FIRST PROFESSIONAL DEGREE · NATIONAL DEGREE OUTCOMES
Is a first professional degree in Optometry worth it?
Compare cost, debt and earnings across 18 college programs with reportable data.
Personal baseline needed
$131,497 in median year-4 earnings
A credible return for this credential must start with what the student would otherwise earn. The federal data does not provide that personal baseline.
$131,497Median year-4 earnings
$19,758Average institution net-price context
Not availableMedian federal debt
Start with your decision
What do you need to compare?
Outcomes at a glance
$131,497Typical earnings four years after completion
$118,322Average earnings five years after completion
Not availableTypical federal student debt
74thEarnings percentile among the same degree level
Not availableDegrees awarded in 2024–25
18College programs reporting earnings
Degree counts come from the IPEDS Fall 2025 provisional release and cover 0 matched college records. Colleges without a match are not estimated.
Four useful answers about Optometry
How much do Optometry first professional degree graduates earn?
The national median is $131,497 four years after completion across reportable first professional degree programs in this federal field.
How much federal debt do graduates have?
A national median federal-debt figure is not reportable for this degree in the current release.
Does the college matter for Optometry?
Yes. The middle half of reporting programs ranges from $127,809 to $134,609 in observed year-4 earnings.
What careers are related to Optometry?
DegreeVerdict links this field to 1 displayed occupations using the official federal CIP–SOC crosswalk. Occupational wages are career context, not graduate salary promises.
More schooling changes both the cost and the outcome.
Compare the same field at each degree level with reportable data. These are separate groups of graduates, so the differences do not prove that an additional degree caused higher earnings.
Where the middle half of programs lands
Year‑4 earnings differ by college. This band shows the 25th percentile, national median and 75th percentile among reporting programs.
Median
25th percentile$127,809National median$131,49775th percentile$134,609
18 programs report year‑4 earnings.BEFORE YOU CHOOSE
Compare price, debt and earnings together
SHORTLIST BY QUESTION
Three useful places to start
Each choice answers a different question. These are observed signals, not an overall winner.
PRICE × EARNINGS MAP
Where colleges sit for this exact degree
Move left for a lower annual college-wide net price and up for higher observed year-4 earnings.
$139,102Observed year-4 earnings$119,476
University of Alabama at Birmingham$18,749 price · $145,890 earningsDrexel University$38,509 price · $139,102 earningsFerris State University$8,624 price · $138,837 earningsUniversity of Missouri-St Louis$15,071 price · $138,537 earningsIndiana University-Bloomington$16,264 price · $134,609 earningsUniversity of the Incarnate Word$22,775 price · $133,498 earningsOhio State University-Main Campus$17,339 price · $132,661 earningsUniversity of California, Berkeley$13,481 price · $130,333 earningsMassachusetts College of Pharmacy and Health Sciences$39,545 price · $129,752 earningsUniversity of Houston$14,276 price · $129,383 earningsNortheastern State University$12,710 price · $119,476 earnings
$8,624Annual college-wide average net price$38,509
Choose colleges offering this exact degree
Start with the highest-earning reported programs below, or open the full directory to search every college.
17 shortlist matchesSelect up to four · 17 shown
Search every reporting program →
See the spread, not just the national number.
1University of Alabama at Birmingham$145,8902Drexel University$139,1023Ferris State University$138,8374University of Missouri-St Louis$138,5375Indiana University-Bloomington$134,6096Illinois College of Optometry$133,8957University of the Incarnate Word$133,4988Ohio State University-Main Campus$132,6619University of California, Berkeley$130,33310Massachusetts College of Pharmacy and Health Sciences$129,752Observed year-4 earnings · top displayed records are not a universal ranking
Jobs this degree may lead to
Federal education-to-career links identify related occupations. They do not imply that every graduate enters the same job.
Optometrists$136,570 median wage42,790 jobs nationwide+9.5% projected growth through 2035 · 2,000 openings a yearTypical entry education: Doctoral or professional degree$74,870–$202,180 typical wage range
BLS May 2025 wages and 2025–35 projections. Career figures describe occupations, not graduates of a specific college.
This page keeps the field and credential level fixed. Federal categories can still combine multiple catalog programs or concentrations. Automated ROI is limited to associate and bachelor’s degrees because institution-wide annual net price is not a reliable proxy for short certificate prices. ROI is an illustrative scenario, not a federal determination.