In early 2020, women optometrists accounted for 44 percent of all practicing ODs, the same percentage noted in the Women In Optometry (WO) 2019 tally. In 2018, women accounted for 43 percent of all practicing ODs.
Overall, the data shows less than a 0.1 percent increase in the total number of ODs, from 51,902 in 2019 to 51,937 in U.S. states and Washington, D.C. This year, WO included data from U.S. territories of Puerto Rico and Guam. In comparison to 2019 data for the 50 states and Washington, D.C., the number of women in practice increased just more than 0.1 percent.
