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Health care · Metro area · District of Columbia

Optometrists and eye clinics in the Washington-Arlington-Alexandria, DC-VA-MD-WV metro area

How the Washington-Arlington-Alexandria, DC-VA-MD-WV 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 64 out of 100: Upper middle

Ranked #88 of 386 scored metro areas
The only scored metro area based in the District of Columbia

Listings
1,038
261 chain locations (25%)
Official establishments
381
−2.3% since 2019
Household spending a year
$3.5B
On medical and dental services · $1,459 a household
Spending per listing
$3.3M
6% above the U.S.
Listings per 10k households
4.4
7% above the U.S.
Population, 2025
6,465,724
+3.3% since 2020

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

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

What this means

Map listings as of September 2026 show 1,038 optometrists and eye clinics in the Washington-Arlington-Alexandria metro area. 261 of them (25%) are chain locations, against 20% across the U.S. Per 10,000 households, that is 4.4, 7% above the U.S. rate of 4.1.

At $1,459 per household (13% above the U.S. average), households in the Washington-Arlington-Alexandria metro area spend about $3.5B a year on medical and dental services. Spread across 1,038 optometrists and eye clinics, that is $3.3M per practice, 6% 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.

Official counts show 381 businesses with payroll classed as offices of optometrists in the Washington-Arlington-Alexandria metro area in 2023, down 2.3% from 2019. That is one for every 6,228 households, against one for every 5,742 across the U.S. Since fiscal 2022, 5 SBA-backed loans worth $2M have gone to businesses classed as offices of optometrists in the Washington-Arlington-Alexandria metro area.

Population estimates put the population change in the Washington-Arlington-Alexandria metro area from 2020 to 2025 at +3.3%, in step with the U.S. (+3.1%). For optometrists and eye clinics, the Washington-Arlington-Alexandria metro area has a Groundwork market score of 64 (upper middle): #88 of 386 scored metro areas and the only scored metro area based in the District of Columbia. That puts it in the top quarter of metro areas.

How the Washington-Arlington-Alexandria metro area compares

The same measures for District of Columbia 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 Washington-Arlington-Alexandria, DC-VA-MD-WV metro area compared with District of Columbia and the U.S.
MeasureWashington-Arlington-Alexandria metro areaDistrict of ColumbiaU.S.
Listings per 10k households4.42.44.1
Spending per listing$3.3M$5.8M$3.1M
Households per official establishment6,22813,5205,742
Official establishment growth, 2019–2023−2.3%−14.3%+0.2%
Population growth, 2020–2025+3.3%+3.4%+3.1%
Spending per household on medical and dental services$1,459$1,378$1,288
Median household income$126,684$109,870$80,734
Groundwork market score6485

Official counts and lending

Businesses

Official establishments, 2019 to 2023
381−2.3% over the period
Employees, 2023
2,969
Annual payroll, 2023
$187.7M
One-person businesses, 2023
Not publishedNot published for this business type
Map listings, September 2026
1,038261 chain locations
Listings at the U.S. rate for this spending
1,105The U.S. ratio of listings to household spending, applied here

SBA-backed loans since fiscal 2022

Loans
5
Amount
$2M

SBA-backed loans to businesses classed as offices of optometrists in the Washington-Arlington-Alexandria 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 Washington-Arlington-Alexandria metro area

Population, 2025 estimate
6,465,724+3.3% since 2020
Households
2,373,022
Median age
39.3
Homes lived in by their owners
64%
Vehicles per household
1.7
Land area
6,034 sq. mi.
People per square mile
1,047
Median household income
$126,684
Average household income
$166,652
Median home value
$579,900
Jobs located here
3,140,160
Daytime population
6,505,668Residents who don’t work, plus everyone whose job is here

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

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Other business types in the Washington-Arlington-Alexandria metro area

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

Funeral services

Questions

How many optometrists and eye clinics are in the Washington-Arlington-Alexandria, DC-VA-MD-WV metro area?

There are 1,038 optometrists and eye clinics on map listings in the Washington-Arlington-Alexandria metro area as of September 2026. 261 of them (25%) are chain locations. The listings count optometrists and eye clinics. Official counts show 381 businesses with payroll classed as offices of optometrists in 2023, down 2.3% from 2019.

How much do households in the Washington-Arlington-Alexandria, DC-VA-MD-WV metro area spend on medical and dental services?

About $3.5B a year, or $1,459 per household. That is 13% above the U.S. average (an index of 113, where 100 is the U.S. average). Spread across the 1,038 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 2,373,022 households in the Washington-Arlington-Alexandria metro area and national spending patterns by income.

How does the Washington-Arlington-Alexandria, DC-VA-MD-WV metro area compare with the U.S. for optometrists and eye clinics?

The Washington-Arlington-Alexandria metro area has 4.4 optometrists and eye clinics per 10,000 households, 7% above the U.S. rate of 4.1. Spending per practice is $3.3M, 6% above the U.S. figure of $3.1M. At the national ratio of optometrists and eye clinics to household spending, the Washington-Arlington-Alexandria metro area would have about 1,105, against 1,038 on map listings. There is one business with payroll in the industry for every 6,228 households, against one for every 5,742 across the U.S. The official count fell 2.3% from 2019 to 2023, against +0.2% for the U.S.

How fast is the Washington-Arlington-Alexandria, DC-VA-MD-WV metro area growing?

Population estimates put the Washington-Arlington-Alexandria metro area at 6,465,724 people in 2025, up 3.3% since 2020, in step with the U.S. (+3.1%). It has 2,373,022 households. The median household income in the Washington-Arlington-Alexandria metro area is $126,684 a year, 57% above 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 Washington-Arlington-Alexandria metro area scores 64 for optometrists and eye clinics (upper middle), #88 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 Washington-Arlington-Alexandria 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 Washington-Arlington-Alexandria metro area

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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.