Health care · Metro area · South Carolina
Optometrists and eye clinics in the Columbia, SC metro area
How the Columbia, SC 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 56 out of 100: Upper middle
Ranked #137 of 386 scored metro areas
#2 of 8 scored metro areas based in South Carolina
- Listings
- 118
- 18 chain locations (15%)
- Official establishments
- 42
- −12.8% since 2019
- Household spending a year
- $366.5M
- On medical and dental services · $1,079 a household
- Spending per listing
- $3.1M
- In line with the U.S.
- Listings per 10k households
- 3.5
- 15% below the U.S.
- Population, 2025
- 879,918
- +6.0% since 2020
See the optometrists and eye clinics around any address in the Columbia 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 Columbia 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
Households in the Columbia metro area spend about $366.5M a year on medical and dental services, or $1,079 per household, 16% below the U.S. average. That works out to $3.1M per practice, in line with the U.S. figure of $3.1M. The spending figure covers all medical and dental services, not only optometrists and eye clinics.
The Columbia metro area has 118 optometrists and eye clinics on map listings as of September 2026. Of those, 18 are chain locations, or 15%, against 20% across the U.S. That comes to 3.5 for every 10,000 households, 15% below the U.S. rate of 4.1.
In 2023, official counts showed 42 businesses with payroll in the Columbia metro area classed as offices of optometrists, down 12.8% from 2019. That is one for every 8,086 households, against one for every 5,742 across the U.S.
Between 2020 and 2025, the population of the Columbia metro area grew 6.0%, faster than the U.S. (+3.1%). The Columbia metro area scores 56 (upper middle) on the Groundwork market score for optometrists and eye clinics, ranking #137 of 386 scored metro areas and #2 of 8 scored metro areas based in South Carolina.
How the Columbia metro area compares
The same measures for South 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 | Columbia metro area | South Carolina | U.S. |
|---|---|---|---|
| Listings per 10k households | 3.5 | 3.7 | 4.1 |
| Spending per listing | $3.1M | $3M | $3.1M |
| Households per official establishment | 8,086 | 7,458 | 5,742 |
| Official establishment growth, 2019–2023 | −12.8% | −9.8% | +0.2% |
| Population growth, 2020–2025 | +6.0% | +8.5% | +3.1% |
| Spending per household on medical and dental services | $1,079 | $1,086 | $1,288 |
| Median household income | $68,359 | $69,324 | $80,734 |
| Groundwork market score | 56 | 57 |
Official counts and lending
Businesses
- Official establishments, 2019 to 2023
- 42−12.8% over the period
- Employees, 2023
- 253
- Annual payroll, 2023
- $11.1M
- One-person businesses, 2023
- Not publishedNot published for this business type
- Map listings, September 2026
- 11818 chain locations
- Listings at the U.S. rate for this spending
- 117The 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 Columbia 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 Columbia metro area
- Population, 2025 estimate
- 879,918+6.0% since 2020
- Households
- 339,601
- Median age
- 39.2
- Homes lived in by their owners
- 69%
- Vehicles per household
- 1.9
- Land area
- 3,703 sq. mi.
- People per square mile
- 229
- Median household income
- $68,359+22.1% vs. 2015–2019, before inflation
- Average household income
- $92,243
- Median home value
- $232,400
- Jobs located here
- 410,492
- Daytime population
- 894,123Residents who don’t work, plus everyone whose job is here
Looking at a specific site in the Columbia 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 Columbia 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 South Carolina
Every South Carolina market ranked →The highest-scoring metro areas in South Carolina for optometrists and eye clinics, numbered among those based in South Carolina (a market based in another state is listed without a number), with the Columbia metro area marked.
Top metro areas in South Carolina
| Market | Score | Listings | Per 10k households | Spending per listing | Population growth | U.S. rank |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| Augusta-Richmond County, GA-SC | 68 | 60 | 2.6 | $4.2M | +4.7% | #62 of 386 |
| 1Spartanburg, SC | 66 | 38 | 2.7 | $3.9M | +14.3% | #73 of 386 |
| 2Columbia, SC | 56 | 118 | 3.5 | $3.1M | +6.0% | #137 of 386 |
| Charlotte-Concord-Gastonia, NC-SC | 54 | 423 | 3.9 | $3.1M | +10.1% | #161 of 386 |
| 3Greenville-Anderson-Greer, SC | 53 | 149 | 3.9 | $2.8M | +9.0% | #174 of 386 |
| 4Myrtle Beach-Conway-North Myrtle Beach, SC | 48 | 57 | 3.6 | $2.9M | +20.9% | #222 of 386 |
| 5Hilton Head Island-Bluffton-Port Royal, SC | 47 | 49 | 5.1 | $2.3M | +12.0% | #238 of 386 |
| 6Sumter, SC | 46 | 13 | 3.2 | $3.1M | −0.3% | #241 of 386 |
| 7Florence, SC | 45 | 23 | 2.9 | $3.4M | +0.9% | #248 of 386 |
| 8Charleston-North Charleston, SC | 38 | 189 | 5.6 | $2.1M | +10.7% | #297 of 386 |
Other business types in the Columbia 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 clinics57
- Dentists and orthodontists37
- Primary care and pediatrics53
- Urgent care and walk-in clinics40
- Chiropractors55
- Physical therapy54
- Optometrists and eye care56
Child care
Clothing and laundry
Home services
Real estate
Funeral services
Questions
How many optometrists and eye clinics are in the Columbia, SC metro area?
Map listings as of September 2026 show 118 optometrists and eye clinics in the Columbia metro area. 18 of them (15%) are chain locations. The listings count optometrists and eye clinics. Official counts show 42 businesses with payroll classed as offices of optometrists in 2023, down 12.8% from 2019.
How much do households in the Columbia, SC metro area spend on medical and dental services?
About $366.5M a year, or $1,079 per household. That is 16% below the U.S. average (an index of 84, where 100 is the U.S. average). Spread across the 118 optometrists and eye clinics on map listings, it comes to $3.1M 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 339,601 households in the Columbia metro area and national spending patterns by income.
How does the Columbia, SC metro area compare with the U.S. for optometrists and eye clinics?
The Columbia metro area has 3.5 optometrists and eye clinics per 10,000 households, 15% below the U.S. rate of 4.1. Spending per practice is $3.1M, in line with the U.S. figure of $3.1M. At the U.S. ratio of optometrists and eye clinics to household spending, the Columbia metro area would have about 117, against 118 on map listings. There is one business with payroll in the industry for every 8,086 households, against one for every 5,742 across the U.S. The official count fell 12.8% from 2019 to 2023, against +0.2% for the U.S.
How fast is the Columbia, SC metro area growing?
Population estimates put the Columbia metro area at 879,918 people in 2025, up 6.0% since 2020, faster than the U.S. (+3.1%). It has 339,601 households. Median household income in the Columbia metro area is $68,359, 15% below the U.S. median of $80,734. Against the 2015–2019 survey, the median rose 22.1%, 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 Columbia metro area scores 56 for optometrists and eye clinics (upper middle), #137 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 Columbia 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 Columbia metro area
Screening a site or an acquisition in the Columbia 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 Columbia 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.