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Role hub · Orthoptists

Orthoptist: what the job is, what it pays, and how to get hired.

The work, the skills that matter, the tools in demand and the pay range, from U.S. government data, plus every TryHired page for the role.

BLS does not publish pay for orthoptists separately. Every pay figure on this page is for the BLS occupation “Healthcare Diagnosing or Treating Practitioners, All Other” (SOC 29-1299), which includes orthoptists and other jobs; it is not a figure for orthoptists alone.

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Updated Nov 2, 2026 · Data: BLS OEWS May 2025 · O*NET 31.0
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Median percentile pay

Half of workers in the BLS occupation “Healthcare Diagnosing or Treating Practitioners, All Other” earn more than this and half earn less.

Annual
$115,210
Hourly
$55.39
Source
BLS May 2025
Quick answer

Orthoptists diagnose and treat visual system disorders such as binocular vision and eye movement impairments. The median pay is $115,210 a year ($55.39 an hour) (BLS, May 2025).

Median pay
$115,210
BLS May 2025
Employed in the U.S.
28,630
BLS May 2025
Preparation
Job Zone 5 of 5
extensive preparation
Key facts

Orthoptists at a glance

  • Workers in the BLS occupation “Healthcare Diagnosing or Treating Practitioners, All Other” (which includes orthoptists) in the United States earned a median annual wage of $115,210 in May 2025, according to the U.S. Bureau of Labor Statistics.

    Source: BLS OEWS, May 2025

  • In its 2025–35 employment projections, the U.S. Bureau of Labor Statistics lists a master's degree as the typical entry-level education for orthoptists in the United States.

    Source: BLS Employment Projections, 2025–35

  • BLS estimated that 28,630 people were employed as orthoptists in the United States in May 2025, not counting the self-employed.

    Source: BLS OEWS, May 2025

Explore the role

Every page for Orthoptists

SalaryOrthoptist salary

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The work

What orthoptists do day to day

Data Core tasks rated most important by workers in the role (O*NET).

  1. Evaluate, diagnose, or treat disorders of the visual system with an emphasis on binocular vision or abnormal eye movements.
  2. Examine patients with problems related to ocular motility, binocular vision, amblyopia, or strabismus.
  3. Perform diagnostic tests or measurements, such as motor testing, visual acuity testing, lensometry, retinoscopy, and color vision testing.
  4. Provide nonsurgical interventions, including corrective lenses, patches, drops, fusion exercises, or stereograms, to treat conditions such as strabismus, heterophoria, and convergence insufficiency.
  5. Develop nonsurgical treatment plans for patients with conditions such as strabismus, nystagmus, and other visual disorders.
  6. Provide instructions to patients or family members concerning diagnoses or treatment plans.
  7. Interpret clinical or diagnostic test results.
  8. Refer patients to ophthalmic surgeons or other physicians.
Where this career works

Industries that employ it

Data Share of all orthoptist jobs in each industry, 2025 (BLS Employment Matrix). Figures cover all healthcare diagnosing or treating practitioners, all other (SOC 29-1299), the broader occupation.

  1. Government, excluding state and local education and hospitals52.3% of all jobs in this occupation · +1.4% projected change here 2025–35 · mean wage $131,590
  2. Ambulatory healthcare services8.9% of all jobs in this occupation · +9.6% projected change here 2025–35 · mean wage $138,100
  3. Educational services; state, local, and private2.8% of all jobs in this occupation · +3.1% projected change here 2025–35 · mean wage $90,980
  4. Health and personal care retailers0.3% of all jobs in this occupation · -1.0% projected change here 2025–35 · mean wage $80,160
  5. Insurance carriers and related activities0.3% of all jobs in this occupation · +6.7% projected change here 2025–35 · mean wage $138,810
  6. Administrative and support services0.3% of all jobs in this occupation · +2.5% projected change here 2025–35 · mean wage $96,410

Sources: BLS 2025–35 National Employment Matrix (share of the occupation's jobs, projected change) and BLS OEWS May 2025 industry estimates (mean wage). Different industry estimates are not a pay forecast for any person.

Skills that matter

Ranked by importance to the job

Data O*NET importance ratings. The first three are core.

Reading ComprehensioncoreActive ListeningcoreSpeakingcoreCritical ThinkingSocial PerceptivenessWritingScienceComplex Problem SolvingActive Learning

Knowledge areas: Medicine and Dentistry, Customer and Personal Service, English Language, Biology, Education and Training, Psychology.

Tools and technology

Software orthoptists use

Data Examples reported for the role; employer demand flags from O*NET.

  • Computer Aided Vision Therapy CAVTMedical software
  • Computer perceptual processing softwareComputer based training software
  • Eye Tracking Exercises Enterprises Track with LettersEye tracking software
  • HTS Vision CVS2Eye tracking software
  • HTS Vision HTS2 Computerized Binocular Home Eye Exercise SystemEye tracking software
  • MAX Systems Max-Gold Medical Clinic SoftwareMedical software
  • SeeRite Flash and MatchComputer based training software
  • Therapeutic orthoptic softwareMedical software
  • Microsoft ExcelSpreadsheet softwareHot technology
  • Microsoft PowerPointPresentation softwareHot technology
  • Microsoft WordWord processing softwareHot technology
  • Email softwareElectronic mail software

Also called: Clinical Orthoptist (CO), CO (Certified Orthoptist).

Method

How this page is built

Tasks, skills, tools, education and related roles come from O*NET 31.0. Pay and employment come from the BLS OEWS May 2025 national estimates. The skill-match score is our calculation: Skill match is the cosine similarity of the two occupations' skill profiles: for each of 35 O*NET skills (10 essential, 25 transferable) we multiply importance by level and subtract the average across all occupations, then compare the direction of the two profiles. 100 means identical shape; 0 means unrelated or opposite (negative values are shown as 0). Only occupations that O*NET itself lists as related are compared.

What this page can't tell you
  • How a specific employer defines the job.
  • Pay for self-employed workers (OEWS covers employees).
  • Your own chances: data describes the occupation, not you.
Sources
  1. O*NET 31.0 Database, U.S. Department of Labor, Employment and Training Administration (USDOL/ETA), used under the CC BY 4.0 license. TryHired selected, ranked and combined the data; O*NET is not responsible for these pages.
  2. U.S. Bureau of Labor Statistics, Occupational Employment and Wage Statistics, May 2025 estimates (public domain).

How TryHired builds this data: sources, methods and downloads. Spotted an error? Report a correction.