Optometrists in Arizona
May 2025 wages · tax year 2026
You keep
$92,170
after federal, FICA and Arizona tax
Tax takes
$30,080
24.6% of the whole
Worth, in national money
$91,163
Arizona costs more than average
On that salary you would be around the 25th percentile for this work in Arizona — roughly, since only five points along the band are published.
One filer, standard deduction, no dependants and nothing paid in before tax — the same household the rest of this page uses, so the comparison holds. City and school-district income taxes are not included.
Median here
$122,250
Kept after tax
$92,170
Worth in national money
$91,163
State rank
42
of 51 states
What this pays, and what it is worth
- Arizona is among the lower-paying states for optometrists. The middle earner takes $122,250, ranking 42 of 51 states — about 10.49% below the national middle. Costs here are often lower too, which the figures further down account for.
- Within Arizona this is well-paid work. Of 491 occupations with published figures in the state, optometrists ranks 28 — in the top quarter of everything people do there.
- Prices here sit close to the national average, so the adjustment changes little. From $122,250 the take-home is $92,170, which is worth about $91,163 in comparable money. Tax does most of the work here, not cost of living. The average is higher, $135,280, because the best-paid pull it up.
- Arizona ranks 42 of 51 for optometrists, with a median of $122,250 — about 10.49% below the national figure. A nominal shortfall is not by itself a real one: lower-paying states frequently carry lower tax and lower price levels, and the adjusted figures below are where that is settled rather than assumed.
- Ranked against every occupation Arizona publishes a median for, optometrists sits 28 of 491 — the upper quartile of the state's wage distribution. National standing and within-state standing are separate questions, and a job can occupy very different positions on each.
- Arizona's price level is near the national average, so price deflation is close to neutral for optometrists on its $122,250 median: $92,170 retained after tax becomes $91,163 in national-average terms. Where the price adjustment is small, the tax stack is the dominant determinant of the real outcome. The mean of $135,280 sits above the median, the right skew typical of wage data.
Compare this career across states
Choose your filing status and local taxes, compare pay, and keep a shortlist.Compare wage and personal-pay outcomes by state, with selected resident local taxes and saved career choices.
Pay band: Optometrists
The state median for this job
| Lowest tenth earn under | $99,570 |
|---|---|
| Half earn under | $122,250 |
| Top tenth earn over | $171,490 |
| This salary | $122,250 |
Positions between the published tenth, quarter, half, three-quarter and ninetieth points are estimated by straight line.
The same pay, somewhere else
The state median for this job
| Take-home in Arizona | $92,170 |
|---|---|
| Take-home in Texas | $94,824 |
| Once local prices are leveledBEA price parity | +$6,418 |
State income tax and state price levels only. No city income tax, and no housing market.
What you would need there
The state median for this job
| To match take-home only | $118,465 |
|---|---|
| You could take a cut of | −$8,878 |
| Prices in Texas | 97 vs 101 |
State taxes and state price levels only. No city tax, and no housing market.
Sources and assumptions
- Treat $122,250 as a midpoint for Arizona, not a promise. The tenth percentile is $99,570 and the ninetieth is $171,490 — a wide band, and where you land in it depends on far more than the state.
- In Arizona the take-home figure of $92,170, from $122,250, assumes one filer, no dependants, and nothing paid into a pension before tax. Each of those lowers the bill, so treat it as the plain case. City and school-district income taxes are not included either, and in a few states those are real money. It ranks 28 of 491 occupations here.
- One number stands for prices across all of Arizona, which is a simplification — big cities cost far more than small towns. Read $91,163, the adjusted value of that $122,250 median, as a way to compare states fairly, not as a quote for any particular place. The two datasets are also from different years. This job sits at 28 of 491 in the state.
- The Arizona median of $122,250 describes the midpoint of a distribution spanning $99,570 to $171,490. Because that spread is typically larger than the interstate spread, a state median is a weak predictor for any individual worker in this occupation.
- Take-home for Arizona is computed for a single filer taking the standard deduction with no dependants and no pre-tax contributions, giving $92,170 from $122,250. Each omitted item reduces taxable income, so the figure is a lower bound on retained pay for this household shape. Municipal and school-district income taxes are excluded, which understates the burden materially in Ohio, Pennsylvania and Maryland. The occupation ranks 28 of 491 locally.
- Price deflation uses one statewide parity for Arizona, so $91,163 — the adjusted value of that $122,250 median — establishes comparability between states rather than accuracy within one. The wage and parity series are dated independently, each following its own publication cycle, and neither is projected forward. This occupation sits at 28 of 491 locally.
Questions people ask
Is this the average pay for the job?
No — it is the middle. Half of these workers earn more and half earn less. The average is $135,280, pulled upward by the top of the range, which is why the middle is the fairer number to plan against.
How much does pay for this job actually vary?
The range here is narrow. From $99,570 at the bottom tenth to $171,490 at the top, pay for this work clusters rather than spreads.
Does a bigger number here mean I am better off?
The number and the value are different things. Arizona costs more than the national average, so this take-home stretches like $91,163 rather than its face figure.
Where does the difference between the wage and my paycheck go?
Three of them are federal and one is not. After income tax, Social Security, Medicare and Arizona's own levy, $92,170 remains.
Can I compare this job across every state?
Yes for this one. Pay is published in all 51 jurisdictions, so a state-to-state comparison here rests on the same survey everywhere rather than on a patchwork.
How does the published median differ from the mean for this occupation?
The median is the midpoint of the distribution; the mean for this occupation in Arizona is $135,280. Wage distributions are right-skewed, so the mean exceeds the median wherever a minority earn substantially more. BLS publishes both because substituting one for the other misstates a typical worker's pay.
What is the dispersion of this occupation's wage distribution?
The tenth-to-ninetieth percentile span ($99,570 to $171,490) sits at or below the family's median dispersion, indicating relatively standardized compensation. Percentiles are published per state, so this dispersion is specific to Arizona rather than a national figure.
How does the state price level affect real compensation?
Arizona's regional price parity sits above the national average, so nominal wages overstate purchasing power. Deflating take-home by the state price level gives $91,163 in national-average terms. ⚠️ RPPs are an all-items index; housing parities vary far more widely than the headline figure.
What accounts for the gap between gross wage and take-home here?
Take-home of $92,170 reflects federal income tax, OASDI, Medicare and Arizona income tax for a single filer with no adjustments. The state layer is levied in addition to the federal one; only its rate and base differ between states.
Is this occupation's state coverage complete?
State-level estimates are published for all 51 jurisdictions for this occupation, so cross-state comparison is not confounded by suppression. ⚠️ Estimates remain survey-based and carry sampling error; small differences between adjacent states should not be over-read.