Groundwork

Health care · Small-town market · Illinois

Optometrists and eye clinics in the Lincoln, IL area

How the Lincoln, IL area compares with other small-town markets and the U.S. for optometrists and eye clinics: competitors, household spending, official counts and growth.

Groundwork market score · out of 100

Score 39 out of 100: Lower middle

Ranked #298 of 400 scored small-town markets
#14 of 18 scored small-town markets based in Illinois

Listings
6
3 chain locations (50%)
Official establishments
3
Businesses with payroll, 2023
Household spending a year
$15M
On medical and dental services · $1,327 a household
Spending per listing
$2.5M
20% below the U.S.
Listings per 10k households
5.3
29% above the U.S.
Population, 2025
27,182
−2.5% since 2020

See the optometrists and eye clinics around any address in the Lincoln 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 Lincoln 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

At $1,327 per household (3% above the U.S. average), households in the Lincoln area spend about $15M a year on medical and dental services. That works out to $2.5M per practice, 20% below the U.S. figure of $3.1M. The spending figure covers all medical and dental services, not only optometrists and eye clinics.

There are 6 optometrists and eye clinics on map listings in the Lincoln area as of September 2026. 3 of them (50%) are chain locations, against 20% across the U.S. Per 10,000 households, that is 5.3, 29% above the U.S. rate of 4.1.

In 2023, official counts showed 3 businesses with payroll in the Lincoln area classed as offices of optometrists. That is one for every 3,755 households, against one for every 5,742 across the U.S.

Population estimates put the population change in the Lincoln area from 2020 to 2025 at −2.5%, against +3.1% for the U.S. The Lincoln area scores 39 (lower middle) on the Groundwork market score for optometrists and eye clinics, ranking #298 of 400 scored small-town markets and #14 of 18 scored small-town markets based in Illinois.

How the Lincoln area compares

The same measures for Illinois 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 Lincoln, IL area compared with Illinois and the U.S.
MeasureLincoln areaIllinoisU.S.
Listings per 10k households5.34.64.1
Spending per listing$2.5M$3.3M$3.1M
Households per official establishment3,7555,8025,742
Official establishment growth, 2019–2023n/a+3.1%+0.2%
Population growth, 2020–2025−2.5%−0.6%+3.1%
Spending per household on medical and dental services$1,327$1,517$1,288
Median household income$66,358$83,390$80,734
Groundwork market score3953

Official counts and lending

Businesses

Official establishments, 2019 to 2023
3
Employees, 2023
10
Annual payroll, 2023
$515K
One-person businesses, 2023
Not publishedNot published for this business type
Map listings, September 2026
63 chain locations
Listings at the U.S. rate for this spending
5The 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 Lincoln 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 Lincoln area

Population, 2025 estimate
27,182−2.5% since 2020
Households
11,266
Median age
41.6
Homes lived in by their owners
68%
Vehicles per household
1.8
Land area
618 sq. mi.
People per square mile
45
Median household income
$66,358+15.8% vs. 2015–2019, before inflation
Average household income
$84,267
Median home value
$134,400
Jobs located here
7,887
Daytime population
25,386Residents who don’t work, plus everyone whose job is here

Looking at a specific site in the Lincoln area?

These figures cover the whole small-town market. 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 Lincoln area. Signed out, you see a blurred preview; on an account, each report is one action.

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Optometrists and eye care across Illinois

Every Illinois market ranked →

The highest-scoring small-town markets in Illinois for optometrists and eye clinics, numbered among those based in Illinois, with the Lincoln area marked.

Top small-town markets in Illinois

Small-town markets in Illinois ranked for optometrists and eye clinics by Groundwork market score
MarketScoreListingsPer 10k householdsSpending per listingPopulation growthU.S. rank
1Danville, IL7362.0$6.3M−3.7%#37 of 400
2Pontiac, IL6753.4$4.1M−2.1%#72 of 400
3Marion-Herrin, IL62134.5$3M+0.2%#114 of 400
4Freeport, IL6163.1$4.2M−3.0%#117 of 400
5Sterling, IL61104.3$3M−2.6%#121 of 400
6Dixon, IL6053.7$3.6M−3.4%#123 of 400
7Effingham, IL5984.4$3.2M−0.9%#127 of 400
8Ottawa, IL59284.5$3M−1.6%#129 of 400
9Taylorville, IL5653.7$3.5M−1.5%#151 of 400
10Carbondale, IL5393.9$3M−1.5%#181 of 400
14Lincoln, IL3965.3$2.5M−2.5%#298 of 400

Other business types in the Lincoln 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 Lincoln, IL area?

As of September 2026, map listings count 6 optometrists and eye clinics in the Lincoln area. 3 of them (50%) are chain locations. The listings count optometrists and eye clinics. Official counts show 3 businesses with payroll classed as offices of optometrists in 2023.

How much do households in the Lincoln, IL area spend on medical and dental services?

About $15M a year, or $1,327 per household. That is 3% above the U.S. average (an index of 103, where 100 is the U.S. average). Spread across the 6 optometrists and eye clinics on map listings, it comes to $2.5M 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 11,266 households in the Lincoln area and national spending patterns by income.

How does the Lincoln, IL area compare with the U.S. for optometrists and eye clinics?

The Lincoln area has 5.3 optometrists and eye clinics per 10,000 households, 29% above the U.S. rate of 4.1. Spending per practice is $2.5M, 20% below the U.S. figure of $3.1M. At the U.S. ratio of optometrists and eye clinics to household spending, the Lincoln area would have about 5, against 6 on map listings. There is one business with payroll in the industry for every 3,755 households, against one for every 5,742 across the U.S.

How fast is the Lincoln, IL area growing?

Population estimates put the Lincoln area at 27,182 people in 2025, down 2.5% since 2020, against +3.1% for the U.S. It has 11,266 households. Median household income in the Lincoln area is $66,358, 18% below the U.S. median of $80,734. Against the 2015–2019 survey, the median rose 15.8%, 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. A small-town market is a town of 10,000 to 50,000 people and the county or counties tied to it by commuting. 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 Lincoln area scores 39 for optometrists and eye clinics (lower middle), #298 of 400 scored small-town markets.

How can I see the market around a specific site?

Run a Groundwork site report on an address in the Lincoln 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 Lincoln area

Screening a site or an acquisition in the Lincoln 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 Lincoln 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.