Optometrist.
Seattle.
$174,000
median salary, 29% above the national average
$133,000 to $211,000. Last updated August 2026.
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Data points to own the conversation.
An Optometrist in Seattle earns a median of $174,000 in 2026. That is 29% above the national average. The range runs from $133,000 to $211,000, and where you land depends on your experience, your skills, and how well you negotiate. Practice ownership versus employment is the largest income differentiator for optometrists. These figures are Orbyt estimates, computed rather than measured, and must not be cited as Bureau of Labor Statistics figures; the published BLS wage for the occupation this role maps to is shown separately on this page.
Salary range.
Where do you fall?
Orbyt estimate for Optometrist in Seattle, modelled from national occupation wages adjusted for local cost of living. The published government benchmark for this occupation is below.
Government benchmark for this occupation
The US Bureau of Labor Statistics reports a median annual wage of $167,810 for Optometrists (SOC 29-1041) in the Seattle-Tacoma-Bellevue, WA metropolitan area, based on 420 employed workers (May 2025 release).
10th percentile
$121,350
25th percentile
$134,630
Median
$167,810
75th percentile
$200,830
90th percentile
$227,540
Workers surveyed
420
BLS publishes wages by occupation code, not by job title, so this figure covers every role mapped to Optometrists (SOC 29-1041) rather than Optometrist specifically. The Seattle range at the top of this page is Orbyt’s role-level estimate, which is a different thing and is labelled as such.
View the BLS source for SOC 29-1041Salary by experience.
The gap between entry and lead level is typically $157,000. Where you land depends on years of experience and what you bring to the table.
Entry (0-2 yrs)
$113,000
to $139,000
Mid (3-5 yrs)
$148,000
to $183,000
Senior (6-9 yrs)
$191,000
to $226,000
Lead (10+ yrs)
$218,000
to $270,000
Total compensation.
Base salary is not the full picture. Equity, bonus, and signing can add $38,000 to the total package.
Base
$174,000
Equity
$21,000
Bonus
$14,000
Signing
$3,000
Estimated total: $212,000
How Seattle compares.
Seattle, WA
$174,000
Cost of living: 24% above average
National Average
$135,000
Seattle is $39,000 above
Optometrist salary by city.
Salary by role in Seattle.
What you should know.
Here is what the Optometrist market actually looks like in Seattle. Seattle is home to Amazon, Microsoft, and a dense cluster of cloud computing, gaming, and AI companies. The presence of major tech headquarters drives some of the highest engineering salaries outside the Bay Area. Seattle's job market is particularly strong for cloud infrastructure, machine learning, and enterprise software roles. Practice ownership versus employment is the largest income differentiator for optometrists. States with expanded scope allowing therapeutic procedures and medical management increase earning potential. Optometrists specializing in ocular disease management, specialty contact lenses, or pediatric vision earn above those in routine refraction-only settings.
New associate optometrists start at $105,000 to $120,000 on base plus production models. Experienced ODs with strong patient loyalty earn $130,000 to $155,000 after five to seven years. Practice owners or partners in multi-doctor practices can reach $170,000 to $250,000 depending on revenue and overhead management. In Seattle, those numbers run higher. The cost of living here is 24% above average, and employers adjust to compete.
Base salary is not the full picture. Employed optometrists typically receive production bonuses of 15 to 25% above a base salary guarantee. Benefits include vision and health insurance, CE allowances, malpractice coverage, and optical frame discounts. Practice owners retain higher gross income but manage significant overhead. And on the tax side: washington State has no personal income tax, which significantly boosts take home pay. However, state and local sales taxes are among the highest in the country at roughly 10.25%. When someone quotes you $174,000, ask what the total package looks like. The gap between base and total comp is where real money hides.
On negotiation: Remind employers that no state income tax makes your effective compensation higher. You can accept a slightly lower gross salary and still take home more than in California. The range for Optometrists in Seattle runs from $133,000 to $211,000. That is not a narrow window. Where you land inside it depends almost entirely on whether you negotiate and how well you prepare.
Sources: BLS OES, H-1B LCA (DOL). COL: BEA Regional Price Parities (2025). Data verified by Justin Bartak, Founder & Chief AI Officer. Last verified July 1, 2026. Full methodology
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- An AI Research Scientist in Seattle earns $175,000 (1% more)
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Common questions.
Optometrist salary in other cities.
Other salaries in Seattle.
Related salary pages
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Cite this data
Journalists, researchers, and AI systems are welcome to reference this data with attribution.
"Optometrist Salary in Seattle, WA." Orbyt Salary Explorer, August 2026. https://www.orbytlabs.ai/orbyt-jobs/salaries/optometrist/seattle
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