Explore Jobs

Find Specific Jobs

Explore Careers

Explore Professions

Best Companies

Explore Companies

These Are The 10 Best Cities For Real Estate Agents

By Chris Kolmar
Dec. 11, 2016

Find a Job You Really Want In

.street-view{width:100%;height:300px;pointer-events:none;}

Whether you’re just starting out your career, or looking to make a move, it can be important to know what part of the country offers the best chance for your long term career prospects. And for a very common profession like Realtors, the regional differences can have a big impact on your salary and career options.

To help you make the best decision possible, we at Zippia wanted to look at the cities that offer realtors the most for their career. These are the cities across the US where realtors get paid well, relative to the cost of living, and jobs are plentiful.

So we did what we do best and dove into the numbers from the BLS to figure out which cities have the best opportunities for realtors.The result is this list of the best cities realtors:

  1. Walla Walla, WA
  2. Midland, TX
  3. Beaumont, TX
  4. Hilton Head Island, SC
  5. Olympia, WA
  6. Austin, TX
  7. Greeley, CO
  8. Barnstable Town, MA
  9. Pittsburgh, PA
  10. Bellingham, WA

So there you have it — Walla Walla is the best city when it comes to being a realtor.

And where should you consider avoiding if you’re a realtor? That would be Laredo.

Read on to see how we completed our research on the best cities for realtors and for more on the top ten cities.

How we determined the best cities to be a realtors?




Here at Zippia, we talk to a lot of people of all different backgrounds looking for jobs. Our research has concluded that there are two common things people want in a job:

  • Availability of jobs
  • Pay

So in order to find out the best cities for realtors in America we needed to figure out where the jobs are and how well realtors get paid. This led to the following criteria taken from the Bureau of Labor Statistics’s Occupational Employment Statistics for 2015:

  • Location quotient. A measure of how common a job is a given city.
  • Average annual salary.
  • Average annual salary for entry level work.

To make all the salary numbers more apples to apples across cities, we compared the salary data relative to the state’s cost of living.

This left us with enough data for 266 metro areas across the country. We then took the primary area of the metro and labeled that the ‘city’ for this analysis. So, for example, “Boston-Cambridge-Newton, MA NECTA Division” became simply Boston.

In order to develop an overall ranking, we ranked each city for each criteria from 1 to 266 where 1 was the best.

We then averaged all the rankings for a city into a Job Score with the city having the lowest overall Job Score earning the distinction of being the best city for realtors in America.

So without further ado, let’s get into just what made each city so great for realtors.

1. Walla Walla, WA

Total Jobs: 70
Average Annual Salary: $83,870
Average Entry Level Salary: $47,970
Location Quotient: 2.6

2. Midland, TX

Total Jobs: 270
Average Annual Salary: $90,280
Average Entry Level Salary: $30,360
Location Quotient: 2.62

3. Beaumont, TX

Total Jobs: 480
Average Annual Salary: $76,360
Average Entry Level Salary: $33,130
Location Quotient: 2.63

4. Hilton Head Island, SC

Total Jobs: 270
Average Annual Salary: $62,020
Average Entry Level Salary: $26,790
Location Quotient: 3.48

5. Olympia, WA

Total Jobs: 350
Average Annual Salary: $68,160
Average Entry Level Salary: $29,630
Location Quotient: 3.17

6. Austin, TX

Total Jobs: 1,420
Average Annual Salary: $76,520
Average Entry Level Salary: $31,210
Location Quotient: 1.39

7. Greeley, CO

Total Jobs: 110
Average Annual Salary: $170,360
Average Entry Level Salary: $82,730
Location Quotient: 0.98

8. Barnstable Town, MA

Total Jobs: 130
Average Annual Salary: $89,640
Average Entry Level Salary: $51,490
Location Quotient: 1.13

9. Pittsburgh, PA

Total Jobs: 1,820
Average Annual Salary: $68,170
Average Entry Level Salary: $32,360
Location Quotient: 1.46

10. Bellingham, WA

Total Jobs: 220
Average Annual Salary: $70,140
Average Entry Level Salary: $27,020
Location Quotient: 2.49

And that’s our list of the best cities for realtors

If you’re looking to start out your career as a realtor these are the cities that should be at the top of your list. You’ll find high pay, available jobs, and chances for career advancement.

If you’re curious, here are the worst cities to be a realtor in America:

  1. Laredo, TX
  2. Hagerstown, MD
  3. Waco, TX

Detailed List Of The Best Cities For Realtors

Rank State Average Salary Entry Level Salary # Of People
1 Walla Walla, WA $83,870 $47,970 70
2 Midland, TX $90,280 $30,360 270
3 Beaumont, TX $76,360 $33,130 480
4 Hilton Head Island, SC $62,020 $26,790 270
5 Olympia, WA $68,160 $29,630 350
6 Austin, TX $76,520 $31,210 1,420
7 Greeley, CO $170,360 $82,730 110
8 Barnstable Town, MA $89,640 $51,490 130
9 Pittsburgh, PA $68,170 $32,360 1,820
10 Bellingham, WA $70,140 $27,020 220
11 Tulsa, OK $62,130 $23,860 1,190
12 Yuba City, CA $65,820 $45,450 50
13 Seattle, WA $55,130 $26,930 4,630
14 Fort Lauderdale, FL $71,400 $23,960 2,280
15 Missoula, MT $84,830 $55,820 50
16 Charlotte, NC $65,260 $25,710 1,870
17 Bismarck, ND $55,900 $30,660 90
18 Denver, CO $89,000 $27,230 1,840
19 Lubbock, TX $68,450 $32,960 130
20 Philadelphia, PA $58,870 $31,240 1,110
21 Raleigh, NC $56,660 $25,400 1,170
22 Rapid City, SD $49,120 $40,190 80
23 West Palm Beach, FL $88,360 $21,540 1,890
24 Fargo, ND $50,350 $25,190 260
25 Mobile, AL $59,610 $33,960 160
26 Oakland, CA $85,070 $32,420 1,060
27 San Antonio, TX $78,520 $26,370 950
28 Huntsville, AL $68,210 $34,240 170
29 St. Louis, MO $65,130 $25,580 1,330
30 New York, NY $104,150 $34,820 5,240
31 Dallas, TX $64,560 $23,690 3,300
32 Billings, MT $68,530 $27,960 80
33 Fort Worth, TX $68,290 $26,730 960
34 Carson City, NV $51,340 $35,530 40
35 Asheville, NC $56,970 $38,030 170
36 Birmingham, AL $58,360 $32,420 440
37 Houston, TX $67,200 $21,850 4,840
38 Idaho Falls, ID $55,200 $22,320 90
39 Nassau County, NY $77,250 $33,070 1,210
40 Spokane, WA $51,390 $26,220 420
41 Las Vegas, NV $59,050 $26,490 1,340
42 Blacksburg, VA $53,220 $28,960 130
43 East Stroudsburg, PA $58,200 $33,530 50
44 Bakersfield, CA $131,050 $51,050 120
45 Wilmington, NC $51,460 $26,630 170
46 Corpus Christi, TX $84,240 $26,710 130
47 Lancaster, PA $56,750 $27,890 230
48 Stockton, CA $72,140 $38,130 170
49 Kansas City, MO $54,320 $25,430 1,010
50 Akron, OH $51,200 $25,980 330
51 Ocean City, NJ $65,240 $26,990 60
52 Sioux Falls, SD $76,660 $51,780 60
53 Reno, NV $97,840 $37,260 90
54 Yuma, AZ $66,130 $43,380 40
55 El Paso, TX $64,210 $22,710 340
56 Anaheim, CA $63,540 $28,450 2,040
57 Lexington, KY $47,810 $23,280 300
58 Montgomery, AL $74,870 $34,190 70
59 Tampa, FL $50,930 $26,420 2,200
60 Durham, NC $82,940 $28,170 170
61 Tallahassee, FL $48,990 $27,130 290
62 Boston, MA $85,350 $28,730 1,650
63 Charlottesville, VA $51,350 $25,930 240
64 Brunswick, GA $51,320 $21,070 90
65 Ames, IA $49,980 $21,800 90
66 Chicago, IL $76,950 $23,260 3,910
67 Palm Bay, FL $49,590 $29,920 220
68 Oklahoma City, OK $55,890 $18,000 1,710
69 Erie, PA $53,540 $32,750 100
70 Albany, NY $74,150 $41,330 230
71 Santa Maria, CA $60,690 $49,920 120
72 Mansfield, OH $55,040 $25,060 40
73 Framingham, MA $118,910 $38,550 40
74 Richmond, VA $50,510 $29,170 820
75 Wilmington, DE $54,030 $26,230 410
76 Allentown, PA $72,530 $25,820 230
77 Montgomery County, PA $51,740 $21,950 1,940
78 St. George, UT $43,640 $22,800 120
79 San Francisco, CA $67,220 $36,620 610
80 Dutchess County, NY $73,710 $41,060 60
81 Urban Honolulu, HI $89,920 $36,960 170
82 Augusta, GA $86,020 $18,830 250
83 Baton Rouge, LA $68,210 $33,040 110
84 Virginia Beach, VA $72,770 $19,640 1,680
85 South Bend, IN $63,580 $27,320 60
86 Tuscaloosa, AL $55,000 $27,330 50
87 Myrtle Beach, SC $46,280 $18,000 970
88 Florence, SC $42,420 $25,250 90
89 Kennewick, WA $48,040 $22,790 200
90 Macon, GA $40,210 $21,990 300
91 Ogden, UT $48,930 $18,950 520
92 Orlando, FL $54,560 $19,380 3,820
93 Champaign, IL $58,880 $22,410 120
94 Riverside, CA $57,020 $31,080 1,090
95 Charleston, SC $42,590 $19,240 990
96 Atlanta, GA $46,730 $19,400 6,570
97 Harrisburg, PA $49,400 $26,450 280
98 Panama City, FL $38,620 $25,110 240
99 Jonesboro, AR $48,920 $17,740 70
100 Silver Spring, MD $62,120 $25,720 680
Never miss an opportunity that’s right for you.

Author

Chris Kolmar

Chris Kolmar is a co-founder of Zippia and the editor-in-chief of the Zippia career advice blog. He has hired over 50 people in his career, been hired five times, and wants to help you land your next job. His research has been featured on the New York Times, Thrillist, VOX, The Atlantic, and a host of local news. More recently, he's been quoted on USA Today, BusinessInsider, and CNBC.

Responsive Image

Related posts