Groundwork

Health care · Metro area · Minnesota

Optometrists and eye clinics in the St. Cloud, MN metro area

Competitor counts, household spending and official business counts for optometrists and eye clinics in the St. Cloud, MN metro area, set against other metro areas and the U.S.

Groundwork market score · out of 100

Score 37 out of 100: Lower middle

Ranked #303 of 386 scored metro areas
#5 of 5 scored metro areas based in Minnesota

Listings
43
7 chain locations (16%)
Official establishments
19
Businesses with payroll, 2023
Household spending a year
$110.4M
On medical and dental services · $1,413 a household
Spending per listing
$2.6M
18% below the U.S.
Listings per 10k households
5.5
34% above the U.S.
Population, 2025
205,854
+3.0% since 2020

See the optometrists and eye clinics around any address in the St. Cloud 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 St. Cloud 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

For optometrists and eye clinics, the St. Cloud metro area has a Groundwork market score of 37 (lower middle): #303 of 386 scored metro areas and #5 of 5 scored metro areas based in Minnesota. That puts it in the bottom quarter of metro areas.

Households in the St. Cloud metro area spend about $110.4M a year on medical and dental services, or $1,413 per household, 10% above the U.S. average. Spread across 43 optometrists and eye clinics, that is $2.6M per practice, 18% below the U.S. figure of $3.1M. The spending figure covers all medical and dental services, not only optometrists and eye clinics.

The St. Cloud metro area has 43 optometrists and eye clinics on map listings as of September 2026. Of those, 7 are chain locations, or 16%, against 20% across the U.S. That is 5.5 per 10,000 households, 34% above the U.S. rate of 4.1.

Official counts show 19 businesses with payroll classed as offices of optometrists in the St. Cloud metro area in 2023. That is one for every 4,112 households, against one for every 5,742 across the U.S. Since fiscal 2022, 1 SBA-backed loan worth $50K has gone to businesses classed as offices of optometrists in the St. Cloud metro area. Population estimates show the St. Cloud metro area grew 3.0% from 2020 to 2025, in step with the U.S. (+3.1%).

How the St. Cloud metro 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.

Optometrists and eye care in St. Cloud, MN metro area compared with Minnesota and the U.S.
MeasureSt. Cloud metro areaMinnesotaU.S.
Listings per 10k households5.53.84.1
Spending per listing$2.6M$4.1M$3.1M
Households per official establishment4,1126,1065,742
Official establishment growth, 2019–2023n/a+8.0%+0.2%
Population growth, 2020–2025+3.0%+2.1%+3.1%
Spending per household on medical and dental services$1,413$1,550$1,288
Median household income$76,497$89,062$80,734
Groundwork market score3777

Official counts and lending

Businesses

Official establishments, 2019 to 2023
19
Employees, 2023
123
Annual payroll, 2023
$6.4M
One-person businesses, 2023
Not publishedNot published for this business type
Map listings, September 2026
437 chain locations
Listings at the U.S. rate for this spending
35The U.S. ratio of listings to household spending, applied here

SBA-backed loans since fiscal 2022

Loans
1
Amount
$50K

SBA-backed loans to businesses classed as offices of optometrists in the St. Cloud 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 St. Cloud metro area

Population, 2025 estimate
205,854+3.0% since 2020
Households
78,122
Median age
37.2
Homes lived in by their owners
68%
Vehicles per household
2.0
Land area
1,751 sq. mi.
People per square mile
116
Median household income
$76,497+23.4% vs. 2015–2019, before inflation
Average household income
$97,113
Median home value
$272,800
Jobs located here
101,570
Daytime population
207,575Residents who don’t work, plus everyone whose job is here

Looking at a specific site in the St. Cloud 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 St. Cloud metro 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 Minnesota

Every Minnesota market ranked →

The highest-scoring metro areas in Minnesota for optometrists and eye clinics, numbered among those based in Minnesota (a market based in another state is listed without a number), with the St. Cloud metro area marked.

Top metro areas in Minnesota

Metro areas in Minnesota ranked for optometrists and eye clinics by Groundwork market score
MarketScoreListingsPer 10k householdsSpending per listingPopulation growthU.S. rank
1Mankato, MN81112.7$5.2M+1.2%#8 of 386
2Rochester, MN77252.7$5.8M+2.0%#18 of 386
3Minneapolis-St. Paul-Bloomington, MN-WI765723.9$4.2M+2.6%#24 of 386
La Crosse-Onalaska, WI-MN67192.6$5.3M+0.4%#65 of 386
Fargo, ND-MN65484.3$3.3M+7.7%#86 of 386
4Duluth, MN-WI59504.2$3.3M+0.2%#114 of 386
Sioux Falls, SD-MN45705.7$2.6M+9.5%#254 of 386
Grand Forks, ND-MN43194.4$3.1M+0.8%#262 of 386
5St. Cloud, MN37435.5$2.6M+3.0%#303 of 386

Other business types in the St. Cloud 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 St. Cloud, MN metro area?

Map listings as of September 2026 show 43 optometrists and eye clinics in the St. Cloud metro area. 7 of them (16%) are chain locations. The listings count optometrists and eye clinics. Official counts show 19 businesses with payroll classed as offices of optometrists in 2023.

How much do households in the St. Cloud, MN metro area spend on medical and dental services?

About $110.4M a year, or $1,413 per household. That is 10% above the U.S. average (an index of 110, where 100 is the U.S. average). Spread across the 43 optometrists and eye clinics on map listings, it comes to $2.6M 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 78,122 households in the St. Cloud metro area and national spending patterns by income.

How does the St. Cloud, MN metro area compare with the U.S. for optometrists and eye clinics?

The St. Cloud metro area has 5.5 optometrists and eye clinics per 10,000 households, 34% above the U.S. rate of 4.1. Spending per practice is $2.6M, 18% below the U.S. figure of $3.1M. At the U.S. ratio of optometrists and eye clinics to household spending, the St. Cloud metro area would have about 35, against 43 on map listings. There is one business with payroll in the industry for every 4,112 households, against one for every 5,742 across the U.S.

How fast is the St. Cloud, MN metro area growing?

Population estimates put the St. Cloud metro area at 205,854 people in 2025, up 3.0% since 2020, in step with the U.S. (+3.1%). It has 78,122 households. Median household income in the St. Cloud metro area is $76,497, 5% below the U.S. median of $80,734. Against the 2015–2019 survey, the median rose 23.4%, 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. 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 St. Cloud metro area scores 37 for optometrists and eye clinics (lower middle), #303 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 St. Cloud 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 St. Cloud metro area

Screening a site or an acquisition in the St. Cloud 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 St. Cloud 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.