Optometrist: how many are there, and how many are in private practice?

National totals

What this specialty covers

Doctors of optometry (ODs) are the primary health care professionals for the eye. Optometrists examine, diagnose, treat, and manage diseases, injuries, and disorders of the visual system, the eye, and associated structures as well as identify related systemic conditions affecting the eye. An optometrist has completed pre-professional undergraduate education in a college or university and four years of professional education at a college of optometry, leading to the doctor of optometry (O.D.) degree. Some optometrists complete an optional residency in a specific area of practice. Optometrists are eye health care professionals state-licensed to diagnose and treat diseases and disorders of the eye and visual system.

Reading the sole-proprietor share

For optometrists, the sole-proprietor share is best read as the portion of NPI records whose NPPES sole-proprietor field is flagged, not as a direct count of optometrists in private practice. The field is self-reported and may not show whether an optometrist owns a practice, works independently, is employed by a group or corporate organization, or practices in more than one setting, so it is an imperfect proxy.

By state

New NPI registrations by year

Counts reflect the year each NPI was first issued, among records still active today. The final year is partial: this data covers through 2026-01-11.

Data notes

• The sole-proprietor field is self-reported by the provider in NPPES and is an imperfect proxy for private practice.
• A sole-proprietor count shown as <11 is suppressed: the true value is below 11, which could include zero.
• An NPI record is an administrative identifier, so the count may not equal the number of unique, licensed, or currently practicing optometrists.
• The primary taxonomy is an NPPES classification and may not capture every service an optometrist provides or every clinician who provides eye care.
• Providers are counted once, by their primary taxonomy code only.

Source: CMS National Plan and Provider Enumeration System (NPPES) Data Dissemination file, FOIA-disclosable public data under CMS-6060-N. Aggregated by Hero EMR on 2026-08-03; deactivated NPIs excluded; specialty assigned from the primary taxonomy code (NUCC 25.1). Counts below 11 are suppressed. Individual providers are never published. All provider data pages.

Common questions