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Average Optometrist Salary in Georgia for 2026

An optometrist in Georgia earns about 159,500 GEL a year. That's 101% above the national average of 79,500 GEL.

Pay ranges widely from country to country and from role to role. The lowest reported salaries in Georgia sit around 78,960 GEL a year, while the very top stretches to 253,400 GEL. Everything on this page is in lari (GEL, symbol ₾), which lets you compare numbers like-for-like without worrying about exchange rates.

The numbers here are pulled together from official government wage data, large independent salary surveys, and aggregated worker-reported pay. Most reported salaries include the benefits that are common in Georgia, such as housing or transport allowances, which is worth keeping in mind if you're comparing against a country where those are usually paid on top.

How much does an optometrist make in Georgia?

Average salary
159,500 GEL
13,291 GEL per month
Lowest reported
78,960 GEL
6,580 GEL per month
Highest reported
253,400 GEL
21,116 GEL per month

A typical optometrist working in Georgia brings home around 13,291 GEL a month before tax. Entry-level pay starts near 78,960 GEL, and the top of the ladder reaches roughly 253,400 GEL for the most experienced and specialised people in the role.

The wide gap between low end and top end reflects how much pay can vary inside the same job title. A junior optometrist working at a small local employer earns very different money from a senior at a multinational. Skills, employer, city and years in the seat all push the number around.

How optometrist pay ranges in Georgia

A good way to think about salary in Georgia is to look at the distribution rather than the headline average. Half of all optometrists in Georgia earn less than 168,100 GEL a year, and the other half earn more. That middle number is the median, and it is usually more useful than the average for answering "is my pay normal here".

Looking at the quartiles fills in the picture. A quarter of earners take home less than 109,520 GEL (the 25th percentile), and a quarter clear 217,900 GEL (the 75th percentile). The middle 50% of optometrists sit somewhere inside that band, which is where the typical reader of this page probably lives.

The very lowest reported salaries sit around 78,960 GEL. The highest stretch to 253,400 GEL, though only a small fraction of earners ever reach that level. If you are deciding whether your own offer or current pay is reasonable, work out which of those four bands you would fall into and use that as your reference point.

78,960
Low
168,100
Median
253,400
High
109,520
25th
217,900
75th
The middle 50% sit between the 25th and 75th percentile Tails are the lowest and highest reported All figures in GEL

Optometrist pay by experience in Georgia

Years of experience is the single biggest lever on pay for an optometrist in Georgia, ahead of education and almost any other single factor. The longer you have been in the role, the more your employer can trust you to handle complexity, mentor others and act independently, all of which command higher pay. The chart below shows how the typical optometrist salary changes as you move through the career ladder.

  • 0-2 Years
    90,540 GEL
  • 2-5 Years
    +42% from previous
    129,000 GEL
  • 5-10 Years
    +30% from previous
    167,100 GEL
  • 10-15 Years
    +24% from previous
    207,800 GEL
  • 15-20 Years
    +7% from previous
    221,500 GEL
  • 20+ Years
    +8% from previous
    239,300 GEL

The single largest jump on the ladder is from 0 - 2 Years to 2 - 5 Years, where pay rises by about 42%. That is the point at which a optometrist typically goes from "competent in the role" to "the person other people in the team learn from", and the market pays well for that step.

Optometrist pay by education in Georgia

Education lifts pay across almost every role, but the size of the lift varies enormously. The biggest premiums show up in licensed professions like medicine, law and accounting, where extra years of formal study open up seniority that isn't available without the qualification. The smallest premiums show up in skilled trades and creative work, where practical experience often beats academic credentials.

As a rough cross-industry guide for Georgia: a post-secondary certificate or diploma adds around 17% over a high-school-only baseline. A bachelor's degree typically adds another 25% on top of that. A master's lifts pay a further 30%, and a PhD adds about 22% more in fields that value research-level qualifications. These are averages across many different professions, so the real number for your specific job could easily be twice as high or close to zero. The per-job pages below have the real numbers for individual roles.

Optometrist gender pay gap in Georgia

The gender pay gap is a stubborn feature of almost every labour market, and Georgia is no exception. Male optometrists in Georgia earn an average of 164,200 GEL a year, while female optometrists earn around 158,700 GEL. That works out to a 3% gap in favour of men, even when comparing people doing the same work.

A pay gap of this size has a real long-term cost. Over a typical thirty-year career it can add up to several years of pay, and it compounds through pensions, retirement contributions and bonus-linked stock. Some of the gap is explained by women being more likely to work part-time, take career breaks, or be steered toward lower-paying specialisations. Some of it is straightforward unequal pay for the same job, which is harder to defend.

Optometrist gender pay gap

3%

Men earn this much more than women on average in Georgia.

Men 164,200 GEL
Women 158,700 GEL

Pay raises for an optometrist in Georgia

Most countries hand out at least some kind of pay raise every year, typically when an employee's contract is reviewed or as a cost-of-living adjustment to keep wages roughly in step with inflation. The rhythm and size of those raises varies hugely between industries.

A typical worker doing this role in Georgia sees a raise of about 9% every 27 months, which works out to roughly 4% on an annual basis. That figure is the typical underlying rate; in years where inflation runs high you can usually expect a bit more, and in flat-economy years a bit less.

Across all jobs in Georgia, the national average raise is around 5% every 28 months.

By industry

Industries with the highest pay raises in Georgia:

  • Banking
  • Energy
  • Information Technology
  • Healthcare
  • Travel
  • Construction
  • Education
    2%

By experience level

Experienced workers tend to see larger raises. Retaining a senior is cheaper than replacing them, so employers fight harder for them.

  • Junior Level
    3% - 5%
  • Mid-Career
  • Senior Level
  • Top Management

Optometrist bonus rates in Georgia

Bonuses are the other half of total compensation, and they vary a lot between jobs and industries. Some roles are paid almost entirely in base salary; others lean heavily on bonus structures tied to revenue, project completion or company performance. Whether a job pays a bonus, how big it is, and how often it lands all factor into whether the headline salary is actually a good offer.

66%

66% of optometrists in Georgia reported a bonus of some kind in the past twelve months. That makes an optometrist a moderate-bonus role overall, which is useful context when you're weighing up a job offer where the base is below market.

Among those who did receive a bonus, the size of the payment varied substantially. Reported bonuses ranged from 5% to 9% of base salary. The remaining 34% of optometrists reported no bonus at all over the same period.

Which careers pay bonuses in Georgia

Revenue-facing roles tend to pay the biggest bonuses. Operational and support roles tend toward smaller, more predictable ones.

  • Finance
  • Architecture
  • Sales
  • Business Development
  • Marketing / Advertising
  • Information Technology
  • Healthcare
  • Insurance
  • Customer Service
  • Human Resources
  • Construction
  • Transport
  • Hospitality

Optometrist: public vs private sector pay

Public-sector pay in Georgia is about 20% more than private-sector pay for similar work. The private sector typically offers stronger upside and bigger bonuses; the public sector typically offers better benefits and stability.

Public vs private pay gap

17%

Public-sector workers earn this much more than private-sector workers in Georgia on average.

Public sector 89,800 GEL
Private sector 74,940 GEL

Optometrist salary by city in Georgia

Optometrist pay is not even across Georgia. The chart below shows the highest-paying cities in the dataset, followed by the full location table.

  • Tbilisi
  • Batumi
LocationTypeAverageMedianRange
TbilisiCity176,800 GEL172,400 GEL91,560-272,800 GEL
BatumiCity174,000 GEL185,100 GEL80,280-275,800 GEL

Optometrist in Georgia: FAQs

  • How much does an optometrist make per month in Georgia?

    An optometrist in Georgia earns about 13,291 GEL a month before tax, based on an annual average of 159,500 GEL.

  • What's the salary range for an optometrist in Georgia?

    Entry-level optometrists in Georgia start near 78,960 GEL. Top-end pay reaches around 253,400 GEL. The middle 50% of earners sit between 109,520 and 217,900 GEL.

  • Is the median optometrist salary in Georgia higher or lower than the average?

    The median is 168,100 GEL, higher than the average of 159,500 GEL. Half of optometrists in Georgia earn below the median, half earn above it.

  • What's the gender pay gap for optometrists in Georgia?

    Men working as an optometrist in Georgia earn around 3% more than women on average (164,200 vs 158,700 GEL a year).

  • Do optometrists in Georgia get bonuses?

    About 66% of optometrists in Georgia reported a bonus in the past 12 months. Reported bonuses ranged from 5% to 9% of base salary.

  • Do optometrists earn more in the public or private sector in Georgia?

    In Georgia, the public sector pays an optometrist about 20% more on average. Public-sector pay tends to be steadier; private-sector pay tends to offer bigger upside.

  • How often do optometrists in Georgia get a pay raise?

    An optometrist in Georgia sees a raise of around 9% every 27 months, equivalent to roughly 4% a year.