Find a Job You Really Want In
Real Estate Agents are one of the most common jobs in America. Additionally, a significant number of people work as real estate agents in every state in the union — it’s not like they are all just concentrated in California or the South.
Since real estate agents are such a prominent occupation, we at Zippia wanted to look at where real estate agents have it the best: where there are plenty of jobs to go around and people get paid what they deserve during every phase of their career.
To that end, we dove into the numbers from the BLS to figure out which states have the best opportunities for real estate agents.
After all the numbers had been crunched, we were left with this list of the best of best for America’s real estate agents:
So there you have it — Real Estate Sales Agents is the best of the best when it comes to being a real estate agent.
How did Real Estate Sales Agents end up here and does it really deserve this ranking? Read on to see how we completed our research on the best states for real estate agents and for more on the top ten states.
If youĂÂre interested, you can read more about the job scene here:
- These Are The 10 Best Cities For Real Estate Agents
- Best Companies To Work For In Houston
- These Are The 10 Best Small Companies To Work For In McKinney
How we determined the best states to be a real estate agent
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
- Higher Pay
So in order to find out the best states for real estate agents in America we needed to figure out where the jobs are and how well real estate agents get paid. This led to the following criteria taken from the Bureau of Labor Statistics’s Occupational Employment Statistics for 2016:
- Location quotient. A measure of how common a job is a given state.
- Average annual salary.
- Average annual salary for entry level work.
- Average annual salary for experienced professionals.
To make all the salary numbers more apples to apples across states, we compared the salary data relative to the state’s cost of living.
Applying this standardization allows us to account for that fact that it costs more to live in certain in states. For example, the average salary for real estate agents in California is $65,790 and the average salary in Illinois is $59,150, but the Illinois salary actually goes further in paying for life’s essentials.
In order to develop and overall ranking, we ranked each state for each criteria from 1 to 50 where 1 was the best.
We then averaged all the rankings for a state into a Job Score with the state having the lowest overall Job Score earning the distinction of being the best state for real estate agents in America.
So without further ado, let’s get into just what made each state so great for real estate agents.
1. Texas
Total Jobs: 16,210
Average Annual Salary: $64,070
Average Entry Level Salary: $22,760
Average Experienced Salary: $126,330
Location Quotient: 1.28
2. Wyoming
Total Jobs: 230
Average Annual Salary: $81,920
Average Entry Level Salary: $34,590
Average Experienced Salary: $103,100
Location Quotient: 0.76
3. New York
Total Jobs: 6,010
Average Annual Salary: $103,490
Average Entry Level Salary: $39,130
Average Experienced Salary: $201,470
Location Quotient: 0.61
4. Oklahoma
Total Jobs: 3,390
Average Annual Salary: $55,150
Average Entry Level Salary: $21,450
Average Experienced Salary: $105,960
Location Quotient: 1.98
5. Virginia
Total Jobs: 6,720
Average Annual Salary: $62,910
Average Entry Level Salary: $25,900
Average Experienced Salary: $112,380
Location Quotient: 1.65
6. Arizona
Total Jobs: 3,150
Average Annual Salary: $70,050
Average Entry Level Salary: $21,910
Average Experienced Salary: $181,020
Location Quotient: 1.1
7. North Carolina
Total Jobs: 5,160
Average Annual Salary: $62,070
Average Entry Level Salary: $21,270
Average Experienced Salary: $131,360
Location Quotient: 1.13
8. Washington
Total Jobs: 7,420
Average Annual Salary: $58,100
Average Entry Level Salary: $27,600
Average Experienced Salary: $104,020
Location Quotient: 2.24
9. Kansas
Total Jobs: 710
Average Annual Salary: $63,640
Average Entry Level Salary: $23,210
Average Experienced Salary: $122,420
Location Quotient: 0.48
10. New Mexico
Total Jobs: 850
Average Annual Salary: $60,440
Average Entry Level Salary: $25,800
Average Experienced Salary: $95,320
Location Quotient: 0.97
There You Have It – The Best States To Be A Real Estate Agent
If you’re looking to start out your career as a real estate agent these are the states 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 states to be a real estate agent in America:
For more reading, check out:
- Top 11 Best Start-Ups to Work For in Austin, TX
- These Are The 100 Highest Paying Jobs In Austin
- These Are The 100 Highest Paying Jobs In Dallas
- These Are The 100 Highest Paying Jobs In Fort Worth
- These Are The 100 Highest Paying Jobs In Houston
- These Are The 100 Highest Paying Jobs In San Antonio
- These Are The 100 Highest Paying Jobs In Texas
- These Are The 100 Largest Companies In Texas
Detailed List Of The Best States For real estate agents
| Rank | State | Average Salary |
|---|---|---|
| 1 | Texas | $64,070 |
| 2 | Wyoming | $81,920 |
| 3 | New York | $103,490 |
| 4 | Oklahoma | $55,150 |
| 5 | Virginia | $62,910 |
| 6 | Arizona | $70,050 |
| 7 | North Carolina | $62,070 |
| 8 | Washington | $58,100 |
| 9 | Kansas | $63,640 |
| 10 | New Mexico | $60,440 |
| 11 | Colorado | $72,480 |
| 12 | Nevada | $61,570 |
| 13 | Pennsylvania | $58,130 |
| 14 | Florida | $58,980 |
| 15 | Missouri | $54,060 |
| 16 | Indiana | $61,880 |
| 17 | Alabama | $58,700 |
| 18 | Illinois | $59,150 |
| 19 | Idaho | $57,800 |
| 20 | Utah | $52,830 |
| 21 | South Carolina | $50,700 |
| 22 | South Dakota | $57,150 |
| 23 | Maine | $69,210 |
| 24 | North Dakota | $53,200 |
| 25 | Louisiana | $51,410 |
| 26 | Delaware | $47,660 |
| 27 | Mississippi | $44,020 |
| 28 | West Virginia | $53,860 |
| 29 | Georgia | $44,780 |
| 30 | Nebraska | $48,110 |
| 31 | Tennessee | $46,370 |
| 32 | Kentucky | $41,410 |
| 33 | Minnesota | $49,460 |
| 34 | New Jersey | $61,860 |
| 35 | Massachusetts | $66,430 |
| 36 | Iowa | $46,520 |
| 37 | Wisconsin | $53,640 |
| 38 | Alaska | $68,040 |
| 39 | Ohio | $39,900 |
| 40 | Michigan | $43,620 |
| 41 | Maryland | $59,980 |
| 42 | California | $65,790 |
| 43 | Arkansas | $34,190 |
| 44 | Montana | $45,560 |
| 45 | Hawaii | $85,110 |
| 46 | New Hampshire | $49,670 |
| 47 | Oregon | $50,040 |
| 48 | Connecticut | $46,120 |
Author
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.
