College Scorecard · field of study · all U.S. colleges

Is an Optometry degree worth the debt?

The figures below lead with the Professional, aggregated across 15 colleges (15 of 15 programs report earnings). Other credential levels are in the table further down.

Median pay · 1 yr after

$90,266

Graduates only, early career.$95,549 two years out.

Median federal debt

$168,931

Federal loans only — not private or Parent PLUS.

Debt vs a year's pay

1.96×

196% of a first year's earnings.

Typical debt is well above a first year's pay. Common where the credential needs long, costly graduate training (dentistry, law, medicine) — high pay does not mean a low debt burden.

The college you pick moves this a lot

The middle 50% of Professional programs in Optometry report early-career pay between $77,876 and $91,970 — a spread of $14,094 that depends on the program and who attends it, not the major alone.

25th pct $77,876 median $90,266 75th pct $91,970

By degree level

Each level is a separate decision — more schooling usually means more pay and more debt.

LevelPay · 1yrDebtDebt/pay

Doctoral 4 colleges $96,776 $205,772 2.29×

Professional 15 colleges $90,266 $168,931 1.96×

Where an Professional in this field reports the highest early-career pay

The 15 programs with the highest reported pay one year after completion. This reflects who enrolls and where they live as much as the program itself — it is not a causal quality ranking.

Inter American University of Puerto Rico-School of Optometry PR $95,897 $187,840 debt

Indiana University-Bloomington IN $95,538 $177,626 debt

Ferris State University MI $93,610 $144,874 debt

University of the Incarnate Word TX $92,013 $238,257 debt

Northeastern State University OK $91,928 $158,826 debt

University of Houston TX $91,785 $164,167 debt

University of Alabama at Birmingham AL $91,176 $164,956 debt

Illinois College of Optometry IL $90,266 $240,830 debt

Ohio State University-Main Campus OH $89,790 $175,334 debt

University of Missouri-St Louis MO $88,537 $167,750 debt

SUNY College of Optometry NY $81,001 $168,078 debt

University of California-Berkeley CA $74,750 $151,667 debt

Marshall B Ketchum University CA $72,885 $168,931 debt

Western University of Health Sciences CA $71,526 $250,965 debt

Massachusetts College of Pharmacy and Health Sciences MA $68,650 $225,520 debt

What these numbers are — and are not

Every figure here is a median across college programs in Optometry, from the U.S. Dept. of Education College Scorecard. It is not a prediction of what you would earn (your college, effort, and local job market vary enormously — see the spread above), not lifetime earnings (it is measured 1–2 years after completion, early career), not proof the major caused the outcome (who enters a field differs by field — selection, not causation), and not a "best majors" ranking: earnings are one dimension of worth, not the whole of it. Teaching and social work pay far less than the fields at the top of this list and matter enormously. Earnings cover federally-aided completers at programs large enough to report.

Also available: structured data (JSON-LD) · plain text · JSON. Source: U.S. Dept. of Education College Scorecard — Field of Study (2026-06-10 release). · explore this field on the official Scorecard