The median optician in the United States earns $47,260 a year, or $22.72 an hour, according to the Bureau of Labor Statistics (BLS) May 2025 wage data for dispensing opticians. The middle 50% of opticians earn between $38,820 and $61,700, and the top 10% earn $76,750 or more. Where you work matters as much as how long you have worked: pay ranges from a $37,590 average in Mississippi to $69,680 in New Jersey.
This guide covers what opticians earn nationally, by workplace and by state, then adds two comparisons you will not find in the BLS tables: how pay differs between states that license opticians and states that do not, and how the state ranking changes once you adjust for cost of living. If you are new to the field, start with what an optician does.
National optician pay: percentiles from BLS (May 2025)
The BLS Occupational Employment and Wage Statistics (OEWS) program estimated 73,530 dispensing opticians (SOC 29-2081) in May 2025. The table below shows how wages spread across that group.
| Percentile | Hourly wage | Annual wage |
|---|---|---|
| 10th | $17.12 | $35,610 |
| 25th | $18.66 | $38,820 |
| 50th (median) | $22.72 | $47,260 |
| 75th | $29.66 | $61,700 |
| 90th | $36.90 | $76,750 |
| Mean | $24.89 | $51,770 |
Source: BLS OEWS, May 2025, national estimates for Opticians, Dispensing. The OEWS data tables publish these figures, which we retrieved through the BLS Public Data API. Annual wages are rounded to the nearest $10 as BLS publishes them.
The mean sits about $4,500 above the median because a smaller group of high earners pulls the average up. When you compare your own offer to the market, the median and the 25th to 75th percentile range are the fairer yardsticks. The spread from $35,610 to $76,750 is large for an occupation that the BLS says typically requires a high school diploma or equivalent, which tells you experience, setting and state rules do a lot of the work.
Optician pay by workplace
The largest single group, 31,920 of the 73,530 opticians, works in offices of optometrists, and that is also the lowest-paying of the large settings. General merchandise retailers pay the most among the large employers.
| Industry (May 2025) | Optician jobs | Mean hourly | Mean annual | Median annual |
|---|---|---|---|---|
| General merchandise retailers | 17,520 | $28.37 | $59,000 | $60,000 |
| Health and personal care retailers | 15,430 | $25.30 | $52,620 | $47,460 |
| Offices of physicians | 5,720 | $24.61 | $51,190 | $48,590 |
| Offices of optometrists | 31,920 | $22.03 | $45,810 | $45,320 |
| Outpatient care centers | 1,760 | $38.37 | $79,800 | $79,980 |
| General medical and surgical hospitals | 280 | $29.30 | $60,940 | $59,640 |
Source: BLS OEWS, May 2025, industry estimates for 29-2081. The BLS Occupational Outlook Handbook lists the same median figures for the four largest settings. Outpatient care centers and hospitals employ few opticians, so treat those two rows as indicative only.
The BLS reports the gap but not the reasons for it. What follows is our reading, not a BLS finding: general merchandise retailers, ophthalmology and other physician offices, and small optometry practices differ in hours, patient volume and how much of the job is dispensing versus front-desk and follow-up work. The BLS notes that opticians may work evenings and weekends, which varies by setting. If you are weighing offers, compare the whole package (hours, commission, benefits, path to a lab or management role) and not the hourly rate alone.
If you work alongside the physicians in these practices, our guide to what an ophthalmologist does explains the clinical side of the setting.
Optician salary by state (May 2025)
Every state and the District of Columbia has a published BLS estimate for opticians, so nothing below is filled in or estimated. The table is sorted by mean annual wage. The last column shows whether the state licenses opticians (explained in the next section). BLS also publishes Puerto Rico ($30,960 mean annual, 1,380 jobs), which is left out of the rankings because BEA does not publish a price parity for it in the file we used.
| Rank | State | Optician jobs | Mean hourly | Mean annual | Licensing |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| 1 | New Jersey | 2,010 | $33.50 | $69,680 | Yes |
| 2 | Connecticut | 610 | $33.31 | $69,290 | Yes |
| 3 | Massachusetts | 1,360 | $32.46 | $67,520 | Yes |
| 4 | Hawaii | 110 | $32.40 | $67,390 | Yes |
| 5 | New York | 3,520 | $31.17 | $64,830 | Yes |
| 6 | Vermont | 70 | $30.19 | $62,790 | Yes |
| 7 | District of Columbia | 80 | $29.71 | $61,790 | No |
| 8 | California | 7,840 | $29.36 | $61,070 | Yes |
| 9 | Alaska | 90 | $27.84 | $57,900 | Yes |
| 10 | Nevada | 960 | $27.26 | $56,700 | Yes |
| 11 | Florida | 5,080 | $27.19 | $56,560 | Yes |
| 12 | North Carolina | 2,020 | $26.83 | $55,810 | Yes |
| 13 | Virginia | 1,860 | $26.50 | $55,110 | Yes |
| 14 | Washington | 2,100 | $26.45 | $55,010 | Yes |
| 15 | Rhode Island | 350 | $26.03 | $54,140 | Yes |
| 16 | New Hampshire | 440 | $26.00 | $54,080 | Registration only |
| 17 | Georgia | 2,290 | $25.76 | $53,570 | Yes |
| 18 | Oregon | 1,000 | $25.73 | $53,510 | No |
| 19 | Arizona | 1,400 | $25.52 | $53,070 | Yes |
| 20 | Tennessee | 1,530 | $24.96 | $51,920 | Yes |
| 21 | Maryland | 1,060 | $24.65 | $51,270 | No |
| 22 | Colorado | 1,520 | $24.62 | $51,210 | No |
| 23 | Ohio | 2,960 | $24.62 | $51,200 | Yes |
| 24 | South Carolina | 890 | $24.53 | $51,010 | Yes |
| 25 | Minnesota | 1,490 | $24.22 | $50,370 | No |
| 26 | Idaho | 530 | $24.01 | $49,950 | No |
| 27 | Montana | 330 | $23.66 | $49,220 | No |
| 28 | Maine | 350 | $23.12 | $48,080 | No |
| 29 | Arkansas | 690 | $23.03 | $47,910 | Yes |
| 30 | Kentucky | 950 | $22.62 | $47,050 | Yes |
| 31 | Utah | 700 | $22.60 | $47,020 | No |
| 32 | Pennsylvania | 2,230 | $22.27 | $46,330 | No |
| 33 | Delaware | 270 | $22.21 | $46,190 | No |
| 34 | Illinois | 3,250 | $22.13 | $46,020 | No |
| 35 | Wisconsin | 1,430 | $22.11 | $46,000 | No |
| 36 | North Dakota | 230 | $21.94 | $45,640 | No |
| 37 | Iowa | 920 | $21.43 | $44,570 | No |
| 38 | Missouri | 1,600 | $21.11 | $43,900 | No |
| 39 | New Mexico | 340 | $21.04 | $43,750 | No |
| 40 | Michigan | 3,080 | $20.93 | $43,530 | No |
| 41 | Nebraska | 870 | $20.58 | $42,810 | No |
| 42 | Kansas | 630 | $20.51 | $42,660 | No |
| 43 | Texas | 6,700 | $20.51 | $42,650 | No |
| 44 | South Dakota | 430 | $20.46 | $42,560 | No |
| 45 | Indiana | 2,010 | $19.90 | $41,390 | No |
| 46 | Wyoming | 130 | $19.73 | $41,050 | No |
| 47 | Oklahoma | 730 | $19.47 | $40,500 | No |
| 48 | West Virginia | 350 | $19.46 | $40,470 | No |
| 49 | Alabama | 880 | $18.61 | $38,710 | No |
| 50 | Louisiana | 720 | $18.19 | $37,840 | No |
| 51 | Mississippi | 560 | $18.07 | $37,590 | No |
Source: BLS OEWS, May 2025, state estimates for 29-2081, retrieved through the BLS Public Data API (see the OEWS data tables). Licensing column: ABO-NCLE list of state licensing boards, as of April 2025.
Small states carry wide margins of error. Vermont (70 jobs), Alaska (90) and the District of Columbia (80) rest on very few workers, so read their rank as approximate. The larger markets are more reliable: California (7,840 jobs), Texas (6,700), Florida (5,080) and New York (3,520) hold the most opticians.
Do licensed opticians earn more? Licensing states vs. non-licensing states
In May 2025 the median state mean wage was $55,810 in the 21 states that license opticians and $44,570 in the 29 non-licensing jurisdictions, a gap of $11,240. Licensing states also earn more after adjusting for cost of living: $55,632 against $47,512 (medians of adjusted wages, using the price parities in the next section).
How we built this. We took the licensing list from the ABO-NCLE state licensing boards page (21 states plus Puerto Rico, as of April 2025) and spot-checked it against three state agencies: Washington’s Department of Health, the Connecticut Department of Public Health and the South Carolina Department of Labor, Licensing and Regulation. New Hampshire is a special case. Under Chapter Plc 800 opticians must register with the state, but no exam is required, and the ABO-NCLE list does not include it, so we left it out of both groups. Moving it into either group changes the medians by less than $1,000 (licensing $55,460 or non-licensing $45,105). We put the District of Columbia in the non-licensing group. Then we took the median of the state mean wages in each group.
| Group | States | Median of state mean wages | Range of state means | Optician jobs |
|---|---|---|---|---|
| Licensing states | 21 | $55,810 | $47,050 to $69,680 | 38,690 |
| Non-licensing states and DC | 29 | $44,570 | $37,590 to $61,790 | 34,420 |
Read this as an association between state-level averages, not proof that a license raises any individual’s pay. Licensing states include several high-cost, high-wage markets (New York, New Jersey, Massachusetts, California, Connecticut) that would pay more with or without a license, and non-licensing states include many low-cost ones. Licensing can also shape who is allowed to do the work, which affects supply. The gap is still wide enough to matter if you are deciding where to build a career: the range of state means in licensing states starts at $47,050 (Kentucky), which is above the median of non-licensing states.
For what a license or certification does at the individual level, see the credentials section below. For what each state asks for, see our guide to optician license requirements by state.
Cost-of-living adjusted ranking: where an optician’s pay goes furthest
A $55,000 salary buys different amounts in Honolulu and Nashville. To compare states fairly, we divided each state’s BLS mean annual wage by its 2024 all-items Regional Price Parity (RPP) from the Bureau of Economic Analysis and multiplied by 100. An RPP of 100 is the national average price level; California’s is 110.7, Arkansas’s is 86.9. The adjusted figure is the wage expressed in national-average dollars.
After adjusting for cost of living, Connecticut leads at $66,876, followed by Vermont ($64,099) and New Jersey ($64,041). North Carolina jumps from 12th to 7th and Tennessee from 20th to 10th, while Washington falls from 14th to 26th.
Top 10 states on the adjusted figure:
| Adjusted rank | State | Nominal mean | RPP (US = 100) | Adjusted mean | Nominal rank | Optician jobs |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| 1 | Connecticut | $69,290 | 103.6 | $66,876 | 2 | 610 |
| 2 | Vermont | $62,790 | 98.0 | $64,099 | 6 | 70 |
| 3 | New Jersey | $69,680 | 108.8 | $64,041 | 1 | 2,010 |
| 4 | Massachusetts | $67,520 | 105.8 | $63,844 | 3 | 1,360 |
| 5 | Hawaii | $67,390 | 110.0 | $61,291 | 4 | 110 |
| 6 | New York | $64,830 | 107.9 | $60,072 | 5 | 3,520 |
| 7 | North Carolina | $55,810 | 94.3 | $59,167 | 12 | 2,020 |
| 8 | Nevada | $56,700 | 100.0 | $56,712 | 10 | 960 |
| 9 | Alaska | $57,900 | 102.4 | $56,566 | 9 | 90 |
| 10 | Tennessee | $51,920 | 91.9 | $56,515 | 20 | 1,530 |
Bottom 5 states on the adjusted figure:
| Adjusted rank | State | Nominal mean | RPP (US = 100) | Adjusted mean | Nominal rank | Optician jobs |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| 47 | Wyoming | $41,050 | 92.7 | $44,287 | 46 | 130 |
| 48 | Texas | $42,650 | 97.1 | $43,943 | 43 | 6,700 |
| 49 | Alabama | $38,710 | 88.8 | $43,581 | 49 | 880 |
| 50 | Mississippi | $37,590 | 87.0 | $43,230 | 51 | 560 |
| 51 | Louisiana | $37,840 | 88.2 | $42,899 | 50 | 720 |
Method: BLS OEWS May 2025 mean annual wage for 29-2081 divided by the BEA all-items RPP for 2024, times 100. RPP source: BEA Regional Price Parities by state and metro area, state file SARPP, released February 19, 2026. The two datasets are a year apart (wages May 2025, prices calendar 2024), and RPPs are rounded to one decimal here but computed unrounded. The District of Columbia ranks 11th ($56,223) and is not counted as a state in the text.
Three takeaways. Cost adjustment reshuffles the middle of the table more than the top: the same six states (New Jersey, Connecticut, Massachusetts, Hawaii, New York and Vermont) lead both the nominal and the adjusted ranking. Low-cost states that pay average wages, such as North Carolina, Tennessee, Georgia and Ohio, move up. And the states at the bottom stay at the bottom: Louisiana, Mississippi and Alabama rank 49th to 51st nominally and rank 49th to 51st again once adjusted, so lower prices do not close the gap there.
Small samples apply here too: Vermont, Hawaii and Alaska each have 110 or fewer opticians in the BLS estimate.
Does ABO or NCLE certification raise an optician’s salary?
We could not find a credible, current source that puts a dollar figure on the premium, so we are not giving one. BLS does not split optician pay by certification, and the older trade-survey figures that circulate online are dated and come from secondary sites. Treat any specific “certified opticians earn $X more” number with caution.
What the BLS does say is that employers may look for candidates certified in eyeglass dispensing and in contact lens dispensing, and that each specialty requires passing a separate exam. In the 21 states on the ABO-NCLE licensing list, licensure usually means passing exams and completing an approved program or apprenticeship (see the BLS Opticians profile). In Connecticut, for example, applicants need the ABO and NCLE exams plus a state practical exam. So certification changes what you are eligible for, and in a licensing state it is a gate to the job, more than it is a raise by itself. A separate certification guide is planned.
Job outlook for opticians, 2025 to 2035
The BLS projects employment of opticians to grow 4 percent from 2025 to 2035, which it calls “about as fast as the average for all occupations.” That adds about 3,100 jobs. The BLS also projects “about 5,600 openings for opticians” each year on average over the decade. The BLS names two drivers of demand: an aging population and more chronic disease, which increase the need for eye-care services and opticianry.
For comparison, the BLS reports a median of $136,570 a year for optometrists in 2025, with a projected growth of 10 percent, but that occupation typically requires a doctoral or professional degree, while opticians typically need a high school diploma or equivalent (BLS optometrists profile).
What raises an optician’s pay
None of the BLS data isolates individual skills, so this section is practical guidance, not a measured premium. These are the levers that follow from the licensing rules and the way the work is structured.
- Licensure in a licensing state. In 21 states you cannot work as an optician without it, and as shown above those states pay more on average.
- Contact lens dispensing. Where the scope of practice and your certification allow it, a second specialty widens the roles you can hold.
- Complex lens work. Getting progressive lens fitting right the first time is what keeps remakes down, and remakes are a direct cost to the shop. The same goes for vertex distance compensation on high prescriptions.
- Lab and edging skills. Opticians who can finish and verify lenses in house are useful to shops that want to shorten turnaround.
- Management. Store manager, lab manager and practice-administration roles pay more than the dispensing bench, and they involve decisions about optical practice software and workflow.
- Setting. As the industry table shows, the same job pays several thousand dollars more a year in some settings than others.
Precise measurement is the skill that underlies most of these. A wrong pupillary distance or fitting height costs a remake, so measurement accuracy before the lab order is where a skilled optician saves the shop money.
Frequently Asked Questions
How much do opticians make an hour?
The BLS median hourly wage for opticians is $22.72 (May 2025). The 10th percentile is $17.12 and the 90th percentile is $36.90. The mean is $24.89 an hour.
Which state pays opticians the most?
New Jersey has the highest mean annual wage at $69,680, followed by Connecticut ($69,290) and Massachusetts ($67,520). After adjusting for cost of living using BEA price parities, Connecticut ranks first at $66,876, with Vermont and New Jersey next.
Do licensed opticians earn more?
On average, states that license opticians pay more. The median state mean wage is $55,810 in the 21 licensing states and $44,570 in non-licensing states and DC. That is a comparison of state averages, and cost of living and market mix also play a part, so it does not show that a license raises any one person’s pay.
Does ABO certification increase pay?
BLS does not report pay by certification, and we found no credible current source that quantifies a premium. What certification does is help with hiring, since employers may look for it, and it is required in states that license opticians.
How much do opticians make compared with optometrists?
The BLS median for optometrists is $136,570 a year (2025), against $47,260 for opticians. Optometrists typically need a doctoral or professional degree, while opticians typically need a high school diploma or equivalent plus training, an apprenticeship or, in some states, a license.
Is optician a good career?
The BLS projects 4 percent growth from 2025 to 2035, about as fast as average, with about 5,600 openings a year. Entry is possible with a high school diploma and on-the-job training, but pay is modest at the median, so most of the upside comes from moving to higher-paying settings, getting licensed or certified, and taking on lab or management work.
What setting pays opticians the best?
Among the large employers, general merchandise retailers pay the highest median at $60,000 a year, ahead of offices of physicians ($48,590), health and personal care retailers ($47,460) and offices of optometrists ($45,320), per BLS May 2025 data.
I grew up inside an optical shop. My mother likes to tell how, as a kid, I would watch eyeglasses being assembled, play with the tools, and draw on the back of service order slips. The family business taught me early what a precise measurement and work done right are worth.
I went on to spend more than twenty years as a software engineer, always keeping an eye on the optical world. Optogrid was born where the two meet: digital measurement technology (pupillary distance and fitting heights) built by someone who knows the dispensing counter from the inside.