Best Cities for Real Estate Sales Agentss

Cities ranked by purchasing power — where real estate sales agentss 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	District of ColumbiaState	2.05	$123,770	$108,285	20%
2	New JerseyState	1.74	$99,990	$91,903	22%
3	New YorkState	1.73	$102,990	$91,547	22%
4	AlaskaState	1.62	$89,170	$85,494	18%
5	New MexicoState	1.57	$76,170	$82,793	17%
6	MontanaState	1.55	$79,100	$82,054	17%
7	NevadaState	1.51	$79,990	$79,830	22%
8	North DakotaState	1.51	$73,920	$79,827	16%
9	San Jose-Sunnyvale-Santa Clara, CAMetro	1.51	$96,170	$80,008	39%
10	WashingtonState	1.40	$79,130	$73,747	29%
11	South DakotaState	1.36	$65,170	$71,773	18%
12	West VirginiaState	1.33	$59,050	$70,131	17%
13	AlabamaState	1.32	$60,890	$69,908	19%
14	Seattle-Tacoma-Bellevue, WAMetro	1.32	$79,990	$69,983	33%
15	Washington-Arlington-Alexandria, DC-VA-MD-WVMetro	1.31	$78,160	$69,291	31%
16	Charlotte-Concord-Gastonia, NC-SCMetro	1.26	$63,930	$66,733	28%
17	KentuckyState	1.25	$58,610	$66,226	20%
18	MichiganState	1.19	$57,880	$62,709	23%
19	WisconsinState	1.19	$58,120	$62,969	22%
20	Detroit-Warren-Dearborn, MIMetro	1.18	$57,090	$62,599	26%
21	VirginiaState	1.17	$63,980	$61,816	30%
22	South CarolinaState	1.16	$56,580	$61,500	27%
23	IllinoisState	1.15	$59,220	$60,801	27%
24	Portland-Vancouver-Hillsboro, OR-WAMetro	1.15	$65,380	$60,649	33%
25	ColoradoState	1.14	$63,670	$60,408	35%
26	Rhode IslandState	1.14	$60,310	$60,010	30%
27	OregonState	1.13	$61,610	$59,816	31%
28	Pittsburgh, PAMetro	1.13	$55,190	$59,665	26%
29	ArizonaState	1.10	$58,780	$58,256	31%
30	PennsylvaniaState	1.09	$56,040	$57,773	28%
31	MaineState	1.08	$56,930	$57,044	27%
32	New HampshireState	1.03	$57,620	$54,358	33%
33	North CarolinaState	1.03	$51,240	$54,280	30%
34	OklahomaState	1.03	$47,980	$54,215	24%
35	Nashville-Davidson--Murfreesboro--Franklin, TNMetro	1.03	$52,250	$54,314	36%
36	WyomingState	1.02	$49,990	$53,753	24%
37	Philadelphia-Camden-Wilmington, PA-NJ-DE-MDMetro	1.00	$54,710	$52,860	35%
38	San Antonio-New Braunfels, TXMetro	0.99	$48,350	$52,554	32%
39	CaliforniaState	0.98	$57,560	$51,996	47%
40	IndianaState	0.98	$46,880	$51,801	27%
41	NebraskaState	0.98	$47,240	$51,628	27%
42	OhioState	0.97	$46,240	$51,150	27%
43	LouisianaState	0.96	$45,850	$50,888	27%
44	TennesseeState	0.96	$46,250	$50,546	33%
45	UtahState	0.96	$50,720	$50,619	35%
46	GeorgiaState	0.95	$46,730	$50,032	36%
47	MissouriState	0.94	$43,960	$49,616	28%
48	Tampa-St. Petersburg-Clearwater, FLMetro	0.93	$48,540	$49,279	43%
49	FloridaState	0.92	$49,310	$48,581	42%
50	Baltimore-Columbia-Towson, MDMetro	0.92	$51,390	$48,573	39%
51	MarylandState	0.91	$52,630	$48,196	38%
52	TexasState	0.91	$45,740	$47,845	36%
53	Atlanta-Sandy Springs-Roswell, GAMetro	0.91	$46,730	$48,275	41%
54	Kansas City, MO-KSMetro	0.91	$44,780	$48,254	34%
55	MinnesotaState	0.90	$46,410	$47,357	33%
56	DelawareState	0.88	$47,180	$46,713	34%
57	MississippiState	0.88	$39,550	$46,639	27%
58	Minneapolis-St. Paul-Bloomington, MN-WIMetro	0.88	$46,410	$46,643	38%
59	Dallas-Fort Worth-Arlington, TXMetro	0.87	$44,580	$45,864	43%
60	Columbus, OHMetro	0.85	$41,970	$44,888	37%
61	ArkansasState	0.84	$38,180	$44,241	28%
62	KansasState	0.84	$39,770	$44,189	31%
63	ConnecticutState	0.82	$46,770	$43,467	40%
64	Miami-Fort Lauderdale-West Palm Beach, FLMetro	0.82	$47,080	$43,392	52%
65	HawaiiState	0.80	$46,220	$42,018	62%
66	IdahoState	0.78	$39,820	$41,264	36%
67	Los Angeles-Long Beach-Anaheim, CAMetro	0.76	$47,020	$40,361	58%

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