Groundwork

Health care · Small-town market · Nebraska

Optometrists and eye clinics in the Kearney, NE area

How the Kearney, NE area compares with other small-town markets and the U.S. for optometrists and eye clinics: competitors, household spending, official counts and growth.

Groundwork market score · out of 100

Score 76 out of 100: High

Ranked #26 of 400 scored small-town markets
#2 of 7 scored small-town markets based in Nebraska

Listings
6
0 chain locations (0%)
Official establishments
5
Businesses with payroll, 2023
Household spending a year
$32M
On medical and dental services · $1,404 a household
Spending per listing
$5.3M
70% above the U.S.
Listings per 10k households
2.6
37% below the U.S.
Population, 2025
57,962
+1.9% since 2020

See the optometrists and eye clinics around any address in the Kearney 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 Kearney 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 Kearney area has a Groundwork market score of 76 (high): #26 of 400 scored small-town markets and #2 of 7 scored small-town markets based in Nebraska. That puts it in the top 10% of small-town markets for optometrists and eye clinics.

As of September 2026, map listings count 6 optometrists and eye clinics in the Kearney area. None of them are chain locations, against 20% across the U.S. Per 10,000 households, that is 2.6, 37% below the U.S. rate of 4.1.

At $1,404 per household (9% above the U.S. average), households in the Kearney area spend about $32M a year on medical and dental services. Spread across 6 optometrists and eye clinics, that is $5.3M per practice, 70% 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 Kearney area was 5 in 2023. That is one for every 4,560 households, against one for every 5,742 across the U.S. Population estimates put the population change in the Kearney area from 2020 to 2025 at +1.9%, slower than the U.S. (+3.1%).

How the Kearney area compares

The same measures for Nebraska 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 Kearney, NE area compared with Nebraska and the U.S.
MeasureKearney areaNebraskaU.S.
Listings per 10k households2.64.04.1
Spending per listing$5.3M$3.5M$3.1M
Households per official establishment4,5603,9895,742
Official establishment growth, 2019–2023n/a+8.1%+0.2%
Population growth, 2020–2025+1.9%+2.8%+3.1%
Spending per household on medical and dental services$1,404$1,432$1,288
Median household income$76,109$76,475$80,734
Groundwork market score7657

Official counts and lending

Businesses

Official establishments, 2019 to 2023
5
Employees, 2023
19
Annual payroll, 2023
$776K
One-person businesses, 2023
Not publishedNot published for this business type
Map listings, September 2026
60 chain locations
Listings at the U.S. rate for this spending
10The 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 Kearney 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 Kearney area

Population, 2025 estimate
57,962+1.9% since 2020
Households
22,798
Median age
36.8
Homes lived in by their owners
68%
Vehicles per household
2.1
Land area
1,484 sq. mi.
People per square mile
39
Median household income
$76,109+27.9% vs. 2015–2019, before inflation
Average household income
$96,670
Median home value
$242,600
Jobs located here
29,261
Daytime population
59,015Residents who don’t work, plus everyone whose job is here

Looking at a specific site in the Kearney 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 Kearney 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 Nebraska

Every Nebraska market ranked →

The highest-scoring small-town markets in Nebraska for optometrists and eye clinics, numbered among those based in Nebraska, with the Kearney area marked.

Top small-town markets in Nebraska

Small-town markets in Nebraska ranked for optometrists and eye clinics by Groundwork market score
MarketScoreListingsPer 10k householdsSpending per listingPopulation growthU.S. rank
1Columbus, NE8363.5$4M+3.8%#11 of 400
2Kearney, NE7662.6$5.3M+1.9%#26 of 400
3Scottsbluff, NE5653.3$4M−1.2%#150 of 400
4Norfolk, NE5194.6$2.9M+1.1%#199 of 400
5Lexington, NE4955.0$2.7M+1.1%#217 of 400
6North Platte, NE4274.6$2.8M−3.6%#266 of 400
7Hastings, NE41116.4$2.1M−0.2%#277 of 400

Other business types in the Kearney 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 Kearney, NE area?

The Kearney area has 6 optometrists and eye clinics on map listings as of September 2026. None of them are chain locations. The listings count optometrists and eye clinics. Official counts show 5 businesses with payroll classed as offices of optometrists in 2023.

How much do households in the Kearney, NE area spend on medical and dental services?

About $32M a year, or $1,404 per household. That is 9% above the U.S. average (an index of 109, where 100 is the U.S. average). Spread across the 6 optometrists and eye clinics on map listings, it comes to $5.3M 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 22,798 households in the Kearney area and national spending patterns by income.

How does the Kearney, NE area compare with the U.S. for optometrists and eye clinics?

The Kearney area has 2.6 optometrists and eye clinics per 10,000 households, 37% below the U.S. rate of 4.1. Spending per practice is $5.3M, 70% above the U.S. figure of $3.1M. At the national ratio of optometrists and eye clinics to household spending, the Kearney area would have about 10, against 6 on map listings. There is one business with payroll in the industry for every 4,560 households, against one for every 5,742 across the U.S.

How fast is the Kearney, NE area growing?

Population estimates put the Kearney area at 57,962 people in 2025, up 1.9% since 2020, slower than the U.S. (+3.1%). It has 22,798 households. The median household income in the Kearney area is $76,109 a year, 6% below the U.S. median of $80,734. That rose 27.9% 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. 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 Kearney area scores 76 for optometrists and eye clinics (high), #26 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 Kearney 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 Kearney area

Screening a site or an acquisition in the Kearney 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 Kearney 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.