Groundwork

Health care · County · Tennessee

Optometrists and eye clinics in Shelby County, TN

How Shelby County, TN compares with other counties and the U.S. for optometrists and eye clinics: competitors, household spending, official counts and growth.

Groundwork market score · out of 100

Score 40 out of 100: Lower middle

Ranked #911 of 1,302 scored counties
#20 of 36 scored counties in Tennessee

Listings
144
34 chain locations (24%)
Official establishments
53
−10.2% since 2019
Household spending a year
$389.1M
On medical and dental services · $1,073 a household
Spending per listing
$2.7M
14% below the U.S.
Listings per 10k households
4.0
2% below the U.S.
Population, 2025
910,226
−2.1% since 2020

See the optometrists and eye clinics around any address in Shelby County

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 Shelby County. 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

Household spending on medical and dental services in Shelby County comes to about $389.1M a year: $1,073 per household, 17% below the U.S. average. That is about $2.7M of household spending for each practice on map listings, 14% below the U.S. figure of $3.1M. The spending figure covers all medical and dental services, not only optometrists and eye clinics.

Shelby County has 144 optometrists and eye clinics on map listings as of September 2026. Chain locations make up 24% of them, against 20% across the U.S. Per 10,000 households, that is 4.0, 2% below the U.S. rate of 4.1.

Official counts show 53 businesses with payroll classed as offices of optometrists in Shelby County in 2023, down 10.2% from 2019. That is one for every 6,844 households, against one for every 5,742 across the U.S. Since fiscal 2022, 1 SBA-backed loan worth $250K has gone to businesses classed as offices of optometrists in Shelby County.

Population estimates show Shelby County declined 2.1% from 2020 to 2025, against +3.1% for the U.S. Shelby County scores 40 (lower middle) on the Groundwork market score for optometrists and eye clinics, ranking #911 of 1,302 scored counties and #20 of 36 scored counties in Tennessee.

How Shelby County 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.

Optometrists and eye care in Shelby County, TN compared with Tennessee and the U.S.
MeasureShelby CountyTennesseeU.S.
Listings per 10k households4.03.74.1
Spending per listing$2.7M$3M$3.1M
Households per official establishment6,8446,3475,742
Official establishment growth, 2019–2023−10.2%−1.8%+0.2%
Population growth, 2020–2025−2.1%+5.6%+3.1%
Spending per household on medical and dental services$1,073$1,088$1,288
Median household income$63,767$69,595$80,734
Groundwork market score4049

Official counts and lending

Businesses

Official establishments, 2019 to 2023
59 → 53−10.2% over the period
Employees, 2023
269
Annual payroll, 2023
$12.6M
One-person businesses, 2023
Not publishedNot published for this business type
Map listings, September 2026
14434 chain locations
Listings at the U.S. rate for this spending
124The U.S. ratio of listings to household spending, applied here

SBA-backed loans since fiscal 2022

Loans
1
Amount
$250K

SBA-backed loans to businesses classed as offices of optometrists in Shelby County, 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 Shelby County

Population, 2025 estimate
910,226−2.1% since 2020
Households
362,741
Median age
36.7
Homes lived in by their owners
54%
Vehicles per household
1.7
Land area
753 sq. mi.
People per square mile
1,221
Median household income
$63,767+23.4% vs. 2015–2019, before inflation
Average household income
$96,646
Median home value
$249,100
Jobs located here
497,377
Daytime population
1,001,197Residents who don’t work, plus everyone whose job is here

Looking at a specific site in Shelby County?

These figures cover the whole county. 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 Shelby County. Signed out, you see a blurred preview; on an account, each report is one action.

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Optometrists and eye care across Tennessee

Every Tennessee market ranked →

The highest-scoring counties in Tennessee for optometrists and eye clinics, numbered among those based in Tennessee, with Shelby County marked.

Top counties in Tennessee

Counties in Tennessee ranked for optometrists and eye clinics by Groundwork market score
MarketScoreListingsPer 10k householdsSpending per listingPopulation growthU.S. rank
1Montgomery County, TN75222.5$4.3M+13.0%#122 of 1,302
2Dickson County, TN7162.8$4M+7.7%#185 of 1,302
3Blount County, TN70183.2$3.5M+6.0%#203 of 1,302
4Anderson County, TN69103.1$3.5M+6.1%#219 of 1,302
5Tipton County, TN6852.2$4.9M+2.0%#225 of 1,302
6Sumner County, TN68313.9$3.1M+9.2%#245 of 1,302
7Cumberland County, TN6762.1$4.6M+8.0%#252 of 1,302
8Davidson County, TN641193.7$3.2M+4.2%#330 of 1,302
9Rutherford County, TN59534.1$2.9M+12.6%#452 of 1,302
10Maury County, TN55194.5$2.5M+16.0%#569 of 1,302
20Shelby County, TN401444.0$2.7M−2.1%#911 of 1,302

Other business types in Shelby County

Each with its Groundwork market score here, out of 100, where it has one.

Questions

How many optometrists and eye clinics are in Shelby County, TN?

Map listings as of September 2026 show 144 optometrists and eye clinics in Shelby County. 34 of them (24%) are chain locations. The listings count optometrists and eye clinics. Official counts show 53 businesses with payroll classed as offices of optometrists in 2023, down 10.2% from 2019.

How much do households in Shelby County, TN spend on medical and dental services?

About $389.1M a year, or $1,073 per household. That is 17% below the U.S. average (an index of 83, where 100 is the U.S. average). Spread across the 144 optometrists and eye clinics on map listings, it comes to $2.7M 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 362,741 households in Shelby County and national spending patterns by income.

How does Shelby County, TN compare with the U.S. for optometrists and eye clinics?

Shelby County 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, 14% below the U.S. figure of $3.1M. At the U.S. ratio of optometrists and eye clinics to household spending, Shelby County would have about 124, against 144 on map listings. There is one business with payroll in the industry for every 6,844 households, against one for every 5,742 across the U.S. The official count fell 10.2% from 2019 to 2023, against +0.2% for the U.S.

How fast is Shelby County, TN growing?

Population estimates put Shelby County at 910,226 people in 2025, down 2.1% since 2020, against +3.1% for the U.S. It has 362,741 households. Median household income in Shelby County is $63,767, 21% below the U.S. median of $80,734. Against the 2015–2019 survey, the median rose 23.4%, 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. Shelby County scores 40 for optometrists and eye clinics (lower middle), #911 of 1,302 scored counties.

How can I see the market around a specific site?

Run a Groundwork site report on an address in Shelby County. 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 Shelby County

Screening a site or an acquisition in Shelby County?

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 Shelby County. 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.