Health care · Small-town market · Tennessee
Optometrists and eye clinics in the Athens, TN area
The optometrists and eye clinics in the Athens, TN area, the household spending behind them and how the market ranks against other small-town markets.
Groundwork market score · out of 100
Score 57 out of 100: Upper middle
Ranked #149 of 400 scored small-town markets
#5 of 13 scored small-town markets based in Tennessee
- Listings
- 11
- 3 chain locations (27%)
- Official establishments
- 4
- Businesses with payroll, 2023
- Household spending a year
- $26.7M
- On medical and dental services · $1,009 a household
- Spending per listing
- $2.4M
- 23% below the U.S.
- Listings per 10k households
- 4.2
- 2% above the U.S.
- Population, 2025
- 71,590
- +8.2% since 2020
See the optometrists and eye clinics around any address in the Athens 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 Athens 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 Athens area spend about $26.7M a year on medical and dental services, or $1,009 per household, 22% below the U.S. average. That works out to $2.4M per practice, 23% below the U.S. figure of $3.1M. The spending figure covers all medical and dental services, not only optometrists and eye clinics.
There are 11 optometrists and eye clinics on map listings in the Athens area as of September 2026. Chain locations make up 27% of them, against 20% across the U.S. Per 10,000 households, that is 4.2, 2% above the U.S. rate of 4.1.
In 2023, official counts showed 4 businesses with payroll in the Athens area classed as offices of optometrists. That is one for every 6,613 households, against one for every 5,742 across the U.S.
Between 2020 and 2025, the population of the Athens area grew 8.2%, faster than the U.S. (+3.1%). The Groundwork market score for optometrists and eye clinics in the Athens area is 57 (upper middle), #149 of 400 scored small-town markets and #5 of 13 scored small-town markets based in Tennessee.
How the Athens area compares
The same measures for Tennessee 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 | Athens area | Tennessee | U.S. |
|---|---|---|---|
| Listings per 10k households | 4.2 | 3.7 | 4.1 |
| Spending per listing | $2.4M | $3M | $3.1M |
| Households per official establishment | 6,613 | 6,347 | 5,742 |
| Official establishment growth, 2019–2023 | n/a | −1.8% | +0.2% |
| Population growth, 2020–2025 | +8.2% | +5.6% | +3.1% |
| Spending per household on medical and dental services | $1,009 | $1,088 | $1,288 |
| Median household income | $61,438 | $69,595 | $80,734 |
| Groundwork market score | 57 | 49 |
Official counts and lending
Businesses
- Official establishments, 2019 to 2023
- 4
- Employees, 2023
- 41
- Annual payroll, 2023
- $2M
- One-person businesses, 2023
- Not publishedNot published for this business type
- Map listings, September 2026
- 113 chain locations
- Listings at the U.S. rate for this spending
- 9The 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 Athens 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 Athens area
- Population, 2025 estimate
- 71,590+8.2% since 2020
- Households
- 26,453
- Median age
- 43.5
- Homes lived in by their owners
- 77%
- Vehicles per household
- 2.2
- Land area
- 625 sq. mi.
- People per square mile
- 109
- Median household income
- $61,438
- Average household income
- $81,180
- Median home value
- $205,300
- Jobs located here
- 19,824
- Daytime population
- 61,141Residents who don’t work, plus everyone whose job is here
Looking at a specific site in the Athens 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 Athens 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 Tennessee
Every Tennessee market ranked →The highest-scoring small-town markets in Tennessee for optometrists and eye clinics, numbered among those based in Tennessee, with the Athens area marked.
Top small-town markets in Tennessee
| Market | Score | Listings | Per 10k households | Spending per listing | Population growth | U.S. rank |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| 1Crossville, TN | 71 | 6 | 2.1 | $4.6M | +8.0% | #50 of 400 |
| 2Cookeville, TN | 59 | 18 | 3.1 | $3.2M | +7.6% | #128 of 400 |
| 3Greeneville, TN | 58 | 9 | 3.2 | $3M | +5.0% | #139 of 400 |
| 4McMinnville, TN | 57 | 5 | 3.1 | $3.1M | +6.5% | #143 of 400 |
| 5Athens, TN | 57 | 11 | 4.2 | $2.4M | +8.2% | #149 of 400 |
| 6Sevierville, TN | 55 | 16 | 4.0 | $2.6M | +2.5% | #165 of 400 |
| 7Fayetteville, TN | 50 | 6 | 4.0 | $2.6M | +4.3% | #211 of 400 |
| 8Lawrenceburg, TN | 47 | 6 | 3.5 | $2.7M | +6.2% | #231 of 400 |
| 9Tullahoma-Manchester, TN | 45 | 16 | 6.2 | $1.6M | +7.3% | #253 of 400 |
| 10Newport, TN | 43 | 5 | 3.2 | $2.8M | +5.1% | #259 of 400 |
Other business types in the Athens 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
Child care
Clothing and laundry
Home services
Real estate
Funeral services
Questions
How many optometrists and eye clinics are in the Athens, TN area?
As of September 2026, map listings count 11 optometrists and eye clinics in the Athens area. 3 of them (27%) are chain locations. The listings count optometrists and eye clinics. Official counts show 4 businesses with payroll classed as offices of optometrists in 2023.
How much do households in the Athens, TN area spend on medical and dental services?
About $26.7M a year, or $1,009 per household. That is 22% below the U.S. average (an index of 78, where 100 is the U.S. average). Spread across the 11 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 26,453 households in the Athens area and national spending patterns by income.
How does the Athens, TN area compare with the U.S. for optometrists and eye clinics?
The Athens area has 4.2 optometrists and eye clinics per 10,000 households, 2% above the U.S. rate of 4.1. Spending per practice is $2.4M, 23% below the U.S. figure of $3.1M. At the U.S. ratio of optometrists and eye clinics to household spending, the Athens area would have about 9, against 11 on map listings. There is one business with payroll in the industry for every 6,613 households, against one for every 5,742 across the U.S.
How fast is the Athens, TN area growing?
Population estimates put the Athens area at 71,590 people in 2025, up 8.2% since 2020, faster than the U.S. (+3.1%). It has 26,453 households. Median household income in the Athens area is $61,438, 24% 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. 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 Athens area scores 57 for optometrists and eye clinics (upper middle), #149 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 Athens 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 Athens area
Screening a site or an acquisition in the Athens 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 Athens 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.