Health care · Metro area · North Carolina
Optometrists and eye clinics in the Asheville, NC metro area
How the Asheville, NC metro area compares with other metro areas and the U.S. for optometrists and eye clinics: competitors, household spending, official counts and growth.
Groundwork market score · out of 100
Score 31 out of 100: Lower middle
Ranked #328 of 386 scored metro areas
#15 of 15 scored metro areas based in North Carolina
- Listings
- 75
- 19 chain locations (25%)
- Official establishments
- 29
- 0.0% since 2019
- Household spending a year
- $178.4M
- On medical and dental services · $1,106 a household
- Spending per listing
- $2.4M
- 24% below the U.S.
- Listings per 10k households
- 4.7
- 15% above the U.S.
- Population, 2025
- 422,345
- +3.6% since 2020
See the optometrists and eye clinics around any address in the Asheville 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 Asheville 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
For optometrists and eye clinics, the Asheville metro area has a Groundwork market score of 31 (lower middle): #328 of 386 scored metro areas and #15 of 15 scored metro areas based in North Carolina. That puts it in the bottom quarter of metro areas.
Households in the Asheville metro area spend about $178.4M a year on medical and dental services, or $1,106 per household, 14% below the U.S. average. That is about $2.4M of household spending for each practice on map listings, 24% below the U.S. figure of $3.1M. The spending figure covers all medical and dental services, not only optometrists and eye clinics.
The Asheville metro area has 75 optometrists and eye clinics on map listings as of September 2026. Of those, 19 are chain locations, or 25%, against 20% across the U.S. That is 4.7 per 10,000 households, 15% above the U.S. rate of 4.1.
In 2023, official counts showed 29 businesses with payroll in the Asheville metro area classed as offices of optometrists, unchanged from 2019. That is one for every 5,561 households, against one for every 5,742 across the U.S. Between 2020 and 2025, the population of the Asheville metro area grew 3.6%, faster than the U.S. (+3.1%).
How the Asheville metro area compares
The same measures for North Carolina 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 | Asheville metro area | North Carolina | U.S. |
|---|---|---|---|
| Listings per 10k households | 4.7 | 3.6 | 4.1 |
| Spending per listing | $2.4M | $3.1M | $3.1M |
| Households per official establishment | 5,561 | 6,479 | 5,742 |
| Official establishment growth, 2019–2023 | 0.0% | −0.3% | +0.2% |
| Population growth, 2020–2025 | +3.6% | +7.2% | +3.1% |
| Spending per household on medical and dental services | $1,106 | $1,116 | $1,288 |
| Median household income | $71,838 | $72,388 | $80,734 |
| Groundwork market score | 31 | 56 |
Official counts and lending
Businesses
- Official establishments, 2019 to 2023
- 290.0% over the period
- Employees, 2023
- 208
- Annual payroll, 2023
- $9.5M
- One-person businesses, 2023
- Not publishedNot published for this business type
- Map listings, September 2026
- 7519 chain locations
- Listings at the U.S. rate for this spending
- 57The 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 Asheville 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 Asheville metro area
- Population, 2025 estimate
- 422,345+3.6% since 2020
- Households
- 161,264
- Median age
- 44.6
- Homes lived in by their owners
- 70%
- Vehicles per household
- 1.9
- Land area
- 1,479 sq. mi.
- People per square mile
- 280
- Median household income
- $71,838
- Average household income
- $100,473
- Median home value
- $370,900
- Jobs located here
- 190,451
- Daytime population
- 429,489Residents who don’t work, plus everyone whose job is here
Looking at a specific site in the Asheville 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 Asheville 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 North Carolina
Every North Carolina market ranked →The highest-scoring metro areas in North Carolina for optometrists and eye clinics, numbered among those based in North Carolina, with the Asheville metro area marked.
Top metro areas in North Carolina
| Market | Score | Listings | Per 10k households | Spending per listing | Population growth | U.S. rank |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| 1Pinehurst-Southern Pines, NC | 67 | 15 | 3.4 | $3.4M | +10.3% | #70 of 386 |
| 2Jacksonville, NC | 65 | 18 | 2.4 | $4.4M | +6.0% | #78 of 386 |
| 3Hickory-Lenoir-Morganton, NC | 65 | 40 | 2.7 | $3.8M | +3.2% | #79 of 386 |
| 4Burlington, NC | 65 | 21 | 3.0 | $3.5M | +8.5% | #83 of 386 |
| 5Greenville, NC | 60 | 21 | 2.8 | $3.6M | +5.4% | #103 of 386 |
| 6Durham-Chapel Hill, NC | 58 | 97 | 3.9 | $3.1M | +7.5% | #120 of 386 |
| 7Greensboro-High Point, NC | 54 | 101 | 3.2 | $3.3M | +4.1% | #155 of 386 |
| 8Rocky Mount, NC | 54 | 18 | 3.1 | $3.2M | +2.8% | #157 of 386 |
| 9Charlotte-Concord-Gastonia, NC-SC | 54 | 423 | 3.9 | $3.1M | +10.1% | #161 of 386 |
| 10Raleigh-Cary, NC | 53 | 244 | 4.2 | $3.1M | +12.6% | #170 of 386 |
| 15Asheville, NC | 31 | 75 | 4.7 | $2.4M | +3.6% | #328 of 386 |
Other business types in the Asheville 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 clinics21
- Dentists and orthodontists31
- Primary care and pediatrics26
- Urgent care and walk-in clinics38
- Chiropractors25
- Physical therapy20
- Optometrists and eye care31
Child care
Clothing and laundry
Home services
Real estate
Funeral services
Questions
How many optometrists and eye clinics are in the Asheville, NC metro area?
Map listings as of September 2026 show 75 optometrists and eye clinics in the Asheville metro area. 19 of them (25%) are chain locations. The listings count optometrists and eye clinics. Official counts show 29 businesses with payroll classed as offices of optometrists in 2023, unchanged from 2019.
How much do households in the Asheville, NC metro area spend on medical and dental services?
About $178.4M a year, or $1,106 per household. That is 14% below the U.S. average (an index of 86, where 100 is the U.S. average). Spread across the 75 optometrists and eye clinics on map listings, it comes to $2.4M 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 161,264 households in the Asheville metro area and national spending patterns by income.
How does the Asheville, NC metro area compare with the U.S. for optometrists and eye clinics?
The Asheville metro area has 4.7 optometrists and eye clinics per 10,000 households, 15% above the U.S. rate of 4.1. Spending per practice is $2.4M, 24% below the U.S. figure of $3.1M. At the U.S. ratio of optometrists and eye clinics to household spending, the Asheville metro area would have about 57, against 75 on map listings. There is one business with payroll in the industry for every 5,561 households, against one for every 5,742 across the U.S. The official count held level from 2019 to 2023, against +0.2% for the U.S.
How fast is the Asheville, NC metro area growing?
Population estimates put the Asheville metro area at 422,345 people in 2025, up 3.6% since 2020, faster than the U.S. (+3.1%). It has 161,264 households. Median household income in the Asheville metro area is $71,838, 11% below the U.S. median of $80,734.
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 Asheville metro area scores 31 for optometrists and eye clinics (lower middle), #328 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 Asheville 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 Asheville metro area
Screening a site or an acquisition in the Asheville 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 Asheville 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.