Groundwork

Health care · Metro area · New York

Optometrists and eye clinics in the Watertown-Fort Drum, NY metro area

Competitor counts, household spending and official business counts for optometrists and eye clinics in the Watertown-Fort Drum, NY metro area, set against other metro areas and the U.S.

Groundwork market score · out of 100

Score 34 out of 100: Lower middle

Ranked #316 of 386 scored metro areas
#13 of 13 scored metro areas based in New York

Listings
19
5 chain locations (26%)
Official establishments
6
Businesses with payroll, 2023
Household spending a year
$52M
On medical and dental services · $1,091 a household
Spending per listing
$2.7M
13% below the U.S.
Listings per 10k households
4.0
2% below the U.S.
Population, 2025
111,540
−3.9% since 2020

See the optometrists and eye clinics around any address in the Watertown-Fort Drum 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 Watertown-Fort Drum 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 Watertown-Fort Drum metro area has a Groundwork market score of 34 (lower middle): #316 of 386 scored metro areas and #13 of 13 scored metro areas based in New York. That puts it in the bottom quarter of metro areas.

As of September 2026, map listings count 19 optometrists and eye clinics in the Watertown-Fort Drum metro area. Of those, 5 are chain locations, or 26%, against 20% across the U.S. That comes to 4.0 for every 10,000 households, 2% below the U.S. rate of 4.1.

At $1,091 per household (15% below the U.S. average), households in the Watertown-Fort Drum metro area spend about $52M a year on medical and dental services. Spread across 19 optometrists and eye clinics, that is $2.7M per practice, 13% below 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.

In 2023, official counts showed 6 businesses with payroll in the Watertown-Fort Drum metro area classed as offices of optometrists. That is one for every 7,934 households, against one for every 5,742 across the U.S. Population estimates put the population change in the Watertown-Fort Drum metro area from 2020 to 2025 at −3.9%, against +3.1% for the U.S.

How the Watertown-Fort Drum metro area compares

The same measures for New York 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 Watertown-Fort Drum, NY metro area compared with New York and the U.S.
MeasureWatertown-Fort Drum metro areaNew YorkU.S.
Listings per 10k households4.04.24.1
Spending per listing$2.7M$3M$3.1M
Households per official establishment7,9348,1885,742
Official establishment growth, 2019–2023n/a+9.9%+0.2%
Population growth, 2020–2025−3.9%−0.6%+3.1%
Spending per household on medical and dental services$1,091$1,278$1,288
Median household income$66,301$85,974$80,734
Groundwork market score3448

Official counts and lending

Businesses

Official establishments, 2019 to 2023
6
Employees, 2023
17
Annual payroll, 2023
$921K
One-person businesses, 2023
Not publishedNot published for this business type
Map listings, September 2026
195 chain locations
Listings at the U.S. rate for this spending
17The 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 Watertown-Fort Drum 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 Watertown-Fort Drum metro area

Population, 2025 estimate
111,540−3.9% since 2020
Households
47,606
Median age
37.4
Homes lived in by their owners
55%
Vehicles per household
1.6
Land area
1,268 sq. mi.
People per square mile
91
Median household income
$66,301+25.8% vs. 2015–2019, before inflation
Average household income
$86,210
Median home value
$188,200
Jobs located here
34,253
Daytime population
112,470Residents who don’t work, plus everyone whose job is here

Looking at a specific site in the Watertown-Fort Drum 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 Watertown-Fort Drum 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 New York

Every New York market ranked →

The highest-scoring metro areas in New York for optometrists and eye clinics, numbered among those based in New York, with the Watertown-Fort Drum metro area marked.

Top metro areas in New York

Metro areas in New York ranked for optometrists and eye clinics by Groundwork market score
MarketScoreListingsPer 10k householdsSpending per listingPopulation growthU.S. rank
1Kiryas Joel-Poughkeepsie-Newburgh, NY71893.5$3.8M+3.0%#38 of 386
2Albany-Schenectady-Troy, NY691353.5$3.6M+1.9%#59 of 386
3Binghamton, NY59302.9$3.7M−1.3%#111 of 386
4Kingston, NY56263.5$3.6M+1.1%#132 of 386
5Syracuse, NY54963.5$3.3M−1.3%#156 of 386
6Buffalo-Cheektowaga, NY511843.7$3.1M−0.8%#190 of 386
7Rochester, NY501733.9$3M−0.7%#205 of 386
8New York-Newark-Jersey City, NY-NJ483,4344.6$2.9M+0.6%#220 of 386
9Utica-Rome, NY46403.3$3.3M−2.0%#240 of 386
10Ithaca, NY43173.9$3M−1.4%#263 of 386
13Watertown-Fort Drum, NY34194.0$2.7M−3.9%#316 of 386

Other business types in the Watertown-Fort Drum 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 Watertown-Fort Drum, NY metro area?

The Watertown-Fort Drum metro area has 19 optometrists and eye clinics on map listings as of September 2026. 5 of them (26%) are chain locations. The listings count optometrists and eye clinics. Official counts show 6 businesses with payroll classed as offices of optometrists in 2023.

How much do households in the Watertown-Fort Drum, NY metro area spend on medical and dental services?

About $52M a year, or $1,091 per household. That is 15% below the U.S. average (an index of 85, where 100 is the U.S. average). Spread across the 19 optometrists and eye clinics on map listings, it comes to $2.7M 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 47,606 households in the Watertown-Fort Drum metro area and national spending patterns by income.

How does the Watertown-Fort Drum, NY metro area compare with the U.S. for optometrists and eye clinics?

The Watertown-Fort Drum metro area has 4.0 optometrists and eye clinics per 10,000 households, 2% below the U.S. rate of 4.1. Spending per practice is $2.7M, 13% below the U.S. figure of $3.1M. At the national ratio of optometrists and eye clinics to household spending, the Watertown-Fort Drum metro area would have about 17, against 19 on map listings. There is one business with payroll in the industry for every 7,934 households, against one for every 5,742 across the U.S.

How fast is the Watertown-Fort Drum, NY metro area growing?

Population estimates put the Watertown-Fort Drum metro area at 111,540 people in 2025, down 3.9% since 2020, against +3.1% for the U.S. It has 47,606 households. The median household income in the Watertown-Fort Drum metro area is $66,301 a year, 18% below the U.S. median of $80,734. That rose 25.8% 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 Watertown-Fort Drum metro area scores 34 for optometrists and eye clinics (lower middle), #316 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 Watertown-Fort Drum 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 Watertown-Fort Drum metro area

Screening a site or an acquisition in the Watertown-Fort Drum 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 Watertown-Fort Drum 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.