Compiled by PlainCollege, College outcomes data analysis
24
Schools
First Professional
Credential Level
$130,321
National Avg Earnings
What the IPEDS & College Scorecard Data Shows for Optometry
Optometry is tracked across 24 U.S. postsecondary institutions in the College Scorecard field-of-study file, which links CIP code classifications from IPEDS to Treasury earnings records. This profile covers the first professional credential level specifically, because the Department of Education reports program-level outcomes separately for associate, bachelor’s, master’s, and doctoral awards. The CIP (Classification of Instructional Programs) taxonomy lets analysts roll up specialties into broader families, which is why earnings medians across schools can be compared on a common basis.
Across all reporting institutions, the mean of school-level medians is $130,321, calculated from 17 schools with published earnings data. The earnings distribution stretches from $102,704 at the low end to $145,890 at the top, with a 25th-75th percentile band between $127,809 and $134,609 around a median of $130,333. The top-reporting institution in this program is University of Alabama at Birmingham at $145,890. These numbers reflect Treasury-derived wages, deferred compensation, and positive self-employment earnings four years after completion for federally aided completers who were working and not enrolled.
Variation across schools matters more than a single national figure. Completer counts and earnings cohort counts are distinct source fields, so the displayed completer count should not be assumed to be the earnings denominator. PlainCollege's debt-to-earnings ratio divides median federal debt by annual median earnings as a descriptive comparison; it is not the Department's formal gainful-employment test. Use the school-by-school table to compare reported outcomes while accounting for cohort size, suppression, program mix, and location.
Illinois College of Optometry accounts for 11.8% of all Optometry first professional credential graduates
That concentration — well above the 5% national median for largest-entity share means Optometry-wide averages can mask meaningful variation outside the largest entity, though the remaining entities individually still carry a share worth reading on their own. That school produced 139 graduates in the most recent cohort, anchoring a meaningful slice of national supply for this field. Even a notable-but-not-dominant share like this is enough to skew a simple Optometry-wide average away from what a typical smaller entity looks like.
Optometry debt-to-earnings ratio is 1.42 — near the typical range (US average ~1) — aligned with the typical 1:1 ratio that defines federal gainful-employment thresholds
debt-to-earnings ratio is the simplest comparative metric but it does not capture the full picture: this ratio uses federal loan principal, not all education debt, private loans, parent PLUS loans not in the borrower’s name, and institutional debt are excluded Variation between sub-units within Optometry is typically wider than the Optometry-aggregate figure suggests.
Optometry operates only 24 institutions offer this program — among the most consolidated governance structures in the country
Most Optometry institutions offer this program are specialty-program scarcity that concentrates national supply in a small set of institutions, graduates often command stronger employer attention because the talent pool is structurally narrower. Consolidation produces narrower variance because resources pool across larger populations, but it can also mask intra-institutions offer this program inequities — sub-institutions offer this program differences within a single institutions offer this program are not visible at this aggregation level. Consolidated systems typically rely more heavily on top-down funding formulas than on local revenue variability.
Earnings trajectory. For the 15 schools reporting both horizons, median earnings are
55% higher four years after completion than one year
after. That is the same graduates measured twice, not two different groups, so it
describes how pay develops early in the career rather than a difference between schools.
A school missing from this count reports only one horizon.
Awards and earnings come from different reference periods, so they are not a count and an
average of the same people. Awards is the number of credentials the school reported for the
latest IPEDS year; median earnings is measured four years after completion, for a separate
pooled cohort of earlier graduates. A school can therefore report zero awards in the latest
year and still have earnings on record. The earnings figure is not the awards figure’s
average, and the awards count is not the earnings sample size. Schools are ranked on the
four-year earnings figure only, so every row is compared on the same basis.
Frequently Asked Questions
How much do Optometry graduates earn? ▼
Optometry graduates earn $130,321 on average four years after completion, across the 17 of 24 schools that report earnings for this program. Earnings range from $102,704 to $145,890 depending on the institution.
Which school's Optometry graduates earn the most? ▼
University of Alabama at Birmingham has the highest reported median earnings for Optometry graduates at $145,890, measured four years after completion in College Scorecard data. This reflects what graduates went on to earn, which depends heavily on who the school admits and which employers recruit there. It is not a figure the school pays.
What credential do you get in Optometry? ▼
Optometry programs typically award a First Professional credential. Earnings vary by school and credential level.
Top Schools for Optometry
Closest schools offering this program – compare earnings side by side
Earnings data comes from the U.S. Department of Education College Scorecard Field of Study file retrieved in March 2026. The program metric displayed here represents federally aided completers who were working and not enrolled four years after credential completion, using Treasury-derived records published through the Scorecard. Completer counts and debt figures come from the same field-of-study snapshot; the Department refreshes components on schedules documented in its changelog, not one fixed annual date.