AOA Market Share Dashboard Methodology
Updated January 2026
Background
The AOA Research & Information Center (RIC) has been tasked with identifying all active practicing optometrists in the U.S. by zip code, state, U.S. Census Division, U.S. Census Region, and Nationally. State license files were obtained from all 50 states and the District of Columbia. These files were merged with AOA Personify data to obtain demographic information, practice information and eliminate “duplicate” license data by tracking the total licenses of each individual optometrist.
All licensed optometrists were researched using various online tools to determine
- if they are currently practicing optometry,
- where their primary practice is currently located, and
- obtain the address/zip code of their primary practice location.
There are currently 65,999 active optometry licenses in the United States. Optometrists who are licensed in multiple states are included in this total count for each license they currently hold. As each state file is researched and analyzed, we can identify the primary state where the optometrist holds a license and whether the optometrist is currently practicing optometry (treating patients) or not practicing.
Methodology
Practicing OD Workforce
- Age Maximum: Determination of the practicing OD workforce in each state first assumes the optometrist is younger than 76 years of age. This assumption is used for all state, divisional, regional, and national analysis conducted by AOA based on findings from the 2012 National Workforce Study. The Workforce Study revealed that licensed optometrists over the age of 75 provide an insignificant amount of direct patient care and are therefore not included in the workforce supply estimates. For consistency sake, and to allow future updates to the Workforce Study model using the results of this project, AOA has chosen to maintain this assumption. Licensed optometrists over the age of 75 are included in the total license counts for each jurisdiction, however they are removed from all analysis of the practicing OD workforce counts for supply, membership, and market share analysis.
- Hours Worked Minimum: Additionally, practicing optometrists are those licensed optometrists who are currently working in an optometric setting (practice, hospital, optometry school in a clinical position, etc.) and providing at least eight hours of direct patient care.
- Retired Doctors Excluded: Retired doctors are not included in counts as they would not be practicing optometry and not providing patient care.
- Determining Primary State: The primary license state is determined based on where the optometrist currently holds active licenses and the state in which they are currently practicing. This information is obtained through a combination of state license contact information, AOA membership records, practice outreach, and internet searches including but not limited to searches of social media sites, practice websites, and the National Plan and Provider Enumeration System (NPPES) website.
- Potential State Conflicts: Optometrists who are actively practicing and hold a primary license in state “A” but who have chosen to join the optometric association for state “B” are included in state “A” market share numerator and denominator calculations. The decision was made to include all optometrists with an active, practicing license in their primary state calculations regardless of affiliate membership to account for all active licenses within state boundaries. This allows the AOA to capture those optometrists who choose to affiliate in a state where they do not practice or carry an active license but are included in the national optometry market.
Market Supply and Market Share
Optometrists who are confirmed to be included in the practicing OD workforce (primarily licensed and actively practicing in a state) are included in counts and all analysis for that state. This includes both member and non-member optometrists in the state. Market share is calculated as the total number of current AOA members who included in the practicing OD workforce in the state divided by the total number of doctors included in the practicing OD workforce.
[AOA Members in Practicing OD Workforce] / [Total Doctors in Practicing OD Workforce]
Retention
Retention was calculated by looking at current AOA membership of doctors in the workforce, both nationally and by affiliate, from the given year (2016 through 2026). When calculating retention, we did not look at type of membership or affiliate membership. If a doctor was a member in x affiliate in 2025 and a current 2026 member, we counted them as retained for 2025.
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