How much do real estate agents make in California, or elsewhere? If you’re a homeowner who just sold a home, you may be trying to calculate the answer to that exact question. Or, maybe you’re a new Realtor just getting in the business and trying to pen out what to expect your first year.
Either way, it’s hard to pin down an exact answer because there’s such a vast discrepancy in annual income between the casual, part-time agent that sells a few houses compared to the mega top-producer. Of course, the state we live in makes a huge difference as well, as homes in high-cost states (like California) yield larger commission checks than other states. But within those states, there may be areas where real estate commissions are much lower (like Sacramento) than cities with astronomical prices (San Francisco, San Jose, etc.).
So, we drew from a variety of sources across the industry to bring you this data on real estate agent income.
In California, the average real estate agent now earns ,893 per year. Typically, on the low end of the spectrum, active agents bring home at least ,0008, while top-producers average 8,057.
It’s interesting to note that these numbers reflect a variety of factors, like education levels, the number of years the real estate pro has been in the industry, the size of their brokerage, and, most importantly, where they live and sell real estate.
If we exclude the top three most expensive cities for real estate prices in California (San Francisco, San Jose, and the LA-San Diego metro area), the California average Realtor income is ,386.
That’s still at least 10% higher than income levels for comparable agents across the U.S.
In fact, the national median income for a full-time real estate agent is ,000.
However, the median annual salary for agents that work 60 hours a week or more is ,000 nationally.
About 21% of Realtors and real estate agents across the country – or just over one in five – earn 0,000 or more a year, the six-figure-sales club!
In fact, estimates are that 67% of all real estate agents (two-thirds) work full-time, while 33% sell as a second job, only periodically, or “on the side” to family, friends, and coworkers.
In California, real estate agents earn more than 69% of similar careers and professions (about the same amount as Insurance Appraisers and Energy Brokers.)
According to recent surveys, these are the average Realtor salaries in certain California cities:
San Diego, CA ,902
Los Angeles, CA ,315
Sacramento, CA ,887
Riverside, CA ,707
Long Beach, CA ,010
In fact, the top-producing California agents (with a mean of 8,057) earn an average hourly wage of .76.
At the California median (,893) they earn around per hour, and first-year or part-time Realtors who earn ,000 a year only bring home .06 per hour!
While most of this data points to a sizable paycheck for most Realtors (except on the low end of the averages!), remember that real estate agents are almost always independent contractors that don’t earn a steady salary, but only commissions when they close a deal. They also have a slew of out-of-pocket expenses and fees.
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Look for our blog coming soon where we break down how Realtors and real estate agents get paid, when they get paid, and the long list of those fees, charges, and expenses that come out of their pockets.