Health care · Metro area · Missouri
Optometrists and eye clinics in the St. Louis, MO-IL metro area
The optometrists and eye clinics in the St. Louis, MO-IL metro area, the household spending behind them and how the market ranks against other metro areas.
Groundwork market score · out of 100
Score 51 out of 100: Upper middle
Ranked #188 of 386 scored metro areas
#7 of 8 scored metro areas based in Missouri
- Listings
- 506
- 142 chain locations (28%)
- Official establishments
- 240
- +12.4% since 2019
- Household spending a year
- $1.7B
- On medical and dental services · $1,484 a household
- Spending per listing
- $3.4M
- 9% above the U.S.
- Listings per 10k households
- 4.4
- 7% above the U.S.
- Population, 2025
- 2,814,421
- −0.2% since 2020
See the optometrists and eye clinics around any address in the St. Louis 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. Louis 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
As of September 2026, map listings count 506 optometrists and eye clinics in the St. Louis metro area. 142 of them (28%) are chain locations, against 20% across the U.S. Per 10,000 households, that is 4.4, 7% above the U.S. rate of 4.1.
Households in the St. Louis metro area spend about $1.7B a year on medical and dental services, or $1,484 per household, 15% above the U.S. average. That works out to $3.4M per practice, 9% above the U.S. figure of $3.1M. That spending covers all medical and dental services, which optometrists and eye clinics share with other businesses in the trade.
The official count of businesses with payroll classed as offices of optometrists in the St. Louis metro area was 240 in 2023, up 12.4% from 2019. That is one for every 4,835 households, against one for every 5,742 across the U.S. Since fiscal 2022, 1 SBA-backed loan worth $577K has gone to businesses classed as offices of optometrists in the St. Louis metro area.
Population estimates put the population change in the St. Louis metro area from 2020 to 2025 at −0.2%, against +3.1% for the U.S. The Groundwork market score for optometrists and eye clinics in the St. Louis metro area is 51 (upper middle), #188 of 386 scored metro areas and #7 of 8 scored metro areas based in Missouri.
How the St. Louis metro area compares
The same measures for Missouri 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 | St. Louis metro area | Missouri | U.S. |
|---|---|---|---|
| Listings per 10k households | 4.4 | 3.7 | 4.1 |
| Spending per listing | $3.4M | $3.8M | $3.1M |
| Households per official establishment | 4,835 | 5,874 | 5,742 |
| Official establishment growth, 2019–2023 | +12.4% | +7.3% | +0.2% |
| Population growth, 2020–2025 | −0.2% | +1.9% | +3.1% |
| Spending per household on medical and dental services | $1,484 | $1,389 | $1,288 |
| Median household income | $80,196 | $70,702 | $80,734 |
| Groundwork market score | 51 | 65 |
Official counts and lending
Businesses
- Official establishments, 2019 to 2023
- 240+12.4% over the period
- Employees, 2023
- 1,736
- Annual payroll, 2023
- $88.7M
- One-person businesses, 2023
- Not publishedNot published for this business type
- Map listings, September 2026
- 506142 chain locations
- Listings at the U.S. rate for this spending
- 550The U.S. ratio of listings to household spending, applied here
SBA-backed loans since fiscal 2022
- Loans
- 1
- Amount
- $577K
SBA-backed loans to businesses classed as offices of optometrists in the St. Louis 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. Louis metro area
- Population, 2025 estimate
- 2,814,421−0.2% since 2020
- Households
- 1,160,386
- Median age
- 40.8
- Homes lived in by their owners
- 70%
- Vehicles per household
- 1.8
- Land area
- 7,864 sq. mi.
- People per square mile
- 357
- Median household income
- $80,196+25.9% vs. 2015–2019, before inflation
- Average household income
- $109,353
- Median home value
- $244,800
- Jobs located here
- 1,400,208
- Daytime population
- 2,847,124Residents who don’t work, plus everyone whose job is here
Looking at a specific site in the St. Louis 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. Louis 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 Missouri
Every Missouri market ranked →The highest-scoring metro areas in Missouri for optometrists and eye clinics, numbered among those based in Missouri, with the St. Louis metro area marked.
Top metro areas in Missouri
| Market | Score | Listings | Per 10k households | Spending per listing | Population growth | U.S. rank |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| 1Springfield, MO | 82 | 49 | 2.5 | $5.4M | +5.1% | #5 of 386 |
| 2Jefferson City, MO | 78 | 17 | 2.9 | $4.7M | +2.2% | #15 of 386 |
| 3Kansas City, MO-KS | 69 | 367 | 4.1 | $3.7M | +3.4% | #58 of 386 |
| 4St. Joseph, MO-KS | 57 | 16 | 3.4 | $3.8M | −2.0% | #124 of 386 |
| 5Joplin, MO-KS | 53 | 33 | 4.2 | $3.1M | +3.9% | #168 of 386 |
| 6Cape Girardeau, MO-IL | 52 | 13 | 3.4 | $3.9M | +1.7% | #175 of 386 |
| 7St. Louis, MO-IL | 51 | 506 | 4.4 | $3.4M | −0.2% | #188 of 386 |
| 8Columbia, MO | 43 | 43 | 5.0 | $2.8M | +3.9% | #267 of 386 |
Other business types in the St. Louis 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 clinics63
- Dentists and orthodontists64
- Primary care and pediatrics64
- Urgent care and walk-in clinics75
- Chiropractors38
- Physical therapy54
- Optometrists and eye care51
Child care
Clothing and laundry
Home services
Real estate
Funeral services
Questions
How many optometrists and eye clinics are in the St. Louis, MO-IL metro area?
The St. Louis metro area has 506 optometrists and eye clinics on map listings as of September 2026. 142 of them (28%) are chain locations. The listings count optometrists and eye clinics. Official counts show 240 businesses with payroll classed as offices of optometrists in 2023, up 12.4% from 2019.
How much do households in the St. Louis, MO-IL metro area spend on medical and dental services?
About $1.7B a year, or $1,484 per household. That is 15% above the U.S. average (an index of 115, where 100 is the U.S. average). Spread across the 506 optometrists and eye clinics on map listings, it comes to $3.4M per practice. The spending figure covers all medical and dental services, not only optometrists and eye clinics. It is estimated from the incomes of the 1,160,386 households in the St. Louis metro area and national spending patterns by income.
How does the St. Louis, MO-IL metro area compare with the U.S. for optometrists and eye clinics?
The St. Louis metro area has 4.4 optometrists and eye clinics per 10,000 households, 7% above the U.S. rate of 4.1. Spending per practice is $3.4M, 9% above the U.S. figure of $3.1M. At the national ratio of optometrists and eye clinics to household spending, the St. Louis metro area would have about 550, against 506 on map listings. There is one business with payroll in the industry for every 4,835 households, against one for every 5,742 across the U.S. The official count rose 12.4% from 2019 to 2023, against +0.2% for the U.S.
How fast is the St. Louis, MO-IL metro area growing?
Population estimates put the St. Louis metro area at 2,814,421 people in 2025, down 0.2% since 2020, against +3.1% for the U.S. It has 1,160,386 households. The median household income in the St. Louis metro area is $80,196 a year, in line with the U.S. median of $80,734. That rose 25.9% from the 2015–2019 survey, 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. Louis metro area scores 51 for optometrists and eye clinics (upper middle), #188 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. Louis 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. Louis metro area
Screening a site or an acquisition in the St. Louis 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. Louis 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.