Optometrists in Delaware
May 2025 wages · tax year 2026
You keep
$112,081
after federal, FICA and Delaware tax
Tax takes
$49,189
30.5% of the whole
Worth, in national money
$112,925
Delaware costs less than average
On that salary you would be around the 25th percentile for this work in Delaware — 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
$161,270
Kept after tax
$112,081
Worth in national money
$112,925
State rank
4
of 51 states
What this pays, and what it is worth
- Delaware is one of the better-paying states for optometrists. The middle earner takes $161,270, which ranks 4 of 51 states with published figures. That is about 18.09% above the national middle.
- Within Delaware this is well-paid work. Of 445 occupations with published figures in the state, optometrists ranks 14 — in the top quarter of everything people do there.
- No great distortion either way. Delaware costs about what the country costs, so from $161,270, take-home of $112,081 is worth roughly $112,925 in national money. The average lands at $142,820, below the middle of the range.
- Delaware ranks 4 of 51 states publishing a median for optometrists, at $161,270 — about 18.09% above the national median. A state's position on nominal pay is the figure wage tables report and the least informative of the three on this page, because it survives neither the tax adjustment nor the price adjustment intact for most occupations.
- Ranked against every occupation Delaware publishes a median for, optometrists sits 14 of 445 — 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.
- Price parity in Delaware is near the national base, so for optometrists, whose median is $161,270, the adjusted figure of $112,925 differs little from $112,081 retained after tax. The state's position for this occupation is therefore set by wage and tax rather than by living costs. At $142,820 the mean undershoots the median, an inversion of the usual skew.
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Pay band: Optometrists
The state median for this job
| Lowest tenth earn under | $77,980 |
|---|---|
| Half earn under | $161,270 |
| Top tenth earn over | $188,490 |
| This salary | $161,270 |
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 Delaware | $112,081 |
|---|---|
| Take-home in Texas | $121,494 |
| Once local prices are leveledBEA price parity | +$12,101 |
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 | $147,499 |
|---|---|
| You could take a cut of | −$17,205 |
| Prices in Texas | 97 vs 99 |
State taxes and state price levels only. No city tax, and no housing market.
Sources and assumptions
- A median is the middle, not an offer. Half of optometrists in Delaware earn under $161,270 and half over. The published range runs $77,980 at the tenth percentile to $188,490 at the ninetieth. Experience and employer move an individual a long way inside that.
- One filer, no dependants, no pension contributions — that is the household behind Delaware's $112,081, worked from $161,270. 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 14 of 445.
- The wage data and the price data come from different years. That is how each is published. The price adjustment behind $112,925 uses one figure for the whole of Delaware. A city and a rural county there can differ by more than two states do. Out of 445 occupations the state publishes, this one sits at 14.
- Figures are distribution medians for optometrists in Delaware, not entry or offer rates. The published band runs $77,980 to $188,490; within-state dispersion of that width routinely exceeds the dispersion between states, so tenure, employer and metropolitan area predict an individual's pay better than geography does.
- The Delaware take-home of $112,081, on $161,270 for work ranking 14 of 445 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 14 of 445 in the state.
- Wage and price series carry different reference periods, each published on its own schedule. The real-terms figure of $112,925, worked from $161,270, 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 Delaware address, on work sitting at 14 of 445 locally.
Questions people ask
Is this the average pay for the job?
It is the midpoint, not the average. The average here is $142,820, dragged up by high earners; the middle figure describes a typical worker better.
How much does pay for this job actually vary?
Less than you might expect. The bottom tenth earn $77,980 and the top tenth $188,490, so most people doing this work in Delaware sit within a fairly tight band.
What does this pay actually buy where I live?
Further than the number implies. Delaware is cheaper than the national average, so this take-home behaves like $112,925 in national terms.
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 Delaware's own levy, $112,081 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 Delaware is $142,820. 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 ($77,980 to $188,490) sits at or below the family's median dispersion, indicating relatively standardized compensation. Percentiles are published per state, so this dispersion is specific to Delaware rather than a national figure.
What is this occupation's price-adjusted compensation in this state?
Delaware's regional price parity is at or below the national average, so nominal wages understate purchasing power. Take-home deflated by the state price level is $112,925 in national-average terms. The adjustment uses an all-items index and does not isolate housing.
What accounts for the gap between gross wage and take-home here?
Take-home of $112,081 reflects federal income tax, OASDI, Medicare and Delaware 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.