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The differences between sales associates and real estate agents can be seen in a few details. Each job has different responsibilities and duties. Additionally, a real estate agent has an average salary of $91,788, which is higher than the $32,167 average annual salary of a sales associate.
The top three skills for a sales associate include customer service, sales floor and cash handling. The most important skills for a real estate agent are customer service, real estate license, and excellent interpersonal.
| Sales Associate | Real Estate Agent | |
| Yearly salary | $32,167 | $91,788 |
| Hourly rate | $15.46 | $44.13 |
| Growth rate | - | 5% |
| Number of jobs | 579,849 | 41,399 |
| Job satisfaction | - | 4 |
| Most common degree | Bachelor's Degree, 38% | Bachelor's Degree, 59% |
| Average age | 41 | 49 |
| Years of experience | - | - |
Sales associates are responsible for promoting the company's goods or services. They are expected to provide exceptional customer service to prospective buyers. They should be familiar with all features of the company's products or services so that they can answer the customers' inquiries. Sales associates also assist customers in processing their checkouts, refunds, returns, and other needs. They should be customer-oriented, and they should have great communication skills. They should know how to sell their products or services to customers. They are considered the company's representatives on the ground.
A real estate agent helps owners in the selling or renting of houses, land, offices, buildings, or any piece of property. They should be knowledgeable in the area they work in, which local properties are in the market, and the competitive prices for various properties. It is their responsibility to either market or sells in the best possible and reasonable price and conditions. Negotiating is a vital skill for real estate agents as they act as the middleman for buyers and sellers. Most agents bill the client with a percentage of the final sale price as the fee, but some would get a fixed commission for every sale.
Sales associates and real estate agents have different pay scales, as shown below.
| Sales Associate | Real Estate Agent | |
| Average salary | $32,167 | $91,788 |
| Salary range | Between $21,000 And $47,000 | Between $66,000 And $126,000 |
| Highest paying City | New York, NY | Long Beach, NY |
| Highest paying state | New York | West Virginia |
| Best paying company | Barclays | Santa Clara Valley Water District |
| Best paying industry | Manufacturing | Finance |
There are a few differences between a sales associate and a real estate agent in terms of educational background:
| Sales Associate | Real Estate Agent | |
| Most common degree | Bachelor's Degree, 38% | Bachelor's Degree, 59% |
| Most common major | Business | Business |
| Most common college | - | - |
Here are the differences between sales associates' and real estate agents' demographics:
| Sales Associate | Real Estate Agent | |
| Average age | 41 | 49 |
| Gender ratio | Male, 38.4% Female, 61.6% | Male, 43.4% Female, 56.6% |
| Race ratio | Black or African American, 10.6% Unknown, 5.1% Hispanic or Latino, 21.4% Asian, 6.9% White, 55.4% American Indian and Alaska Native, 0.6% | Black or African American, 5.2% Unknown, 4.3% Hispanic or Latino, 13.0% Asian, 6.8% White, 70.3% American Indian and Alaska Native, 0.3% |
| LGBT Percentage | 7% | 13% |