chiropractors57
- Physical therapy29
- Optometrists and eye care23
Child care
Clothing and laundry
Home services
Real estate
Funeral services
Questions
How many optometrists and eye clinics are in the Birmingham, AL metro area?
The Birmingham metro area has 213 optometrists and eye clinics on map listings as of September 2026. 55 of them (26%) are chain locations. The listings count optometrists and eye clinics. Official counts show 105 businesses with payroll classed as offices of optometrists in 2023, down 3.8% from 2019.
How much do households in the Birmingham, AL metro area spend on medical and dental services?
About $515.9M a year, or $1,109 per household. That is 14% below the U.S. average (an index of 86, where 100 is the U.S. average). Spread across the 213 optometrists and eye clinics on map listings, it comes to $2.4M per practice. The spending figure covers all medical and dental services, not only optometrists and eye clinics. It is estimated from the incomes of the 465,003 households in the Birmingham metro area and national spending patterns by income.
How does the Birmingham, AL metro area compare with the U.S. for optometrists and eye clinics?
The Birmingham metro area has 4.6 optometrists and eye clinics per 10,000 households, 12% above the U.S. rate of 4.1. Spending per practice is $2.4M, 23% below the U.S. figure of $3.1M. At the national ratio of optometrists and eye clinics to household spending, the Birmingham metro area would have about 165, against 213 on map listings. There is one business with payroll in the industry for every 4,429 households, against one for every 5,742 across the U.S. The official count fell 3.8% from 2019 to 2023, against +0.2% for the U.S.
How fast is the Birmingham, AL metro area growing?
Population estimates put the Birmingham metro area at 1,197,766 people in 2025, up 1.4% since 2020, slower than the U.S. (+3.1%). It has 465,003 households. The median household income in the Birmingham metro area is $71,498 a year, 11% below the U.S. median of $80,734.
What is the Groundwork market score?
The Groundwork market score runs from 0 to 100 and compares a market with others of its kind for one business type: states with states, metro areas with metro areas, small-town markets and counties with their own. It weighs household spending per competitor (35%), households per business with payroll (25%), population growth (20%) and spending power (20%), each ranked against those peers. A higher score means that, taken together, the market has more household spending and more households for each business already there, faster population growth and more spending per household than similar markets. It describes a market, not any one site or deal. The Birmingham metro area scores 23 for optometrists and eye clinics (low), #365 of 386 scored metro areas.
How can I see the market around a specific site?
Run a Groundwork site report on an address in the Birmingham metro area. It maps the optometrists and eye clinics on map listings near the site and sizes the households and spending within the distance you choose. New accounts get 10 actions over 3 days, no card.
How the score works · Top markets for optometrists and eye clinics · All 56 business types in the Birmingham metro area
Screening a site or an acquisition in the Birmingham metro area?
A site report maps the competitors on map listings near an address and sizes the households and spending around it.
The button opens the report at the center of the Birmingham metro area. Signed out, you see a blurred preview; on an account, each report is one action.
This product uses the Census Bureau Data API but is not endorsed or certified by the Census Bureau.
Figures are estimates for research only. Not investment or real estate advice.