Groundwork

Health care · Metro area · California

Optometrists and eye clinics in the Chico, CA metro area

The optometrists and eye clinics in the Chico, CA metro area, the household spending behind them and how the market ranks against other metro areas.

Groundwork market score · out of 100

Score 47 out of 100: Lower middle

Ranked #228 of 386 scored metro areas
#18 of 25 scored metro areas based in California

Listings
31
2 chain locations (6%)
Official establishments
13
Businesses with payroll, 2023
Household spending a year
$102.3M
On medical and dental services · $1,228 a household
Spending per listing
$3.3M
5% above the U.S.
Listings per 10k households
3.7
10% below the U.S.
Population, 2025
209,211
−0.5% since 2020

See the optometrists and eye clinics around any address in the Chico 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 Chico metro area. Signed out, you see a blurred preview; on an account, each report is one action.

Free10 actions over 3 days, no card

Survey estimates 2020–2024 · population estimates 2025 · official business counts 2023 · map listings September 2026 · Data credits · How we measure

What this means

As of September 2026, map listings count 31 optometrists and eye clinics in the Chico metro area. Of those, 2 are chain locations, or 6%, against 20% across the U.S. Per 10,000 households, that is 3.7, 10% below the U.S. rate of 4.1.

Households in the Chico metro area spend about $102.3M a year on medical and dental services, or $1,228 per household, 5% below the U.S. average. That is about $3.3M of household spending for each practice on map listings, 5% above 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.

The official count of businesses with payroll classed as offices of optometrists in the Chico metro area was 13 in 2023. That is one for every 6,409 households, against one for every 5,742 across the U.S. Since fiscal 2022, 2 SBA-backed loans worth $2.1M have gone to businesses classed as offices of optometrists in the Chico metro area.

Population estimates show the Chico metro area declined 0.5% from 2020 to 2025, against +3.1% for the U.S. The Chico metro area scores 47 (lower middle) on the Groundwork market score for optometrists and eye clinics, ranking #228 of 386 scored metro areas and #18 of 25 scored metro areas based in California.

How the Chico metro area compares

The same measures for California 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.

Optometrists and eye care in Chico, CA metro area compared with California and the U.S.
MeasureChico metro areaCaliforniaU.S.
Listings per 10k households3.74.54.1
Spending per listing$3.3M$3.3M$3.1M
Households per official establishment6,4094,9145,742
Official establishment growth, 2019–2023n/a−6.0%+0.2%
Population growth, 2020–2025−0.5%−0.4%+3.1%
Spending per household on medical and dental services$1,228$1,464$1,288
Median household income$67,928$99,122$80,734
Groundwork market score4746

Official counts and lending

Businesses

Official establishments, 2019 to 2023
13
Employees, 2023
65
Annual payroll, 2023
$5.3M
One-person businesses, 2023
Not publishedNot published for this business type
Map listings, September 2026
312 chain locations
Listings at the U.S. rate for this spending
33The U.S. ratio of listings to household spending, applied here

SBA-backed loans since fiscal 2022

Loans
2
Amount
$2.1M

SBA-backed loans to businesses classed as offices of optometrists in the Chico 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 Chico metro area

Population, 2025 estimate
209,211−0.5% since 2020
Households
83,312
Median age
38.7
Homes lived in by their owners
57%
Vehicles per household
1.9
Land area
1,637 sq. mi.
People per square mile
127
Median household income
$67,928+29.3% vs. 2015–2019, before inflation
Average household income
$95,439
Median home value
$424,700
Jobs located here
75,172
Daytime population
203,711Residents who don’t work, plus everyone whose job is here

Looking at a specific site in the Chico 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 Chico metro area. Signed out, you see a blurred preview; on an account, each report is one action.

Free10 actions over 3 days, no card

Optometrists and eye care across California

Every California market ranked →

The highest-scoring metro areas in California for optometrists and eye clinics, numbered among those based in California, with the Chico metro area marked.

Top metro areas in California

Metro areas in California ranked for optometrists and eye clinics by Groundwork market score
MarketScoreListingsPer 10k householdsSpending per listingPopulation growthU.S. rank
1Stockton-Lodi, CA86592.4$5.8M+5.5%#1 of 386
2Santa Rosa-Petaluma, CA77562.9$5.1M−0.4%#19 of 386
3Vallejo, CA72473.0$4.8M+0.6%#32 of 386
4Merced, CA72222.6$4.6M+5.1%#33 of 386
5Visalia, CA71412.9$4.3M+2.4%#36 of 386
6Fresno, CA711223.3$3.8M+3.2%#37 of 386
7Napa, CA69163.2$4.8M−3.3%#48 of 386
8Sacramento-Roseville-Folsom, CA693023.4$4.2M+3.2%#53 of 386
9Yuba City, CA65182.9$4.4M+3.3%#77 of 386
10Bakersfield-Delano, CA60993.5$3.5M+2.3%#106 of 386
18Chico, CA47313.7$3.3M−0.5%#228 of 386

Other business types in the Chico metro area

Each with its Groundwork market score here, out of 100, where it has one.

Questions

How many optometrists and eye clinics are in the Chico, CA metro area?

The Chico metro area has 31 optometrists and eye clinics on map listings as of September 2026. 2 of them (6%) are chain locations. The listings count optometrists and eye clinics. Official counts show 13 businesses with payroll classed as offices of optometrists in 2023.

How much do households in the Chico, CA metro area spend on medical and dental services?

About $102.3M a year, or $1,228 per household. That is 5% below the U.S. average (an index of 95, where 100 is the U.S. average). Spread across the 31 optometrists and eye clinics on map listings, it comes to $3.3M 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 83,312 households in the Chico metro area and national spending patterns by income.

How does the Chico, CA metro area compare with the U.S. for optometrists and eye clinics?

The Chico metro area has 3.7 optometrists and eye clinics per 10,000 households, 10% below the U.S. rate of 4.1. Spending per practice is $3.3M, 5% above the U.S. figure of $3.1M. At the national ratio of optometrists and eye clinics to household spending, the Chico metro area would have about 33, against 31 on map listings. There is one business with payroll in the industry for every 6,409 households, against one for every 5,742 across the U.S.

How fast is the Chico, CA metro area growing?

Population estimates put the Chico metro area at 209,211 people in 2025, down 0.5% since 2020, against +3.1% for the U.S. It has 83,312 households. The median household income in the Chico metro area is $67,928 a year, 16% below the U.S. median of $80,734. That rose 29.3% from the 2015–2019 survey, before inflation.

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 Chico metro area scores 47 for optometrists and eye clinics (lower middle), #228 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 Chico 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 Chico metro area

Screening a site or an acquisition in the Chico 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 Chico 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.