Optometrists in Ohio
May 2025 wages · tax year 2026
You keep
$100,444
after federal, FICA and Ohio tax
Tax takes
$34,406
25.5% of the whole
Worth, in national money
$109,402
Ohio costs less than average
On that salary you would be around the 25th percentile for this work in Ohio — 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
$134,850
Kept after tax
$100,444
Worth in national money
$109,402
State rank
27
of 51 states
What this pays, and what it is worth
- Ohio sits in the middle of the pack for optometrists. The median is $134,850, ranking 27 of 51 states with figures. Close enough to the national middle that where you live matters more than the headline suggests.
- This is one of the better-paid jobs in Ohio. It ranks 15 out of 494 occupations the state publishes figures for, which puts it in the top quarter locally.
- Cheaper living works in this state's favor. From $134,850 you keep $100,444 after tax, and local prices stretch that to the equivalent of $109,402 at national prices. Here the average runs under the middle, at $133,960.
- Ohio occupies the middle band for optometrists: a median of $134,850, ranking 27 of 51. Where nominal pay is close to the national figure, the tax and price adjustments below carry proportionally more weight in determining the real outcome.
- Within Ohio, optometrists ranks 15 of 494 occupations by median pay, placing it in the top quartile of the local distribution. This is the comparison a resident actually makes — against neighbors rather than against the same job elsewhere.
- Retained pay in Ohio is $100,444 after the full tax stack, from $134,850. Because the state's price level runs below the national average, the price-adjusted equivalent is $109,402 — a real-terms figure describing purchasing power rather than compensation, and not a number that appears on any pay stub. Mean pay of $133,960 sits under the median, so the lower tail is the longer one.
Compare this career across states
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Pay band: Optometrists
The state median for this job
| Lowest tenth earn under | $63,650 |
|---|---|
| Half earn under | $134,850 |
| Top tenth earn over | $190,630 |
| This salary | $134,850 |
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 Ohio | $100,444 |
|---|---|
| Take-home in Texas | $103,436 |
| Once local prices are leveledBEA price parity | −$2,959 |
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 | $130,473 |
|---|---|
| Raise you would need | +$4,207 |
| Prices in Texas | 97 vs 92 |
State taxes and state price levels only. No city tax, and no housing market.
Sources and assumptions
- Half the people doing this work in Ohio earn less than $134,850. The published range is $63,650 up to $190,630, 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 Ohio's $100,444, worked from $134,850. 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 15 of 494.
- The wage data and the price data come from different years. That is how each is published. The price adjustment behind $109,402 uses one figure for the whole of Ohio. A city and a rural county there can differ by more than two states do. Out of 494 occupations the state publishes, this one sits at 15.
- Reported values are medians; for optometrists in Ohio the tenth-to-ninetieth percentile band is $63,650 to $190,630. Neither the median nor the band is an offer rate, and neither accounts for hours, shift differentials or overtime.
- The Ohio take-home of $100,444, on $134,850 for work ranking 15 of 494 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 15 of 494 in the state.
- Wage and price series carry different reference periods, each published on its own schedule. The real-terms figure of $109,402, worked from $134,850, 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 Ohio address, on work sitting at 15 of 494 locally.
Questions people ask
Why is the pay range for this job so wide?
One title, many jobs. The lowest tenth take $63,650, the highest tenth $190,630, and what separates them is experience, employer and what exactly the role does.
What does this pay actually buy where I live?
A smaller wage in a cheaper place is not automatically less. Adjusted for local prices, this is worth $109,402.
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 Ohio's own levy, $100,444 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.
What drives the percentile dispersion in this occupation?
Dispersion between the tenth percentile ($63,650) and the ninetieth ($190,630) 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?
Ohio'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 $109,402 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 $100,444 reflects federal income tax, OASDI, Medicare and Ohio 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.