Health care · Metro area · Iowa
Optometrists and eye clinics in the Iowa City, IA metro area
Competitor counts, household spending and official business counts for optometrists and eye clinics in the Iowa City, IA metro area, set against other metro areas and the U.S.
Groundwork market score · out of 100
Score 46 out of 100: Lower middle
Ranked #242 of 386 scored metro areas
#7 of 8 scored metro areas based in Iowa
- Listings
- 35
- 8 chain locations (23%)
- Official establishments
- 20
- Businesses with payroll, 2023
- Household spending a year
- $104.5M
- On medical and dental services · $1,445 a household
- Spending per listing
- $3M
- 5% below the U.S.
- Listings per 10k households
- 4.8
- 17% above the U.S.
- Population, 2025
- 182,711
- +4.1% since 2020
See the optometrists and eye clinics around any address in the Iowa City 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 Iowa City 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 $1,445 per household (12% above the U.S. average), households in the Iowa City metro area spend about $104.5M a year on medical and dental services. That works out to $3M per practice, 5% below the U.S. figure of $3.1M. The spending figure covers all medical and dental services, not only optometrists and eye clinics.
The Iowa City metro area has 35 optometrists and eye clinics on map listings as of September 2026. 8 of them (23%) are chain locations, against 20% across the U.S. That is 4.8 per 10,000 households, 17% above the U.S. rate of 4.1.
The official count of businesses with payroll classed as offices of optometrists in the Iowa City metro area was 20 in 2023. That is one for every 3,616 households, against one for every 5,742 across the U.S.
Population estimates put the population change in the Iowa City metro area from 2020 to 2025 at +4.1%, faster than the U.S. (+3.1%). The Iowa City metro area scores 46 (lower middle) on the Groundwork market score for optometrists and eye clinics, ranking #242 of 386 scored metro areas and #7 of 8 scored metro areas based in Iowa.
How the Iowa City 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 | Iowa City metro area | Iowa | U.S. |
|---|---|---|---|
| Listings per 10k households | 4.8 | 4.1 | 4.1 |
| Spending per listing | $3M | $3.5M | $3.1M |
| Households per official establishment | 3,616 | 4,258 | 5,742 |
| Official establishment growth, 2019–2023 | n/a | −1.6% | +0.2% |
| Population growth, 2020–2025 | +4.1% | +1.5% | +3.1% |
| Spending per household on medical and dental services | $1,445 | $1,412 | $1,288 |
| Median household income | $75,088 | $75,059 | $80,734 |
| Groundwork market score | 46 | 51 |
Official counts and lending
Businesses
- Official establishments, 2019 to 2023
- 20
- Employees, 2023
- 105
- Annual payroll, 2023
- $4.6M
- One-person businesses, 2023
- Not publishedNot published for this business type
- Map listings, September 2026
- 358 chain locations
- Listings at the U.S. rate for this spending
- 33The 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 Iowa City 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 Iowa City metro area
- Population, 2025 estimate
- 182,711+4.1% since 2020
- Households
- 72,313
- Median age
- 35.3
- Homes lived in by their owners
- 61%
- Vehicles per household
- 1.8
- Land area
- 1,182 sq. mi.
- People per square mile
- 152
- Median household income
- $75,088+20.1% vs. 2015–2019, before inflation
- Average household income
- $107,246
- Median home value
- $293,600
- Jobs located here
- 96,346
- Daytime population
- 190,647Residents who don’t work, plus everyone whose job is here
Looking at a specific site in the Iowa City 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 Iowa City 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 Iowa City 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 Iowa City 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 clinics77
- Dentists and orthodontists73
- Primary care and pediatrics84
- Urgent care and walk-in clinics
- Chiropractors41
- Physical therapy55
- Optometrists and eye care46
Child care
Clothing and laundry
Home services
Real estate
Funeral services
Questions
How many optometrists and eye clinics are in the Iowa City, IA metro area?
Map listings as of September 2026 show 35 optometrists and eye clinics in the Iowa City metro area. 8 of them (23%) are chain locations. The listings count optometrists and eye clinics. Official counts show 20 businesses with payroll classed as offices of optometrists in 2023.
How much do households in the Iowa City, IA metro area spend on medical and dental services?
About $104.5M a year, or $1,445 per household. That is 12% above the U.S. average (an index of 112, where 100 is the U.S. average). Spread across the 35 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 72,313 households in the Iowa City metro area and national spending patterns by income.
How does the Iowa City, IA metro area compare with the U.S. for optometrists and eye clinics?
The Iowa City metro area has 4.8 optometrists and eye clinics per 10,000 households, 17% above the U.S. rate of 4.1. Spending per practice is $3M, 5% below the U.S. figure of $3.1M. At the U.S. ratio of optometrists and eye clinics to household spending, the Iowa City metro area would have about 33, against 35 on map listings. There is one business with payroll in the industry for every 3,616 households, against one for every 5,742 across the U.S.
How fast is the Iowa City, IA metro area growing?
Population estimates put the Iowa City metro area at 182,711 people in 2025, up 4.1% since 2020, faster than the U.S. (+3.1%). It has 72,313 households. Median household income in the Iowa City metro area is $75,088, 7% below the U.S. median of $80,734. Against the 2015–2019 survey, the median rose 20.1%, 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 Iowa City metro area scores 46 for optometrists and eye clinics (lower middle), #242 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 Iowa City 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 Iowa City metro area
Screening a site or an acquisition in the Iowa City 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 Iowa City 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.