Optometrists in California
May 2025 wages · tax year 2026
You keep
$95,843
after federal, FICA and California tax
Tax takes
$40,457
29.7% of the whole
Worth, in national money
$85,133
California costs more than average
On that salary you would be around the 25th percentile for this work in California — 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
$136,300
Kept after tax
$95,843
Worth in national money
$85,133
State rank
22
of 51 states
What this pays, and what it is worth
- Neither high nor low. California is 22 of 51 states for optometrists, with a middle wage of $136,300. What that is worth is the question the rest of this page answers.
- Locally, this pays well. Among 492 occupations California reports, optometrists comes in at 42 — comfortably in the upper quarter.
- California is an expensive state, and the adjusted figure shows it. From $136,300 the take-home is $95,843; in national-average money that behaves like $85,133. The average comes to $147,420, above the middle, thanks to the top of the range.
- California ranks 22 of 51 for optometrists at $136,300. The nominal figure is unremarkable; the adjusted figures are where the state's actual position for this occupation is determined.
- Optometrists ranks 42 of 492 occupations by median in California, in the top quartile. Within-state position is largely independent of national position, so this holds regardless of how the state compares to others for the same work.
- Take-home for optometrists in California, on $136,300, is $95,843; deflated by the state's price level, $85,133. ⚠️ The deflator is statewide, so it understates the erosion in the state's metropolitan areas and overstates it outside them. At $147,420 the mean overshoots the median — the usual right-skewed shape.
Compare this career across states
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Pay band: Optometrists
The state median for this job
| Lowest tenth earn under | $99,890 |
|---|---|
| Half earn under | $136,300 |
| Top tenth earn over | $213,710 |
| This salary | $136,300 |
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 California | $95,843 |
|---|---|
| Take-home in Texas | $104,427 |
| Once local prices are leveledBEA price parity | +$22,330 |
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 | $123,741 |
|---|---|
| You could take a cut of | −$31,257 |
| Prices in Texas | 97 vs 113 |
State taxes and state price levels only. No city tax, and no housing market.
Sources and assumptions
- Half the people doing this work in California earn less than $136,300. The published range is $99,890 up to $213,710, so an individual figure can sit a long way from the middle in either direction.
- One filer, no dependants, no pension contributions — that is the household behind California's $95,843, worked from $136,300. That is on purpose. It lets states be compared with each other, not with each other's family circumstances. Local city taxes are left out. Locally this work ranks 42 of 492.
- The wage data and the price data come from different years. That is how each is published. The price adjustment behind $85,133 uses one figure for the whole of California. A city and a rural county there can differ by more than two states do. Out of 492 occupations the state publishes, this one sits at 42.
- Reported values are medians; for optometrists in California the tenth-to-ninetieth percentile band is $99,890 to $213,710. Neither the median nor the band is an offer rate, and neither accounts for hours, shift differentials or overtime.
- The California take-home of $95,843, on $136,300 for work ranking 42 of 492 locally, models the simplest household deliberately: holding it constant is what makes the interstate comparison meaningful. It also means the absolute figure overstates liability for most real filers, and municipal income taxes are outside the model entirely. The occupation ranks 42 of 492 in the state.
- Wage and price series carry different reference periods, each published on its own schedule. The real-terms figure of $85,133, worked from $136,300, deflates by a statewide parity that conceals substantial intra-state variation, concentrated in housing — so it supports comparison between states rather than the pricing of a move to a particular California address, on work sitting at 42 of 492 locally.
Questions people ask
Is this the average pay for the job?
Half earn more than this and half earn less. The average sits at $147,420 because a long tail of high pay lifts it, so the two answer different questions.
Why is the pay range for this job so wide?
The label is broader than the work. From $99,890 at the bottom tenth to $213,710 at the top, the same title covers roles that share little beyond a name.
Does a bigger number here mean I am better off?
The number and the value are different things. California costs more than the national average, so this take-home stretches like $85,133 rather than its face figure.
Where does the difference between the wage and my paycheck go?
Four deductions, stacked. The federal layer and the two payroll taxes apply wherever you work; California then takes its own share, leaving $95,843.
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 California is $147,420. 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 drives the percentile dispersion in this occupation?
Dispersion between the tenth percentile ($99,890) and the ninetieth ($213,710) exceeds the family median dispersion. SOC codes aggregate roles differing in seniority, industry and specialisation, and BLS does not disaggregate below the detailed occupation level, so within-title variance is not separable from the published series.
How does the state price level affect real compensation?
California's regional price parity sits above the national average, so nominal wages overstate purchasing power. Deflating take-home by the state price level gives $85,133 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 $95,843 reflects federal income tax, OASDI, Medicare and California 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.