Groundwork

Health care · Metro area · Iowa

Optometrists and eye clinics in the Des Moines-West Des Moines, IA metro area

Competitor counts, household spending and official business counts for optometrists and eye clinics in the Des Moines-West Des Moines, IA metro area, set against other metro areas and the U.S.

Groundwork market score · out of 100

Score 55 out of 100: Upper middle

Ranked #145 of 386 scored metro areas
#5 of 8 scored metro areas based in Iowa

Listings
146
39 chain locations (27%)
Official establishments
65
0.0% since 2019
Household spending a year
$450.2M
On medical and dental services · $1,527 a household
Spending per listing
$3.1M
2% below the U.S.
Listings per 10k households
5.0
22% above the U.S.
Population, 2025
758,539
+6.7% since 2020

See the optometrists and eye clinics around any address in the Des Moines-West Des Moines 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 Des Moines-West Des Moines 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

At $1,527 per household (19% above the U.S. average), households in the Des Moines-West Des Moines metro area spend about $450.2M a year on medical and dental services. That works out to $3.1M per practice, 2% below the U.S. figure of $3.1M. The spending figure covers all medical and dental services, not only optometrists and eye clinics.

The Des Moines-West Des Moines metro area has 146 optometrists and eye clinics on map listings as of September 2026. 39 of them (27%) are chain locations, against 20% across the U.S. That comes to 5.0 for every 10,000 households, 22% above the U.S. rate of 4.1.

Official counts show 65 businesses with payroll classed as offices of optometrists in the Des Moines-West Des Moines metro area in 2023, unchanged from 2019. That is one for every 4,536 households, against one for every 5,742 across the U.S. Since fiscal 2022, 2 SBA-backed loans worth $2.1M have gone to businesses classed as offices of optometrists in the Des Moines-West Des Moines metro area.

Population estimates put the population change in the Des Moines-West Des Moines metro area from 2020 to 2025 at +6.7%, faster than the U.S. (+3.1%). The Des Moines-West Des Moines metro area scores 55 (upper middle) on the Groundwork market score for optometrists and eye clinics, ranking #145 of 386 scored metro areas and #5 of 8 scored metro areas based in Iowa.

How the Des Moines-West Des Moines 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.

Optometrists and eye care in Des Moines-West Des Moines, IA metro area compared with Iowa and the U.S.
MeasureDes Moines-West Des Moines metro areaIowaU.S.
Listings per 10k households5.04.14.1
Spending per listing$3.1M$3.5M$3.1M
Households per official establishment4,5364,2585,742
Official establishment growth, 2019–20230.0%−1.6%+0.2%
Population growth, 2020–2025+6.7%+1.5%+3.1%
Spending per household on medical and dental services$1,527$1,412$1,288
Median household income$85,890$75,059$80,734
Groundwork market score5551

Official counts and lending

Businesses

Official establishments, 2019 to 2023
650.0% over the period
Employees, 2023
397
Annual payroll, 2023
$19.4M
One-person businesses, 2023
Not publishedNot published for this business type
Map listings, September 2026
14639 chain locations
Listings at the U.S. rate for this spending
144The U.S. ratio of listings to household spending, applied here

SBA-backed loans since fiscal 2022

Loans
2
Amount
$2.1M

SBA-backed loans to businesses classed as offices of optometrists in the Des Moines-West Des Moines 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 Des Moines-West Des Moines metro area

Population, 2025 estimate
758,539+6.7% since 2020
Households
294,814
Median age
37.7
Homes lived in by their owners
69%
Vehicles per household
1.9
Land area
3,613 sq. mi.
People per square mile
202
Median household income
$85,890+22.5% vs. 2015–2019, before inflation
Average household income
$112,632
Median home value
$267,400
Jobs located here
392,636
Daytime population
765,807Residents who don’t work, plus everyone whose job is here

Looking at a specific site in the Des Moines-West Des Moines 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.

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Optometrists 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 Des Moines-West Des Moines metro area marked.

Top metro areas in Iowa

Metro areas in Iowa ranked for optometrists and eye clinics by Groundwork market score
MarketScoreListingsPer 10k householdsSpending per listingPopulation growthU.S. rank
1Ames, IA79153.0$4.7M+2.2%#13 of 386
2Davenport-Moline-Rock Island, IA-IL69483.0$4.7M−0.9%#49 of 386
Omaha, NE-IA691483.8$4M+4.2%#55 of 386
3Cedar Rapids, IA58453.9$3.7M+1.0%#117 of 386
4Waterloo-Cedar Falls, IA57263.7$3.6M+0.5%#125 of 386
5Des Moines-West Des Moines, IA551465.0$3.1M+6.7%#145 of 386
6Dubuque, IA46174.1$3.4M+0.1%#239 of 386
7Iowa City, IA46354.8$3M+4.1%#242 of 386
8Sioux City, IA-NE-SD37264.7$3M+1.0%#298 of 386

Other business types in the Des Moines-West Des Moines metro 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 Des Moines-West Des Moines, IA metro area?

Map listings as of September 2026 show 146 optometrists and eye clinics in the Des Moines-West Des Moines metro area. 39 of them (27%) are chain locations. The listings count optometrists and eye clinics. Official counts show 65 businesses with payroll classed as offices of optometrists in 2023, unchanged from 2019.

How much do households in the Des Moines-West Des Moines, IA metro area spend on medical and dental services?

About $450.2M a year, or $1,527 per household. That is 19% above the U.S. average (an index of 119, where 100 is the U.S. average). Spread across the 146 optometrists and eye clinics on map listings, it comes to $3.1M 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 294,814 households in the Des Moines-West Des Moines metro area and national spending patterns by income.

How does the Des Moines-West Des Moines, IA metro area compare with the U.S. for optometrists and eye clinics?

The Des Moines-West Des Moines metro area has 5.0 optometrists and eye clinics per 10,000 households, 22% above the U.S. rate of 4.1. Spending per practice is $3.1M, 2% below the U.S. figure of $3.1M. At the U.S. ratio of optometrists and eye clinics to household spending, the Des Moines-West Des Moines metro area would have about 144, against 146 on map listings. There is one business with payroll in the industry for every 4,536 households, against one for every 5,742 across the U.S. The official count held level from 2019 to 2023, against +0.2% for the U.S.

How fast is the Des Moines-West Des Moines, IA metro area growing?

Population estimates put the Des Moines-West Des Moines metro area at 758,539 people in 2025, up 6.7% since 2020, faster than the U.S. (+3.1%). It has 294,814 households. Median household income in the Des Moines-West Des Moines metro area is $85,890, 6% above the U.S. median of $80,734. Against the 2015–2019 survey, the median rose 22.5%, 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 Des Moines-West Des Moines metro area scores 55 for optometrists and eye clinics (upper middle), #145 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 Des Moines-West Des Moines 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 Des Moines-West Des Moines metro area

Screening a site or an acquisition in the Des Moines-West Des Moines 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 Des Moines-West Des Moines 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.