Best Cities for Real Estate Brokerss

Cities ranked by purchasing power — where real estate brokerss get the most value from their salary after accounting for cost of living. A score above 1.00 means better than national average.

How we calculate this: City Score = (Local Salary ÷ National Median) ÷ (Local Cost ÷ National Avg Cost). A score of 1.20 means 20% better purchasing power than average.

#	Location	Score	Raw Salary	Adjusted Salary	Rent/Income
1	San Antonio-New Braunfels, TXMetro	1.47	$98,950	$107,554	16%
2	New JerseyState	1.40	$111,390	$102,381	19%
3	Charlotte-Concord-Gastonia, NC-SCMetro	1.36	$95,320	$99,499	19%
4	ConnecticutState	1.34	$105,800	$98,327	18%
5	AlabamaState	1.30	$82,630	$94,868	14%
6	Detroit-Warren-Dearborn, MIMetro	1.28	$85,600	$93,860	17%
7	UtahState	1.27	$92,830	$92,645	19%
8	MichiganState	1.22	$82,510	$89,393	16%
9	New MexicoState	1.19	$80,340	$87,326	16%
10	ArkansasState	1.17	$73,800	$85,516	14%
11	IndianaState	1.13	$75,000	$82,873	17%
12	North DakotaState	1.08	$73,300	$79,158	16%
13	Los Angeles-Long Beach-Anaheim, CAMetro	1.08	$91,770	$78,773	30%
14	KansasState	1.06	$69,990	$77,767	18%
15	Washington-Arlington-Alexandria, DC-VA-MD-WVMetro	1.06	$87,670	$77,722	27%
16	WashingtonState	1.05	$82,790	$77,158	28%
17	Baltimore-Columbia-Towson, MDMetro	1.05	$81,550	$77,079	25%
18	ColoradoState	1.04	$79,970	$75,873	28%
19	Kansas City, MO-KSMetro	1.04	$70,770	$76,261	22%
20	MarylandState	1.02	$81,550	$74,679	25%
21	VermontState	1.02	$76,920	$75,044	22%
22	VirginiaState	1.02	$77,270	$74,657	24%
23	ArizonaState	1.01	$74,260	$73,598	24%
24	CaliforniaState	0.99	$80,450	$72,674	34%
25	Seattle-Tacoma-Bellevue, WAMetro	0.99	$82,790	$72,432	32%
26	OhioState	0.97	$64,510	$71,361	19%
27	MissouriState	0.96	$62,280	$70,293	20%
28	West VirginiaState	0.96	$58,960	$70,024	17%
29	Pittsburgh, PAMetro	0.95	$64,120	$69,319	22%
30	Dallas-Fort Worth-Arlington, TXMetro	0.94	$67,220	$69,156	28%
31	DelawareState	0.93	$68,690	$68,010	24%
32	HawaiiState	0.92	$74,310	$67,555	39%
33	TexasState	0.91	$63,390	$66,308	26%
34	MontanaState	0.90	$63,240	$65,602	21%
35	TennesseeState	0.90	$60,150	$65,738	25%
36	Columbus, OHMetro	0.90	$61,880	$66,182	25%
37	Miami-Fort Lauderdale-West Palm Beach, FLMetro	0.90	$71,460	$65,862	34%
38	FloridaState	0.89	$66,010	$65,034	31%
39	Nashville-Davidson--Murfreesboro--Franklin, TNMetro	0.89	$62,350	$64,813	30%
40	IllinoisState	0.88	$62,540	$64,209	25%
41	AlaskaState	0.86	$65,820	$63,106	25%
42	Minneapolis-St. Paul-Bloomington, MN-WIMetro	0.85	$61,890	$62,201	29%
43	OregonState	0.84	$63,070	$61,233	30%
44	IdahoState	0.82	$57,660	$59,751	25%
45	Portland-Vancouver-Hillsboro, OR-WAMetro	0.80	$63,070	$58,506	34%
46	IowaState	0.77	$50,140	$56,211	23%
47	MaineState	0.76	$55,280	$55,391	28%
48	North CarolinaState	0.76	$52,830	$55,964	30%
49	MississippiState	0.67	$41,690	$49,163	26%
50	New HampshireState	0.66	$51,490	$48,575	37%
51	MinnesotaState	0.56	$39,850	$40,663	39%

Data Sources: Salary: U.S. Bureau of Labor Statistics (OEWS). Cost of Living: BEA Regional Price Parities (2024). Rent: HUD Fair Market Rents (FY2025).