Business phone system for optometry practices in South Dakota

How many optometry practices operate in South Dakota

South Dakota had 115 optometry practices in 2023, according to Census County Business Patterns (NAICS 621320, Offices of Optometrists). They employed 850 people in mid-March and reported $41.6 million in annual payroll. That is the 38th highest count among the 51 states and DC with published figures. Optometry practices make up 0.40% of the 29,106 business establishments in the state.

Per 100,000 residents (2024 estimate) South Dakota has 12.4 optometry practices, 88.0% above the national rate of 6.6. The average establishment has 7.4 employees against 6.6 nationally. Payroll per employee is $48,927, in line with the U.S. figure of $48,910.

South Dakota's largest markets for optometry practices

Census published optometry practice counts for 8 metro or micropolitan areas that include part of South Dakota. The largest is Sioux Falls, SD-MN, with 33 establishments (a multi-state area; its count covers every state it spans). Single-state metro and micropolitan areas account for 38% of the statewide total; the rest are outside any published area or in areas Census suppressed.

Team sizes at optometry practices in South Dakota

44.7% of South Dakota's optometry practices with employees had fewer than five people in March 2023, compared with 47.9% nationally. 78.9% had fewer than ten. That is the size of team where a missed call usually means nobody was free, not that nobody was on staff.

What optometry practices in South Dakota use the phone for

Eye-care offices combine exam scheduling with eyewear and contact-lens orders, so callers want both appointments and order status. Calls about broken glasses or eye irritation also need to reach someone quickly.

Typical inbound and outbound calls for optometry practices in South Dakota:

• Someone calls about sudden eye irritation and asks whether to come in.
• The office calls patients when an order arrives.
• A parent calls to book a child's eye exam before the school year.

Calls after closing time

After-hours messages are typically order questions or appointment requests that can be returned the next business day.

Callata voicemail is transcribed and triaged for urgency, and business-hours routing decides where calls go once you close.

Callata vs. per-seat pricing for optometry practices in South Dakota

Optometry practices in South Dakota average 7.4 employees, so the comparison uses a 7-person team. Priced per seat, 7 users would run $210.00 a month on RingCentral RingEX Core and $174.65 on Ooma Office Pro (month-to-month list prices, checked September 28, 2026). On Callata the same 7 people cost $139.00 a month, less than either per-seat plan.

The annual difference against RingCentral's monthly list price comes to $852. Some vendors discount annual contracts; the table shows month-to-month prices.

Area codes in South Dakota

South Dakota has 1 geographic area code in service according to NANPA. You can choose local numbers in the area codes your patients know, subject to carrier inventory, or port your current number for free.

How Callata works for optometry practices in South Dakota

Callata is a business phone system priced at $99 a month with 5 users included, then $20 per additional user. Callata Office includes up to 3 local business numbers, unlimited inbound calling, 1,500 pooled outbound US and Canada minutes per user each month, a browser softphone that can also ring your cell, voicemail with transcription, call recording with AI summaries, business-hours routing and E911 on every number.

If you already have a number in South Dakota, porting it to Callata is free. Texting from a local number requires a one-time carrier registration (10DLC, $49), and the numbers available in any area code depend on carrier inventory when you choose them.

Optional AI agents (receptionist, sales, support or scheduler) can answer calls after hours or when nobody picks up, take messages, text, email and transfer to your team. They are billed from prepaid AI minutes at $0.25 per minute, identify themselves as AI, and may only place outbound calls to people who consented, between 8am and 9pm.

Practices that handle protected health information should review their own privacy obligations before recording calls, enabling AI summaries or texting appointment details, and keep clinical conversations out of text messages unless their policies allow it.