Health care · Metro area · Iowa
Optometrists and eye clinics in the Ames, IA metro area
The optometrists and eye clinics in the Ames, IA metro area, the household spending behind them and how the market ranks against other metro areas.
Groundwork market score · out of 100
Score 79 out of 100: High
Ranked #13 of 386 scored metro areas
#1 of 8 scored metro areas based in Iowa
- Listings
- 15
- 5 chain locations (33%)
- Official establishments
- 6
- Businesses with payroll, 2023
- Household spending a year
- $70.2M
- On medical and dental services · $1,409 a household
- Spending per listing
- $4.7M
- 49% above the U.S.
- Listings per 10k households
- 3.0
- 27% below the U.S.
- Population, 2025
- 128,090
- +2.2% since 2020
See the optometrists and eye clinics around any address in the Ames 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 Ames 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
For optometrists and eye clinics, the Ames metro area has a Groundwork market score of 79 (high): #13 of 386 scored metro areas and #1 of 8 scored metro areas based in Iowa. That puts it in the top 10% of metro areas for optometrists and eye clinics.
Household spending on medical and dental services in the Ames metro area comes to about $70.2M a year: $1,409 per household, 9% above the U.S. average. That is about $4.7M of household spending for each practice on map listings, 49% 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 15 optometrists and eye clinics on map listings in the Ames metro area as of September 2026. 5 of them (33%) are chain locations, against 20% across the U.S. That is 3.0 per 10,000 households, 27% below the U.S. rate of 4.1.
Official counts show 6 businesses with payroll classed as offices of optometrists in the Ames metro area in 2023. That is one for every 8,307 households, against one for every 5,742 across the U.S. Between 2020 and 2025, the population of the Ames metro area grew 2.2%, slower than the U.S. (+3.1%).
How the Ames metro area compares
The same measures for Iowa 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 | Ames metro area | Iowa | U.S. |
|---|---|---|---|
| Listings per 10k households | 3.0 | 4.1 | 4.1 |
| Spending per listing | $4.7M | $3.5M | $3.1M |
| Households per official establishment | 8,307 | 4,258 | 5,742 |
| Official establishment growth, 2019–2023 | n/a | −1.6% | +0.2% |
| Population growth, 2020–2025 | +2.2% | +1.5% | +3.1% |
| Spending per household on medical and dental services | $1,409 | $1,412 | $1,288 |
| Median household income | $73,127 | $75,059 | $80,734 |
| Groundwork market score | 79 | 51 |
Official counts and lending
Businesses
- Official establishments, 2019 to 2023
- 6
- Employees, 2023
- 40
- Annual payroll, 2023
- $1.9M
- One-person businesses, 2023
- Not publishedNot published for this business type
- Map listings, September 2026
- 155 chain locations
- Listings at the U.S. rate for this spending
- 22The 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 Ames 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 Ames metro area
- Population, 2025 estimate
- 128,090+2.2% since 2020
- Households
- 49,840
- Median age
- 35.1
- Homes lived in by their owners
- 61%
- Vehicles per household
- 1.9
- Land area
- 1,143 sq. mi.
- People per square mile
- 111
- Median household income
- $73,127+24.8% vs. 2015–2019, before inflation
- Average household income
- $97,543
- Median home value
- $246,300
- Jobs located here
- 57,558
- Daytime population
- 130,790Residents who don’t work, plus everyone whose job is here
Looking at a specific site in the Ames 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 Ames 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 Iowa
Every Iowa market ranked →The highest-scoring metro areas in Iowa for optometrists and eye clinics, numbered among those based in Iowa (a market based in another state is listed without a number), with the Ames metro area marked.
Top metro areas in Iowa
| Market | Score | Listings | Per 10k households | Spending per listing | Population growth | U.S. rank |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| 1Ames, IA | 79 | 15 | 3.0 | $4.7M | +2.2% | #13 of 386 |
| 2Davenport-Moline-Rock Island, IA-IL | 69 | 48 | 3.0 | $4.7M | −0.9% | #49 of 386 |
| Omaha, NE-IA | 69 | 148 | 3.8 | $4M | +4.2% | #55 of 386 |
| 3Cedar Rapids, IA | 58 | 45 | 3.9 | $3.7M | +1.0% | #117 of 386 |
| 4Waterloo-Cedar Falls, IA | 57 | 26 | 3.7 | $3.6M | +0.5% | #125 of 386 |
| 5Des Moines-West Des Moines, IA | 55 | 146 | 5.0 | $3.1M | +6.7% | #145 of 386 |
| 6Dubuque, IA | 46 | 17 | 4.1 | $3.4M | +0.1% | #239 of 386 |
| 7Iowa City, IA | 46 | 35 | 4.8 | $3M | +4.1% | #242 of 386 |
| 8Sioux City, IA-NE-SD | 37 | 26 | 4.7 | $3M | +1.0% | #298 of 386 |
Other business types in the Ames 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 clinics80
- Dentists and orthodontists80
- Primary care and pediatrics84
- Urgent care and walk-in clinics
- Chiropractors27
- Physical therapy60
- Optometrists and eye care79
Child care
Clothing and laundry
Home services
Real estate
Funeral services
Questions
How many optometrists and eye clinics are in the Ames, IA metro area?
As of September 2026, map listings count 15 optometrists and eye clinics in the Ames metro area. 5 of them (33%) are chain locations. The listings count optometrists and eye clinics. Official counts show 6 businesses with payroll classed as offices of optometrists in 2023.
How much do households in the Ames, IA metro area spend on medical and dental services?
About $70.2M a year, or $1,409 per household. That is 9% above the U.S. average (an index of 109, where 100 is the U.S. average). Spread across the 15 optometrists and eye clinics on map listings, it comes to $4.7M 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 49,840 households in the Ames metro area and national spending patterns by income.
How does the Ames, IA metro area compare with the U.S. for optometrists and eye clinics?
The Ames metro area has 3.0 optometrists and eye clinics per 10,000 households, 27% below the U.S. rate of 4.1. Spending per practice is $4.7M, 49% above the U.S. figure of $3.1M. At the U.S. ratio of optometrists and eye clinics to household spending, the Ames metro area would have about 22, against 15 on map listings. There is one business with payroll in the industry for every 8,307 households, against one for every 5,742 across the U.S.
How fast is the Ames, IA metro area growing?
Population estimates put the Ames metro area at 128,090 people in 2025, up 2.2% since 2020, slower than the U.S. (+3.1%). It has 49,840 households. Median household income in the Ames metro area is $73,127, 9% below the U.S. median of $80,734. Against the 2015–2019 survey, the median rose 24.8%, 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. 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 Ames metro area scores 79 for optometrists and eye clinics (high), #13 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 Ames 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 Ames metro area
Screening a site or an acquisition in the Ames 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 Ames 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.