Optometrist
96,449 active US providers register Optometrist as their primary taxonomy. That is 1.0% of every provider in the registry, and the 26th largest of 584 specialties with a page here.
- Taxonomy code
- 152W00000X
- Grouping
- Eye and Vision Services Providers
- Classification
- Optometrist
- Active providers
- 96,449
- States covered
- 51 of 51
What the code means
Doctors of optometry (ODs) are the primary health care professionals for the eye. Optometrists examine, diagnose, treat, and manage diseases, injuries, and disorders of the visual system, the eye, and associated structures as well as identify related systemic conditions affecting the eye. An optometrist has completed pre-professional undergraduate education in a college or university and four years of professional education at a college of optometry, leading to the doctor of optometry (O.D.) degree. Some optometrists complete an optional residency in a specific area of practice. Optometrists are eye health care professionals state-licensed to diagnose and treat diseases and disorders of the eye and visual system.
Definition quoted verbatim from the NUCC Health Care Provider Taxonomy code set, version 25.1. Not paraphrased.
Where they are
Counted by practice location, not by mailing address or by licence state. A provider practising across a state line is counted where they practise.
| State | Providers | Share |
|---|---|---|
| California | 11,533 | |
| Texas | 7,963 | |
| Florida | 5,998 | |
| New York | 5,367 | |
| Illinois | 4,090 | |
| Pennsylvania | 3,903 | |
| Ohio | 3,723 | |
| Michigan | 3,146 | |
| Indiana | 2,469 | |
| North Carolina | 2,457 | |
| New Jersey | 2,438 | |
| Georgia | 2,398 | |
| Washington | 2,360 | |
| Virginia | 2,275 | |
| Massachusetts | 2,155 |
Showing the 15 largest of 51 states with at least one.
Who registers under this code
62,549 of these are people and 33,900 are organisations, so 35% of the code is businesses rather than clinicians. Half of them had registered by 2008, and 14,565 registered in the last five years, 15% of the current population.
That is close to the pace of the registry as a whole.
Where the practices are
By practice-location city. City counts are noisier than state counts, because a large employer files one address for many providers.
- HOUSTON, TX1,166
- NEW YORK, NY924
- CHICAGO, IL835
- BROOKLYN, NY695
- SAN ANTONIO, TX536
- LOS ANGELES, CA486
- SAN DIEGO, CA458
- LAS VEGAS, NV429
- MIAMI, FL414
- PHILADELPHIA, PA402
What else they list
Providers whose primary code is Optometrist most often carry these secondary taxonomies as well. This is the closest thing the registry has to a map of which specialties overlap in practice, and it is not published anywhere else.
| Also listed | Providers | Share |
|---|---|---|
| Corneal and Contact Management Optometrist | 2,188 | 2.3% |
| Pediatric Optometrist | 1,268 | 1.3% |
| Student in an Organized Health Care Education/Training Program | 1,071 | 1.1% |
| Vision Therapy Optometrist | 945 | 1.0% |
| Eyewear Supplier | 897 | 0.9% |
| Low Vision Rehabilitation Optometrist | 769 | 0.8% |
| Sports Vision Optometrist | 615 | 0.6% |
| Occupational Vision Optometrist | 554 | 0.6% |
Nearby specialties
Other taxonomies NUCC files under Optometrist.
- Corneal and Contact Management Optometrist1,806
- Vision Therapy Optometrist644
- Low Vision Rehabilitation Optometrist386
- Pediatric Optometrist322
Looking up a specific provider
These counts come from the monthly NPPES file. To check one provider, use their NPI: the lookup reads the live registry and shows whether the identifier is still active, which the monthly file cannot tell you about the last few weeks.
Counts from npidata_pfile_20050523-20260712.csv, built 2026-08-09. Primary taxonomy only, deactivated identifiers excluded.