Opticians, Dispensing Salary: $60,603 Median Pay (2026 stats)
TL;DR
About 79,690 opticians, dispensing nationally earn a mean of $60,603. Projections imply about 1.7% annual growth; much hiring sits in health care and social assistance.
Key Statistics
Opticians, Dispensing: what the data shows
Common questions about opticians, dispensing careers, answered from BLS OEWS and O*NET in this repository.
What is a opticians, dispensing?
Opticians, Dispensing is tracked by the Bureau of Labor Statistics under SOC 29-2081.
U.S. employment in our OEWS extract is about 79,690 workers.
What does a opticians, dispensing do?
O*NET work activities rated highest for this occupation include Performing for or Working Directly with the Public, Documenting/Recording Information, Selling or Influencing Others, Getting Information, Making Decisions and Solving Problems, Evaluating Information to Determine Compliance with Standards, and related tasks. See Work Activities for the full list.
How much does a opticians, dispensing make?
BLS national median annual wage: $46,560 (May 2024 in our extract).
Mean annual wage in our occupational extract: $60,603 — higher than the median, which often reflects top earners in the distribution.
Wage percentiles below are from the California OEWS extract (not national unless noted).
| Wage percentile | Annual wage |
|---|---|
| 10th percentile | $42,720 |
| 25th percentile | $47,959 |
| Median (50th) | $59,340 |
| 75th percentile | $71,779 |
| 90th percentile | $79,606 |
What education do you need?
For Opticians, Dispensing, O*NET incumbent surveys in our extract most often report: Some college (29%), High School or Equivalent (27%), Bachelors Degree (22%).
These are education levels of current workers, not minimum legal requirements.
What skills do you need?
O*NET ratings for this occupation emphasize skills such as Speaking, Active Listening, Reading Comprehension, Critical Thinking, Service Orientation, Writing, and knowledge areas including Customer and Personal Service, Sales and Marketing, Mathematics, Production and Processing. See Education & Skills for detail.
Is opticians, dispensing in demand?
Historical employment trend in our series implies about 1.7% annual growth (compound rate in the extract).
Five-year projected employment change: 8.8%.
Ten-year projected employment change: 18.4%.
Current U.S. headcount: 79,690.
We report federal series only—compare wages, growth, and openings against your target market.
Where do opticians, dispensings work?
Top industries by employment share in our OEWS industry extract:
| Industry | Employment | Share |
|---|---|---|
| Cross-industry | 79,690 | 18.5% |
| Cross-industry, Private Ownership only | 79,530 | 18.5% |
| Health Care and Social Assistance | 43,300 | 10.1% |
| Ambulatory Health Care Services | 43,060 | 10.0% |
| Retail Trade | 35,080 | 8.1% |
| General Merchandise Retailers | 34,400 | 8.0% |
See Industry for charts.
What degrees lead to this career?
Common majors for Opticians, Dispensing in O*NET:
See Related degrees.
Employment
Employment and salary information for the Opticians, Dispensing workforce.
Employment Over Time
79,690 Workforce in 2023
The Opticians, Dispensing workforce has been growing over time.
Historical employment trends for Opticians, Dispensing.
Yearly Wage Ranking
$60,603 Average Wage
In 2023, Opticians, Dispensing earned an average of $60,603.
Wage ranking compared to other occupations.
Wage Distribution
This chart shows the distribution of average salaries by income buckets for Opticians, Dispensing.
Salary distribution for Opticians, Dispensing.
Employment Growth Projections
1.7% Compound Annual Growth Rate (CAGR)
35,492 Projected Employment (5 years)
Projected growth: 8.8%
38,617 Projected Employment (10 years)
Projected growth: 18.4%
This occupation is projected to grow at 1.7% annually, indicating strong future demand.
Historical employment trends and future projections for Opticians, Dispensing.
Industry
Information on the industries that employ Opticians, Dispensing and on wages for those in the field.
Occupations by Industries
This graphic shows the share of Opticians, Dispensing employed by various industries.
Industry distribution for Opticians, Dispensing.
Wage Trends by Industry
-8.1% Average Annual Wage Growth Rate
Historical wage growth trends by industry for Opticians, Dispensing.
Geographic Distribution
Employment and wage information by geographic location for Opticians, Dispensing.
State employment and wages are from the U.S. BLS OEWS May 2024 state extract. Metropolitan areas use the national MSA file when available.
Top States by Employment
Top States by Employment:
- CA: 8,180 employees, $59,000 avg wage
- TX: 7,100 employees, $38,370 avg wage
- NY: 5,180 employees, $63,050 avg wage
- FL: 5,030 employees, $54,980 avg wage
- IL: 3,660 employees, $44,560 avg wage
- MI: 3,220 employees, $43,500 avg wage
- OH: 3,190 employees, $48,420 avg wage
- PA: 2,750 employees, $45,190 avg wage
- GA: 2,580 employees, $50,190 avg wage
- VA: 2,500 employees, $54,370 avg wage
Top 10 states by employment for Opticians, Dispensing.
Top Metropolitan Areas
Top Metropolitan Areas:
- New York-Newark-Jersey City, NY-NJ: 5,170 employees, $64,870 avg wage
- Los Angeles-Long Beach-Anaheim, CA: 3,170 employees, $58,290 avg wage
- Chicago-Naperville-Elgin, IL-IN: 2,810 employees, $45,760 avg wage
- Dallas-Fort Worth-Arlington, TX: 1,990 employees, $40,440 avg wage
- Houston-Pasadena-The Woodlands, TX: 1,730 employees, $37,540 avg wage
- Detroit-Warren-Dearborn, MI: 1,640 employees, $44,420 avg wage
- Atlanta-Sandy Springs-Roswell, GA: 1,460 employees, $52,890 avg wage
- Philadelphia-Camden-Wilmington, PA-NJ-DE-MD: 1,310 employees, $51,490 avg wage
- Washington-Arlington-Alexandria, DC-VA-MD-WV: 1,310 employees, $57,580 avg wage
- Phoenix-Mesa-Chandler, AZ: 1,180 employees, $50,800 avg wage
Top 10 metropolitan statistical areas by employment for Opticians, Dispensing.
Diversity
Demographic information on Opticians, Dispensing in the US.
Gender and Age
The workforce of Opticians, Dispensing in 2023 was 79,690 people, with 62.0% women and 38.0% men.
Gender and age distribution for Opticians, Dispensing.
Races
Racial and ethnic shares when present in the career dataset. If the chart area shows a notice instead, occupational race/ethnicity fields are not yet populated for this extract.
Race and ethnicity distribution for Opticians, Dispensing.
Education & Skills
Data on higher education choices and required skills for Opticians, Dispensing.
Majors
The most common majors achieved by Opticians, Dispensing in 2023 were Business Administration, Business, Social Sciences.
Common majors for Opticians, Dispensing.
Education Levels
The main educational levels achieved by Opticians, Dispensing workers.
Education level distribution for Opticians, Dispensing.
Skills
Opticians, Dispensing need many skills, but most especially Speaking, Active Listening, Reading Comprehension, Critical Thinking, Service Orientation.
Required skills for Opticians, Dispensing.
Knowledge & Abilities
Knowledge areas and abilities required for Opticians, Dispensing.
Knowledge Areas
The most important knowledge areas for Opticians, Dispensing include Customer and Personal Service, Sales and Marketing, Mathematics, Production and Processing, Administrative.
Knowledge areas required for Opticians, Dispensing.
Abilities
Key abilities needed for Opticians, Dispensing include Oral Expression, Oral Comprehension, Near Vision, Written Comprehension, Speech Recognition.
Required abilities for Opticians, Dispensing.
Work Activities
Common work activities performed by Opticians, Dispensing.
Daily Activities
Opticians, Dispensing spend their time on activities such as Performing for or Working Directly with the Public, Documenting/Recording Information, Selling or Influencing Others, Getting Information, Making Decisions and Solving Problems.
Most important work activities for Opticians, Dispensing.
About
Opticians, Dispensing
The average yearly wage for Opticians, Dispensing was $60,603 in 2023.
SOC Code
29-2081 - Opticians, Dispensing
Insights and Analysis
Compensation snapshot: Opticians, Dispensing reports an average salary of $60,603.
Labor market presence: The current workforce is approximately 79,690 workers, indicating sustained demand.
Forward outlook: Projected annual growth is 1.7%, which should inform long-term career planning.
Data Sources
This page uses data from the following sources:
- College Scorecard - U.S. Department of Education
- Institutional characteristics, costs, completion rates, and earnings data
- Data years: 2015-2024
- Source: collegescorecard.ed.gov
- Bureau of Labor Statistics (BLS) Occupational Employment and Wage Statistics (OEWS)
- Employment and wage data by occupation
- Latest data: May 2024
- Source: bls.gov/oes
- O*NET Online - U.S. Department of Labor
- Occupational skills, knowledge, abilities, and work activities
- Database version: 28.0 (August 2023)
- Source: onetcenter.org
- IPEDS (Integrated Postsecondary Education Data System) - National Center for Education Statistics
- Institutional data, completions, enrollment, and financial aid
- Data years: 2015-2024
- Source: nces.ed.gov/ipeds
- Census Bureau American Community Survey (ACS)
- Demographic and workforce data
- Latest data: 2023 ACS 5-Year Estimates
- Source: census.gov/acs
Data Processing: All data has been processed, cleaned, and aggregated for presentation. Where specific data points are unavailable, estimates are based on available data and clearly marked.
Last Updated: Data reflects the most recent available information as of January 2025.
Methodology
Data for this profile is sourced from the Bureau of Labor Statistics Occupational Employment and Wage Statistics (OEWS), Census Bureau American Community Survey (ACS), and O*NET Online.
All wage figures represent annual averages and may vary by location, industry, and experience level.