Health care · Small-town market · Minnesota
Optometrists and eye clinics in the Brainerd, MN area
The optometrists and eye clinics in the Brainerd, MN area, the household spending behind them and how the market ranks against other small-town markets.
Groundwork market score · out of 100
Score 64 out of 100: Upper middle
Ranked #98 of 400 scored small-town markets
#4 of 9 scored small-town markets based in Minnesota
- Listings
- 19
- 4 chain locations (21%)
- Official establishments
- 11
- Businesses with payroll, 2023
- Household spending a year
- $58.4M
- On medical and dental services · $1,381 a household
- Spending per listing
- $3.1M
- 2% below the U.S.
- Listings per 10k households
- 4.5
- 10% above the U.S.
- Population, 2025
- 100,562
- +4.3% since 2020
See the optometrists and eye clinics around any address in the Brainerd 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 Brainerd 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 $1,381 per household (7% above the U.S. average), households in the Brainerd area spend about $58.4M a year on medical and dental services. That is about $3.1M of household spending for each practice on map listings, 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 Brainerd area has 19 optometrists and eye clinics on map listings as of September 2026. Chain locations make up 21% of them, against 20% across the U.S. That is 4.5 per 10,000 households, 10% above the U.S. rate of 4.1.
Official counts show 11 businesses with payroll classed as offices of optometrists in the Brainerd area in 2023. That is one for every 3,843 households, against one for every 5,742 across the U.S.
Population estimates show the Brainerd area grew 4.3% from 2020 to 2025, faster than the U.S. (+3.1%). The Groundwork market score for optometrists and eye clinics in the Brainerd area is 64 (upper middle), #98 of 400 scored small-town markets and #4 of 9 scored small-town markets based in Minnesota. That puts it in the top quarter of small-town markets.
How the Brainerd area compares
The same measures for Minnesota 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 | Brainerd area | Minnesota | U.S. |
|---|---|---|---|
| Listings per 10k households | 4.5 | 3.8 | 4.1 |
| Spending per listing | $3.1M | $4.1M | $3.1M |
| Households per official establishment | 3,843 | 6,106 | 5,742 |
| Official establishment growth, 2019–2023 | n/a | +8.0% | +0.2% |
| Population growth, 2020–2025 | +4.3% | +2.1% | +3.1% |
| Spending per household on medical and dental services | $1,381 | $1,550 | $1,288 |
| Median household income | $71,384 | $89,062 | $80,734 |
| Groundwork market score | 64 | 77 |
Official counts and lending
Businesses
- Official establishments, 2019 to 2023
- 11
- Employees, 2023
- 73
- Annual payroll, 2023
- $3.8M
- One-person businesses, 2023
- Not publishedNot published for this business type
- Map listings, September 2026
- 194 chain locations
- Listings at the U.S. rate for this spending
- 19The 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 Brainerd 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 Brainerd area
- Population, 2025 estimate
- 100,562+4.3% since 2020
- Households
- 42,276
- Median age
- 46.9
- Homes lived in by their owners
- 80%
- Vehicles per household
- 2.0
- Land area
- 3,020 sq. mi.
- People per square mile
- 33
- Median household income
- $71,384+29.4% vs. 2015–2019, before inflation
- Average household income
- $93,780
- Median home value
- $301,000
- Jobs located here
- 39,612
- Daytime population
- 95,720Residents who don’t work, plus everyone whose job is here
Looking at a specific site in the Brainerd 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 Brainerd 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 Minnesota
Every Minnesota market ranked →The highest-scoring small-town markets in Minnesota for optometrists and eye clinics, numbered among those based in Minnesota, with the Brainerd area marked.
Top small-town markets in Minnesota
| Market | Score | Listings | Per 10k households | Spending per listing | Population growth | U.S. rank |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| 1Faribault-Northfield, MN | 95 | 5 | 2.1 | $6.9M | +4.2% | #1 of 400 |
| 2Fergus Falls, MN | 85 | 7 | 2.8 | $5M | +1.6% | #7 of 400 |
| 3Willmar, MN | 78 | 7 | 4.0 | $3.5M | +2.3% | #23 of 400 |
| 4Brainerd, MN | 64 | 19 | 4.5 | $3.1M | +4.3% | #98 of 400 |
| 5Grand Rapids, MN | 61 | 8 | 4.3 | $3.1M | +0.9% | #120 of 400 |
| 6Alexandria, MN | 52 | 9 | 5.1 | $2.8M | +2.6% | #190 of 400 |
| 7Marshall, MN | 42 | 9 | 8.9 | $1.6M | +1.0% | #272 of 400 |
| 8Hutchinson, MN | 39 | 12 | 7.9 | $1.8M | −0.3% | #302 of 400 |
| 9Fairmont, MN | 35 | 5 | 5.7 | $2.3M | −2.8% | #316 of 400 |
Other business types in the Brainerd 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 clinics65
- Dentists and orthodontists66
- Primary care and pediatrics85
- Urgent care and walk-in clinics
- Chiropractors48
- Physical therapy68
- Optometrists and eye care64
Child care
Clothing and laundry
Home services
Real estate
Funeral services
Questions
How many optometrists and eye clinics are in the Brainerd, MN area?
Map listings as of September 2026 show 19 optometrists and eye clinics in the Brainerd area. 4 of them (21%) 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 Brainerd, MN area spend on medical and dental services?
About $58.4M a year, or $1,381 per household. That is 7% above the U.S. average (an index of 107, where 100 is the U.S. average). Spread across the 19 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 42,276 households in the Brainerd area and national spending patterns by income.
How does the Brainerd, MN area compare with the U.S. for optometrists and eye clinics?
The Brainerd area has 4.5 optometrists and eye clinics per 10,000 households, 10% above the U.S. rate of 4.1. Spending per practice is $3.1M, 2% below the U.S. figure of $3.1M. The count on map listings matches the U.S. ratio of optometrists and eye clinics to household spending. There is one business with payroll in the industry for every 3,843 households, against one for every 5,742 across the U.S.
How fast is the Brainerd, MN area growing?
Population estimates put the Brainerd area at 100,562 people in 2025, up 4.3% since 2020, faster than the U.S. (+3.1%). It has 42,276 households. Median household income in the Brainerd area is $71,384, 12% below the U.S. median of $80,734. Against the 2015–2019 survey, the median rose 29.4%, 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 Brainerd area scores 64 for optometrists and eye clinics (upper middle), #98 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 Brainerd 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 Brainerd area
Screening a site or an acquisition in the Brainerd 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 Brainerd 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.