Health care · Metro area · Delaware
Optometrists and eye clinics in the Dover, DE metro area
The optometrists and eye clinics in the Dover, DE metro area, the household spending behind them and how the market ranks against other metro areas.
Groundwork market score · out of 100
Score 70 out of 100: Upper middle
Ranked #43 of 386 scored metro areas
The only scored metro area based in Delaware
- Listings
- 18
- 10 chain locations (56%)
- Official establishments
- 10
- Businesses with payroll, 2023
- Household spending a year
- $78.3M
- On medical and dental services · $1,096 a household
- Spending per listing
- $4.4M
- 39% above the U.S.
- Listings per 10k households
- 2.5
- 39% below the U.S.
- Population, 2025
- 194,786
- +6.8% since 2020
See the optometrists and eye clinics around any address in the Dover 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 Dover 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
At $1,096 per household (15% below the U.S. average), households in the Dover metro area spend about $78.3M a year on medical and dental services. That is about $4.4M of household spending for each practice on map listings, 39% above the U.S. figure of $3.1M. The spending figure covers all medical and dental services, not only optometrists and eye clinics.
There are 18 optometrists and eye clinics on map listings in the Dover metro area as of September 2026. 10 of them (56%) are chain locations, against 20% across the U.S. Per 10,000 households, that is 2.5, 39% below the U.S. rate of 4.1.
In 2023, official counts showed 10 businesses with payroll in the Dover metro area classed as offices of optometrists. That is one for every 7,142 households, against one for every 5,742 across the U.S.
Population estimates put the population change in the Dover metro area from 2020 to 2025 at +6.8%, faster than the U.S. (+3.1%). The Dover metro area scores 70 (upper middle) on the Groundwork market score for optometrists and eye clinics, ranking #43 of 386 scored metro areas and the only scored metro area based in Delaware. That puts it in the top quarter of metro areas.
How the Dover metro area compares
The same measures for Delaware 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 | Dover metro area | Delaware | U.S. |
|---|---|---|---|
| Listings per 10k households | 2.5 | 3.5 | 4.1 |
| Spending per listing | $4.4M | $3.4M | $3.1M |
| Households per official establishment | 7,142 | 7,883 | 5,742 |
| Official establishment growth, 2019–2023 | n/a | +8.5% | +0.2% |
| Population growth, 2020–2025 | +6.8% | +6.9% | +3.1% |
| Spending per household on medical and dental services | $1,096 | $1,194 | $1,288 |
| Median household income | $74,477 | $84,954 | $80,734 |
| Groundwork market score | 70 | 69 |
Official counts and lending
Businesses
- Official establishments, 2019 to 2023
- 10
- Employees, 2023
- 150
- Annual payroll, 2023
- $9M
- One-person businesses, 2023
- Not publishedNot published for this business type
- Map listings, September 2026
- 1810 chain locations
- Listings at the U.S. rate for this spending
- 25The U.S. ratio of listings to household spending, applied here
SBA-backed loans since fiscal 2022
- Loans
- 0
- Amount
- $0
SBA-backed loans to businesses classed as offices of optometrists in the Dover 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 Dover metro area
- Population, 2025 estimate
- 194,786+6.8% since 2020
- Households
- 71,424
- Median age
- 39.6
- Homes lived in by their owners
- 73%
- Vehicles per household
- 1.9
- Land area
- 586 sq. mi.
- People per square mile
- 320
- Median household income
- $74,477+22.3% vs. 2015–2019, before inflation
- Average household income
- $92,801
- Median home value
- $316,600
- Jobs located here
- 66,799
- Daytime population
- 177,320Residents who don’t work, plus everyone whose job is here
Looking at a specific site in the Dover 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 Dover 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 Delaware
Every Delaware market ranked →The highest-scoring metro areas in Delaware for optometrists and eye clinics, numbered among those based in Delaware (a market based in another state is listed without a number), with the Dover metro area marked.
Top metro areas in Delaware
| Market | Score | Listings | Per 10k households | Spending per listing | Population growth | U.S. rank |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| 1Dover, DE | 70 | 18 | 2.5 | $4.4M | +6.8% | #43 of 386 |
| Philadelphia-Camden-Wilmington, PA-NJ-DE-MD | 52 | 1,068 | 4.3 | $3M | +1.4% | #183 of 386 |
Other business types in the Dover 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 clinics53
- Dentists and orthodontists79
- Primary care and pediatrics46
- Urgent care and walk-in clinics
- Chiropractors50
- Physical therapy27
- Optometrists and eye care70
Child care
Clothing and laundry
Home services
Real estate
Funeral services
Questions
How many optometrists and eye clinics are in the Dover, DE metro area?
As of September 2026, map listings count 18 optometrists and eye clinics in the Dover metro area. 10 of them (56%) are chain locations. The listings count optometrists and eye clinics. Official counts show 10 businesses with payroll classed as offices of optometrists in 2023.
How much do households in the Dover, DE metro area spend on medical and dental services?
About $78.3M a year, or $1,096 per household. That is 15% below the U.S. average (an index of 85, where 100 is the U.S. average). Spread across the 18 optometrists and eye clinics on map listings, it comes to $4.4M per practice. That spending covers all medical and dental services, which optometrists and eye clinics share with other businesses in the trade. It is estimated from the incomes of the 71,424 households in the Dover metro area and national spending patterns by income.
How does the Dover, DE metro area compare with the U.S. for optometrists and eye clinics?
The Dover metro area has 2.5 optometrists and eye clinics per 10,000 households, 39% below the U.S. rate of 4.1. Spending per practice is $4.4M, 39% above the U.S. figure of $3.1M. At the U.S. ratio of optometrists and eye clinics to household spending, the Dover metro area would have about 25, against 18 on map listings. There is one business with payroll in the industry for every 7,142 households, against one for every 5,742 across the U.S.
How fast is the Dover, DE metro area growing?
Population estimates put the Dover metro area at 194,786 people in 2025, up 6.8% since 2020, faster than the U.S. (+3.1%). It has 71,424 households. Median household income in the Dover metro area is $74,477, 8% below the U.S. median of $80,734. Against the 2015–2019 survey, the median rose 22.3%, 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 Dover metro area scores 70 for optometrists and eye clinics (upper middle), #43 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 Dover 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 Dover metro area
Screening a site or an acquisition in the Dover 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 Dover 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.