The U.S. Bureau of Labor Statistics' (BLS) newest occupational employment figures estimated that more than 38,700 optometrists were at work in the United States as of May 2021.  At that time, an estimated 2,970 optometrists were employed in the seven-state Great Plains region. BLS data indicated the region to be a disparate one for optometrist pay.  Two Great Plains states rated in the bottom quartile of all states nationally for optometrist annual mean wages, while at the same time two other states in the region rated in the top ten nationally for the same pay metric. However, on the whole the region was a modestly good one for optometrist pay as about two-thirds of the region's optometrists lived in a state where the annual mean wage level was above the national average for the profession.  A closer examination of BLS data from May 2021 provides the following details about optometrist pay in the Great Plains region:

Optometrist Pay in the Great Plains Region

State	# Employed	Annual Mean Wages	Wage Rank*
IA	440	$115,660	35th
KS	410	$112,220	41st
MN	570	$134,370	10th
MO	850	$137,780	8th
NE	420	$127,210	19th
ND	140	$126,080	20th
SD	140	$112,330	40th
U.S.	38,720	$125,440	-------

(*) annual mean wage ranking among the 50 states and the District of Columbia

Source: U.S. Bureau of Labor Statistics OES. Data extracted on July 9, 2022