Med spa · Austin, TX
$2,100–$4,900 /mo
Unanswered calls. ~30% of first calls hit voicemail, and 85% never call back.
First calls → voicemail
You30%
Healthy<10%
Where the rest goes
Every cost as a share of revenue, before owner pay and profit. If one of yours is well outside these, that is usually where the margin went.
| Line | Typical | Top performers |
|---|---|---|
| Labor | 33–45% | 24% |
| Cost of goods optical | 24–34% | 26% |
| Rent occupancy | 5–10% | 6% |
| Marketing | 2–6% | 5% |
- Labor: opticians, techs, front desk, associate OD; optician productivity is the biggest lever Low bound is measured 2022 Economic Census payroll as a share of receipts for NAICS 621320; that figure counts employees only, so the upper bound adds an allowance for owner compensation, which Census payroll excludes.
- Cost of goods optical: frames, lenses, contact lens inventory — rises fast if you over-discount lens upgrades
- Marketing: top performers spend more here — but they track cost per new exam booked
The numbers that decide a optometry practice
| Metric | Typical range |
|---|---|
| Revenue per employeeAnnual revenue per employee. Midpoint is the measured 2022 Economic Census figure for NAICS 621320 (total receipts ÷ employment); the range spans operator variation around it. | $94k – $189k |
| Avg visit ticketAverage total revenue per patient visit — exam plus attached eyewear or contact lens sale. | $210 – $470 |
| Rebooking rateShare of exam patients who leave with a next annual exam pre-scheduled or confirmed recall. | 50% – 74% |
| Inbound voicemail shareShare of first-time patient calls that reach voicemail at a practice this size, mostly while staff are pre-testing or dispensing. | 18% – 38% |
| Afterhours booking shareShare of new-patient exam interest that happens outside clinic hours — evenings, lunch breaks, weekends. | 32% – 52% |
What to watch, in plain English
Optical capture rate
Healthy range: 50–65%
how many exam patients actually buy their glasses from you instead of walking the prescription out the door
The exam roughly covers the chair time; the eyewear is where the practice makes money. Every prescription that leaves unfilled is a $250–$500 gross-profit sale handed to an online retailer.
Revenue per exam lane per day
Healthy range: $1,600–$3,000 per lane per day
how much each exam lane brings in per day it's open
Lanes and doctor hours are the capacity ceiling. Empty slots and no-shows are revenue you can never re-sell, and pre-testing gaps quietly shrink how many exams a day the doctor can do.
How optometry practices lose money
- Unanswered phones — insurance and appointment calls hit voicemail during exams, and most callers just try the next practice.
- No annual recall — patients drift to 2–3 years between exams because nobody texts them at 11 months.
- Prescriptions walking out the door — no optician handoff after the exam, so the eyewear sale is lost.
- Under-selling lens upgrades (AR, progressive tiers, photochromic) because staff quote the cheapest option first.
- Contact lens patients buying annual supplies online because you never quoted a 12-month supply with rebates.
What optometry practices charge
Typical US ranges. Metro markets sit at the top of these; rural sits at the bottom.
| Service | Typical price |
|---|---|
| Comprehensive eye exam | $95–$185 |
| Contact lens fitting | $60–$180 |
| Complete pair frame and lenses | $275–$650 |
| Progressive lenses upgrade | $180–$450 |
| Annual contact lens supply | $220–$700 |
| Medical office visit dry eye or followup | $85–$160 |
| Retinal imaging optomap | $29–$59 |
The year, month by month
January
Fresh vision-plan benefits and new deductibles reset; push exam recalls hard in the first three weeks.
August
Back-to-school exam peak; raise exam fees before the rush and extend hours.
December
Use-it-or-lose-it FSA and vision-benefit expiry; biggest optical and annual-supply month of the year.
These are the ranges. Want yours?
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Common questions
What is a good profit margin for a optometry practice?
A typical optometry practice keeps 8–20% of revenue as profit once the owner has been paid. Below 8% usually means labour or occupancy costs have crept up; the strongest operators sit at or above 20%.
How much does a optometry practice owner make?
Owner compensation runs 12–22% of revenue. On the $883,000 a typical optometry practice turns over in a year, that is roughly $106,000–$194,000 before any profit distribution on top.
How much revenue does a optometry practice make per year?
A typical US optometry practice turns over about $883,000 a year with roughly 6.5 people on the payroll, according to the 2022 Economic Census for NAICS 621320.
What percentage of optometry practice revenue goes to wages?
Labour typically takes 33–45% of revenue at a optometry practice. It is almost always the largest single cost, so a few points either way decides whether the year works.