Health care · Small-town market · North Carolina
Optometrists and eye clinics in the Shelby-Kings Mountain, NC area
How the Shelby-Kings Mountain, NC 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 67 out of 100: Upper middle
Ranked #75 of 400 scored small-town markets
#3 of 18 scored small-town markets based in North Carolina
- Listings
- 11
- 1 chain location (9%)
- Official establishments
- 5
- Businesses with payroll, 2023
- Household spending a year
- $38.4M
- On medical and dental services · $989 a household
- Spending per listing
- $3.5M
- 11% above the U.S.
- Listings per 10k households
- 2.8
- 32% below the U.S.
- Population, 2025
- 103,325
- +3.4% since 2020
See the optometrists and eye clinics around any address in the Shelby-Kings Mountain 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 Shelby-Kings Mountain 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
Map listings as of September 2026 show 11 optometrists and eye clinics in the Shelby-Kings Mountain area. One of them (9%) is a chain location, against 20% across the U.S. Per 10,000 households, that is 2.8, 32% below the U.S. rate of 4.1.
Household spending on medical and dental services in the Shelby-Kings Mountain area comes to about $38.4M a year: $989 per household, 23% below the U.S. average. That is about $3.5M of household spending for each practice on map listings, 11% 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.
Official counts show 5 businesses with payroll classed as offices of optometrists in the Shelby-Kings Mountain area in 2023. That is one for every 7,770 households, against one for every 5,742 across the U.S.
Population estimates show the Shelby-Kings Mountain area grew 3.4% from 2020 to 2025, in step with the U.S. (+3.1%). The Groundwork market score for optometrists and eye clinics in the Shelby-Kings Mountain area is 67 (upper middle), #75 of 400 scored small-town markets and #3 of 18 scored small-town markets based in North Carolina. That puts it in the top quarter of small-town markets.
How the Shelby-Kings Mountain 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 | Shelby-Kings Mountain area | North Carolina | U.S. |
|---|---|---|---|
| Listings per 10k households | 2.8 | 3.6 | 4.1 |
| Spending per listing | $3.5M | $3.1M | $3.1M |
| Households per official establishment | 7,770 | 6,479 | 5,742 |
| Official establishment growth, 2019–2023 | n/a | −0.3% | +0.2% |
| Population growth, 2020–2025 | +3.4% | +7.2% | +3.1% |
| Spending per household on medical and dental services | $989 | $1,116 | $1,288 |
| Median household income | $58,534 | $72,388 | $80,734 |
| Groundwork market score | 67 | 56 |
Official counts and lending
Businesses
- Official establishments, 2019 to 2023
- 5
- Employees, 2023
- 21
- Annual payroll, 2023
- $1.3M
- One-person businesses, 2023
- Not publishedNot published for this business type
- Map listings, September 2026
- 111 chain location
- Listings at the U.S. rate for this spending
- 12The 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 Shelby-Kings Mountain 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 Shelby-Kings Mountain area
- Population, 2025 estimate
- 103,325+3.4% since 2020
- Households
- 38,850
- Median age
- 41.3
- Homes lived in by their owners
- 71%
- Vehicles per household
- 2.1
- Land area
- 464 sq. mi.
- People per square mile
- 218
- Median household income
- $58,534+38.6% vs. 2015–2019, before inflation
- Average household income
- $76,018
- Median home value
- $200,000
- Jobs located here
- 34,727
- Daytime population
- 92,263Residents who don’t work, plus everyone whose job is here
Looking at a specific site in the Shelby-Kings Mountain 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 Shelby-Kings Mountain 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 small-town markets in North Carolina for optometrists and eye clinics, numbered among those based in North Carolina, with the Shelby-Kings Mountain area marked.
Top small-town markets in North Carolina
| Market | Score | Listings | Per 10k households | Spending per listing | Population growth | U.S. rank |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| 1Anderson Creek, NC | 81 | 13 | 2.6 | $4.1M | +12.3% | #16 of 400 |
| 2Kill Devil Hills, NC | 69 | 6 | 3.6 | $3.4M | +3.3% | #64 of 400 |
| 3Shelby-Kings Mountain, NC | 67 | 11 | 2.8 | $3.5M | +3.4% | #75 of 400 |
| 4New Bern, NC | 65 | 18 | 3.4 | $3M | +3.6% | #85 of 400 |
| 5Waynesville, NC | 63 | 9 | 3.3 | $3.1M | +1.9% | #104 of 400 |
| 6Wilson, NC | 62 | 7 | 2.1 | $4.6M | +1.7% | #107 of 400 |
| 7Albemarle, NC | 57 | 9 | 3.6 | $2.9M | +9.8% | #146 of 400 |
| 8Lumberton, NC | 55 | 11 | 2.6 | $3.4M | +3.4% | #161 of 400 |
| 9Morehead City, NC | 54 | 12 | 3.8 | $2.9M | +4.1% | #170 of 400 |
| 10North Wilkesboro, NC | 53 | 7 | 2.6 | $3.6M | +0.6% | #179 of 400 |
Other business types in the Shelby-Kings Mountain 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 clinics37
- Dentists and orthodontists59
- Primary care and pediatrics33
- Urgent care and walk-in clinics
- Chiropractors64
- Physical therapy67
- Optometrists and eye care67
Child care
Clothing and laundry
Home services
Real estate
Funeral services
Questions
How many optometrists and eye clinics are in the Shelby-Kings Mountain, NC area?
There are 11 optometrists and eye clinics on map listings in the Shelby-Kings Mountain area as of September 2026. One of them (9%) is a chain location. 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 Shelby-Kings Mountain, NC area spend on medical and dental services?
About $38.4M a year, or $989 per household. That is 23% below the U.S. average (an index of 77, where 100 is the U.S. average). Spread across the 11 optometrists and eye clinics on map listings, it comes to $3.5M 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 38,850 households in the Shelby-Kings Mountain area and national spending patterns by income.
How does the Shelby-Kings Mountain, NC area compare with the U.S. for optometrists and eye clinics?
The Shelby-Kings Mountain area has 2.8 optometrists and eye clinics per 10,000 households, 32% below the U.S. rate of 4.1. Spending per practice is $3.5M, 11% above the U.S. figure of $3.1M. At the national ratio of optometrists and eye clinics to household spending, the Shelby-Kings Mountain area would have about 12, against 11 on map listings. There is one business with payroll in the industry for every 7,770 households, against one for every 5,742 across the U.S.
How fast is the Shelby-Kings Mountain, NC area growing?
Population estimates put the Shelby-Kings Mountain area at 103,325 people in 2025, up 3.4% since 2020, in step with the U.S. (+3.1%). It has 38,850 households. The median household income in the Shelby-Kings Mountain area is $58,534 a year, 27% below the U.S. median of $80,734. That rose 38.6% 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 Shelby-Kings Mountain area scores 67 for optometrists and eye clinics (upper middle), #75 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 Shelby-Kings Mountain 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 Shelby-Kings Mountain area
Screening a site or an acquisition in the Shelby-Kings Mountain 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 Shelby-Kings Mountain 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.