Optometrists in Idaho
May 2025 wages · tax year 2026
You keep
$76,938
after federal, FICA and Idaho tax
Tax takes
$26,452
25.6% of the whole
Worth, in national money
$84,155
Idaho costs less than average
On that salary you would be around the 25th percentile for this work in Idaho — 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
$103,390
Kept after tax
$76,938
Worth in national money
$84,155
State rank
49
of 51 states
What this pays, and what it is worth
- Idaho is among the lower-paying states for optometrists. The middle earner takes $103,390, ranking 49 of 51 states — about 24.3% below the national middle. Costs here are often lower too, which the figures further down account for.
- Within Idaho this is well-paid work. Of 476 occupations with published figures in the state, optometrists ranks 40 — in the top quarter of everything people do there.
- Here is where Idaho does better than its wage suggests. From a median of $103,390 you keep $76,938, and because things cost less here than the national average, that behaves like $84,155 would elsewhere. The average is higher, $113,870, because the best-paid pull it up.
- Idaho ranks 49 of 51 for optometrists, with a median of $103,390 — about 24.3% 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 Idaho publishes a median for, optometrists sits 40 of 476 — 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.
- After federal, FICA and Idaho income tax, retained pay for optometrists on $103,390 is $76,938. Deflating by the state's price level — below the national average — gives $84,155 in national-average terms. ⚠️ That figure is purchasing power, not a wage, and nobody is paid it; it is what the take-home buys. The mean of $113,870 sits above the median, the right skew typical of wage data.
Compare this career across states
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Pay band: Optometrists
The state median for this job
| Lowest tenth earn under | $52,000 |
|---|---|
| Half earn under | $103,390 |
| Top tenth earn over | $189,570 |
| This salary | $103,390 |
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 Idaho | $76,938 |
|---|---|
| Take-home in Texas | $81,565 |
| Once local prices are leveledBEA price parity | −$219 |
The raise and the real gain point in opposite directions here.
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 | $96,814 |
|---|---|
| Raise you would need | +$302 |
| Prices in Texas | 97 vs 91 |
State taxes and state price levels only. No city tax, and no housing market.
Sources and assumptions
- Treat $103,390 as a midpoint for Idaho, not a promise. The tenth percentile is $52,000 and the ninetieth is $189,570 — a wide band, and where you land in it depends on far more than the state.
- One filer, no dependants, no pension contributions — that is the household behind Idaho's $76,938, worked from $103,390. 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 40 of 476.
- One number stands for prices across all of Idaho, which is a simplification — big cities cost far more than small towns. Read $84,155, the adjusted value of that $103,390 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 40 of 476 in the state.
- The Idaho median of $103,390 describes the midpoint of a distribution spanning $52,000 to $189,570. Because that spread is typically larger than the interstate spread, a state median is a weak predictor for any individual worker in this occupation.
- The Idaho take-home of $76,938, on $103,390 for work ranking 40 of 476 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 40 of 476 in the state.
- Price deflation uses one statewide parity for Idaho, so $84,155 — the adjusted value of that $103,390 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 40 of 476 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 $113,870 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?
Because one job title covers very different work. The bottom tenth here earn $52,000 and the top tenth $189,570 — experience, employer and specialism separate them, and a single figure hides all three.
What does this pay actually buy where I live?
Further than the number implies. Idaho is cheaper than the national average, so this take-home behaves like $84,155 in national terms.
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; Idaho then takes its own share, leaving $76,938.
Can I compare this job across every state?
All 51 jurisdictions report this work, which makes the ranking a like-for-like one.
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 Idaho is $113,870. 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 ($52,000) and the ninetieth ($189,570) 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.
What is this occupation's price-adjusted compensation in this state?
Idaho'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 $84,155 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 $76,938 reflects federal income tax, OASDI, Medicare and Idaho 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.