Statistics on Eyeglasses and
Contact Lenses

Approximately 168.5 million U.S. residents use vision correction such as eyeglasses or contact lenses, representing 75 percent of the country's total adult population. — VisionWatch (Jobson Medical Information LLC and Vision Council of America), June 2006

Approximately 143.2 million American adults or 64 percent of the adult population wear glasses. — VisionWatch, June 2006

Nearly half of Americans would consider wearing eyeglasses as a fashion accessory, even if they didn't need them. Most perceive eyeglass wearers as either smart (40 percent) or sophisticated (39 percent). Professionals associated with wearing eyeglasses include librarians (74 percent), teachers (71 percent), lawyers (56 percent), artists (27 percent) and actors/movie stars (20 percent). — from a survey of 3,000 U.S. eyeglass wearers and non-wearers, conducted by eyeglass lens manufacturer Essilor International in February 2004

The biggest complaints about eyeglasses among wearers include dirty glasses (30 percent) and lens scratches (19 percent). — from the same Essilor survey cited above (Essilor makes Crizal Alize, an anti-reflective lens the company says is easier to keep clean and scratch-free)

According to the Vision Council of America (2006), of the total adult American population:

• 64.0 percent use eyeglasses
• 19.0 percent use contact lenses some of the time
• 85.6 percent use non-prescription sunglasses
• 14.0 percent use pre-made "drugstore" reading glasses
• 12.1 percent use clips for sunglasses
• 4.4 percent use computer glasses

Approximately 19 percent of the U.S. population wears contact lenses. — VisionWatch

For the 12-month period ending December 2006, 26 percent of females ages 18 and older wore contact lenses. Among males 18 and older, 14 percent wore contact lenses. — VisionWatch

According to surveys of American contact lens wearers conducted by VisionWatch over a six-month period ending March 2006, the duration of wearing periods were as follows:

• Daily wear (remove before sleep), 44 percent
• Occasional daily wear, 14 percent
• Continuous wear (includes during sleep), 14 percent
• For specific activities only (e.g. sports), 10 percent
• All day and occasional overnight wear, 10 percent
• All day and frequent overnight wear, 7 percent

Read our complete guide to eyeglasses and our complete guide to contact lenses.

More Statistics

[Page updated November 2007]