Health care · Metro area · Georgia
Optometrists and eye clinics in the Athens-Clarke County, GA metro area
How the Athens-Clarke County, GA 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 51 out of 100: Upper middle
Ranked #191 of 386 scored metro areas
#10 of 14 scored metro areas based in Georgia
- Listings
- 31
- 4 chain locations (13%)
- Official establishments
- 11
- Businesses with payroll, 2023
- Household spending a year
- $92.9M
- On medical and dental services · $1,079 a household
- Spending per listing
- $3M
- 4% below the U.S.
- Listings per 10k households
- 3.6
- 12% below the U.S.
- Population, 2025
- 224,148
- +3.9% since 2020
See the optometrists and eye clinics around any address in the Athens-Clarke County 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 Athens-Clarke County 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 $1,079 per household (16% below the U.S. average), households in the Athens-Clarke County metro area spend about $92.9M a year on medical and dental services. That is about $3M of household spending for each practice on map listings, 4% below the U.S. figure of $3.1M. The spending figure covers all medical and dental services, not only optometrists and eye clinics.
The Athens-Clarke County metro area has 31 optometrists and eye clinics on map listings as of September 2026. Chain locations make up 13% of them, against 20% across the U.S. That comes to 3.6 for every 10,000 households, 12% below the U.S. rate of 4.1.
The official count of businesses with payroll classed as offices of optometrists in the Athens-Clarke County metro area was 11 in 2023. That is one for every 7,827 households, against one for every 5,742 across the U.S.
Population estimates show the Athens-Clarke County metro area grew 3.9% from 2020 to 2025, faster than the U.S. (+3.1%). The Groundwork market score for optometrists and eye clinics in the Athens-Clarke County metro area is 51 (upper middle), #191 of 386 scored metro areas and #10 of 14 scored metro areas based in Georgia.
How the Athens-Clarke County metro area compares
The same measures for Georgia 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 | Athens-Clarke County metro area | Georgia | U.S. |
|---|---|---|---|
| Listings per 10k households | 3.6 | 3.7 | 4.1 |
| Spending per listing | $3M | $3.1M | $3.1M |
| Households per official establishment | 7,827 | 5,821 | 5,742 |
| Official establishment growth, 2019–2023 | n/a | +7.9% | +0.2% |
| Population growth, 2020–2025 | +3.9% | +5.3% | +3.1% |
| Spending per household on medical and dental services | $1,079 | $1,150 | $1,288 |
| Median household income | $65,608 | $77,353 | $80,734 |
| Groundwork market score | 51 | 48 |
Official counts and lending
Businesses
- Official establishments, 2019 to 2023
- 11
- Employees, 2023
- 80
- Annual payroll, 2023
- $3.3M
- One-person businesses, 2023
- Not publishedNot published for this business type
- Map listings, September 2026
- 314 chain locations
- Listings at the U.S. rate for this spending
- 30The 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 Athens-Clarke County 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 Athens-Clarke County metro area
- Population, 2025 estimate
- 224,148+3.9% since 2020
- Households
- 86,101
- Median age
- 36.7
- Homes lived in by their owners
- 56%
- Vehicles per household
- 2.0
- Land area
- 1,025 sq. mi.
- People per square mile
- 215
- Median household income
- $65,608+39.0% vs. 2015–2019, before inflation
- Average household income
- $94,551
- Median home value
- $310,200
- Jobs located here
- 94,787
- Daytime population
- 224,908Residents who don’t work, plus everyone whose job is here
Looking at a specific site in the Athens-Clarke County 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 Athens-Clarke County 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 Georgia
Every Georgia market ranked →The highest-scoring metro areas in Georgia for optometrists and eye clinics, numbered among those based in Georgia, with the Athens-Clarke County metro area marked.
Top metro areas in Georgia
| Market | Score | Listings | Per 10k households | Spending per listing | Population growth | U.S. rank |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| 1Valdosta, GA | 69 | 13 | 2.3 | $4.2M | +3.3% | #52 of 386 |
| 2Augusta-Richmond County, GA-SC | 68 | 60 | 2.6 | $4.2M | +4.7% | #62 of 386 |
| 3Savannah, GA | 67 | 49 | 3.0 | $3.7M | +8.1% | #68 of 386 |
| 4Dalton, GA | 60 | 13 | 2.5 | $4.2M | +3.5% | #101 of 386 |
| 5Macon-Bibb County, GA | 60 | 24 | 2.7 | $3.8M | +2.1% | #102 of 386 |
| 6Gainesville, GA | 54 | 25 | 3.4 | $3.4M | +11.4% | #152 of 386 |
| 7Warner Robins, GA | 53 | 26 | 3.5 | $3.2M | +8.2% | #166 of 386 |
| 8Brunswick-St. Simons, GA | 52 | 14 | 3.0 | $3.6M | +4.4% | #176 of 386 |
| 9Hinesville, GA | 52 | 11 | 3.6 | $2.7M | +12.6% | #185 of 386 |
| 10Athens-Clarke County, GA | 51 | 31 | 3.6 | $3M | +3.9% | #191 of 386 |
Other business types in the Athens-Clarke County 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 clinics24
- Dentists and orthodontists45
- Primary care and pediatrics20
- Urgent care and walk-in clinics29
- Chiropractors51
- Physical therapy26
- Optometrists and eye care51
Child care
Clothing and laundry
Home services
Real estate
Funeral services
Questions
How many optometrists and eye clinics are in the Athens-Clarke County, GA metro area?
Map listings as of September 2026 show 31 optometrists and eye clinics in the Athens-Clarke County metro area. 4 of them (13%) are chain locations. The listings count optometrists and eye clinics. Official counts show 11 businesses with payroll classed as offices of optometrists in 2023.
How much do households in the Athens-Clarke County, GA metro area spend on medical and dental services?
About $92.9M a year, or $1,079 per household. That is 16% below the U.S. average (an index of 84, where 100 is the U.S. average). Spread across the 31 optometrists and eye clinics on map listings, it comes to $3M 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 86,101 households in the Athens-Clarke County metro area and national spending patterns by income.
How does the Athens-Clarke County, GA metro area compare with the U.S. for optometrists and eye clinics?
The Athens-Clarke County metro area has 3.6 optometrists and eye clinics per 10,000 households, 12% below the U.S. rate of 4.1. Spending per practice is $3M, 4% below the U.S. figure of $3.1M. At the U.S. ratio of optometrists and eye clinics to household spending, the Athens-Clarke County metro area would have about 30, against 31 on map listings. There is one business with payroll in the industry for every 7,827 households, against one for every 5,742 across the U.S.
How fast is the Athens-Clarke County, GA metro area growing?
Population estimates put the Athens-Clarke County metro area at 224,148 people in 2025, up 3.9% since 2020, faster than the U.S. (+3.1%). It has 86,101 households. Median household income in the Athens-Clarke County metro area is $65,608, 19% below the U.S. median of $80,734. Against the 2015–2019 survey, the median rose 39.0%, 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 Athens-Clarke County metro area scores 51 for optometrists and eye clinics (upper middle), #191 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 Athens-Clarke County 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 Athens-Clarke County metro area
Screening a site or an acquisition in the Athens-Clarke County 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 Athens-Clarke County 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.