Optometrist

Compiled from official public sources by the editorial process.

NUCC 152W00000X

60,484 CMS NPPES-registered providers across 56 states · 34th of 690 specialties by headcount.

60,484

Providers

CMS NPPES-registered

States

with ≥1 NPI

California

Top state

8,067 providers

$751

Open Pay avg

306th of 552 specialties

Where this specialty sits in the corpus

Optometrist ranks 34th of 690 NUCC specialties by CMS NPPES headcount (0.85% of all registered NPIs), densest in California; per resident North Dakota leads.

60,484
NPPES providers in specialty: 34th
of 690 specialties: 453
state-share HHI: 51.9%
Part D prescriber share

North Dakota is densest per capita (1.6× the national rate; Alaska 1.5×).

Taxonomy fingerprint

Optometrist (NUCC 152W00000X; 51.9% Part D prescribers (31,364 of 60,484); avg 257 Part D claims/prescriber (387th of 567); Open Payments avg $751/physician (306th of 552; 33,553 paid, $25.2M total); state-share HHI 453; next-larger headcount neighbor Certified Registered Nurse Anesthetist (+2,160); next-smaller Physical Therapy Assistant (-239)).

Next larger: Certified Registered Nurse Anesthetist (62,644) Next smaller: Physical Therapy Assistant (60,245)

Population-adjusted state index

Each multiple is this specialty's providers-per-resident in a state divided by the national rate (Census Vintage population estimates). Raw headcount favors large states; this ranking surfaces denser markets.

Over-indexed vs national rate

North Dakota 1.6× · 29.3/100k
Alaska 1.5× · 26.5/100k
South Dakota 1.4× · 26/100k
Wyoming 1.4× · 25/100k

Under-indexed vs national rate

Guam 0.58× · 10.4/100k
Louisiana 0.64× · 11.5/100k

Which states have the most providers?

#	State	Providers	% of specialty
1	California	8,067	13.3%
2	Texas	4,766	7.9%
3	New York	3,452	5.7%
4	Florida	3,412	5.6%
5	Illinois	2,595	4.3%
6	Pennsylvania	2,570	4.2%
7	Ohio	2,340	3.9%
8	Michigan	1,895	3.1%
9	Washington	1,602	2.6%
10	Indiana	1,519	2.5%
11	New Jersey	1,500	2.5%
12	North Carolina	1,435	2.4%
13	Massachusetts	1,434	2.4%
14	Virginia	1,405	2.3%
15	Georgia	1,399	2.3%

Top Cities for Optometrist

#	City	Providers
1	HoustonTexas	751
2	New YorkNew York	680
3	ChicagoIllinois	575
4	BrooklynNew York	365
5	San AntonioTexas	355
6	Los AngelesCalifornia	352
7	San DiegoCalifornia	325
8	PhiladelphiaPennsylvania	302
9	San FranciscoCalifornia	279
10	ColumbusOhio	257
11	AustinTexas	246
12	Las VegasNevada	241

Sample Optometrist NPIs

A directory sample from this NUCC code (not a ranking). Names and locations are unique to this taxonomy.

#	Provider	State
1	Steven Roth, O.D.Mantua, NJ	New Jersey
2	William Walker, O. D.Asheboro, NC	North Carolina
3	Susan Haskell, O.D.Portsmouth, NH	New Hampshire
4	Michael Haynes, O. D.Monroe, LA	Louisiana
5	Michelle Diaz, O.D.Kittery, ME	Maine
6	Peter Wilcox, ODHayes, VA	Virginia
7	Lauren McLoughlin, ODPortsmouth, NH	New Hampshire
8	Tracy Haradon, O. D.Springfield, MA	Massachusetts
9	Jennifer Giles, O.D.Salisbury, MD	Maryland
10	Annelle Maygren, O.D.Craig, AK	Alaska
11	Duane Brooks, O.D.Mount Shasta, CA	California
12	Mark Carolan, O.D.San Antonio, TX	Texas
13	Melanie Sivley, O.D.Birmingham, AL	Alabama
14	Robert Yeaman, O.D.Granbury, TX	Texas
15	Alvin Stern, ODPenns Grove, NJ	New Jersey
16	James Franta, ODSanta Maria, CA	California
17	Charles Cyr, O.D.Williston, VT	Vermont
18	Cynthia Jun, ODWestminster, MD	Maryland

Adjacent specialties in the NUCC Health Care Provider Taxonomy.

Corneal and Contact Management Optometrist

1,548 providers

Vision Therapy Optometrist

368 providers

Pediatric Optometrist

317 providers

Low Vision Rehabilitation Optometrist

299 providers

Occupational Vision Optometrist

59 providers

Compare Optometrist vs Corneal and Contact Management Optometrist →

Explore

All Specialties → Compare Specialties → Rankings →

Frequently Asked Questions

How many Optometrist providers are in the US?

There are 60,484 Optometrist providers registered in the CMS NPPES database across 56 US states and territories. California has the most with 8,067 providers. Leading metros include Houston, TX; New York, NY; Chicago, IL; Brooklyn, NY. Among 690 NUCC specialties, this code ranks 34th by headcount.

Do Optometrist clinicians appear in Open Payments?

CMS Open Payments 2024 lists 33,553 Optometrist physicians receiving industry payments totaling $25.2M (269,670 payments; average $751 per paid physician, 306th of 552 specialties by average). Presence in Open Payments is not a quality judgment.

How much Part D prescribing does this specialty do?

Among Optometrist NPIs, 31,364 appear in the Medicare Part D Prescriber PUF (average 257 claims and $52K drug cost per prescriber; 387th of 567 specialties by average claims). Non-prescribing clinicians in the same NUCC code are still in NPPES.

Data sources and methodology

Provider data from CMS NPPES (download.cms.gov/nppes). Specialty classification from NUCC Health Care Provider Taxonomy (nucc.org). Part D averages from the CMS Medicare Part D Prescriber PUF; industry payments from CMS Open Payments 2024. Counts reflect self-designated primary taxonomy at NPI enrollment. PlainDoctor does not rate or rank providers. Methodology · About

Every figure on PlainDoctor is rendered directly from the federal CMS NPPES registry, Medicare Part D, MIPS, and Open Payments records, no number is typed in by an editor. See our editorial standards & corrections policy, the methodology behind these numbers, or report a data error. Data current as of 2026-05-20.