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If you've ever looked for a new house, you've probably used one of these before. A real estate agent is there to help you buy, sell or rent a property. A typical real estate agent is self-employed and works irregular hours.

How irregular depends on the person though. Many are able to set their own schedules. And as long as you're licensed you're good to go.

There is more than meets the eye when it comes to being a real estate agent. For example, did you know that they make an average of $44.78 an hour? That's $93,146 a year!

Between 2018 and 2028, the career is expected to grow 7% and produce 32,400 job opportunities across the U.S.

What Does a Real Estate Agent Do

There are certain skills that many real estate agents have in order to accomplish their responsibilities. By taking a look through resumes, we were able to narrow down the most common skills for a person in this position. We discovered that a lot of resumes listed business skills, interpersonal skills and problem-solving skills.

Learn more about what a Real Estate Agent does

How To Become a Real Estate Agent

If you're interested in becoming a real estate agent, one of the first things to consider is how much education you need. We've determined that 59.4% of real estate agents have a bachelor's degree. In terms of higher education levels, we found that 7.4% of real estate agents have master's degrees. Even though most real estate agents have a college degree, it's possible to become one with only a high school degree or GED.

Choosing the right major is always an important step when researching how to become a real estate agent. When we researched the most common majors for a real estate agent, we found that they most commonly earn bachelor's degree degrees or associate degree degrees. Other degrees that we often see on real estate agent resumes include master's degree degrees or high school diploma degrees.

You may find that experience in other jobs will help you become a real estate agent. In fact, many real estate agent jobs require experience in a role such as administrative assistant. Meanwhile, many real estate agents also have previous career experience in roles such as sales associate or customer service representative.

Real Estate Agent Career Paths

Average Salary for a Real Estate Agent

Real Estate Agents in America make an average salary of $93,146 per year or $45 per hour. The top 10 percent makes over $126,000 per year, while the bottom 10 percent under $68,000 per year.
Average Real Estate Agent Salary
$93,146 Yearly
$44.78 hourly
$68,000
10 %
$93,000
Median
$126,000
90 %

What Am I Worth?

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Real Estate Agent Education

Real Estate Agent Majors

30.2 %

Real Estate Agent Degrees

Bachelors

59.4 %

Associate

19.9 %

Masters

7.4 %

Top Skills For a Real Estate Agent

The skills section on your resume can be almost as important as the experience section, so you want it to be an accurate portrayal of what you can do. Luckily, we've found all of the skills you'll need so even if you don't have these skills yet, you know what you need to work on. Out of all the resumes we looked through, 37.6% of real estate agents listed real estate on their resume, but soft skills such as business skills and interpersonal skills are important as well.

Choose From 10+ Customizable Real Estate Agent Resume templates

Zippia allows you to choose from different easy-to-use Real Estate Agent templates, and provides you with expert advice. Using the templates, you can rest assured that the structure and format of your Real Estate Agent resume is top notch. Choose a template with the colors, fonts & text sizes that are appropriate for your industry.

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Real Estate Agent Demographics

Real Estate Agent Gender Distribution

Female
Female
57%
Male
Male
43%

After extensive research and analysis, Zippia's data science team found that:

  • Among real estate agents, 56.6% of them are women, while 43.4% are men.

  • The most common race/ethnicity among real estate agents is White, which makes up 75.2% of all real estate agents.

  • The most common foreign language among real estate agents is Spanish at 57.2%.

Online Courses For Real Estate Agent That You May Like

Advertising Disclosure  The courses listed below are affiliate links. This means if you click on the link and purchase the course, we may receive a commission.
Property Management 101
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Learn the basics of managing rental property and becoming a landlord...

Fundamentals of Residential Property Management
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Understand the foundation of residential property management as a property manager or landlord...

Real Estate Asset Management 101
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Real Estate Asset Management Training From Acquisition, To Ownership, Through Sale For Profitable Real Estate Investing...

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Best States For a Real Estate Agent

Some places are better than others when it comes to starting a career as a real estate agent. The best states for people in this position are Massachusetts, Vermont, New York, and West Virginia. Real estate agents make the most in Massachusetts with an average salary of $114,953. Whereas in Vermont and New York, they would average $114,469 and $114,452, respectively. While real estate agents would only make an average of $111,808 in West Virginia, you would still make more there than in the rest of the country. We determined these as the best states based on job availability and pay. By finding the median salary, cost of living, and using the Bureau of Labor Statistics' Location Quotient, we narrowed down our list of states to these four.

1. Vermont

Total Real Estate Agent Jobs:
103
Highest 10% Earn:
$130,000
Location Quotient:
1.22 Location Quotient is a measure used by the Bureau of Labor Statistics (BLS) to determine how concentrated a certain industry is in a single state compared to the nation as a whole. You can read more about how BLS calculates location quotients here

2. Massachusetts

Total Real Estate Agent Jobs:
1,173
Highest 10% Earn:
$132,000
Location Quotient:
1.16 Location Quotient is a measure used by the Bureau of Labor Statistics (BLS) to determine how concentrated a certain industry is in a single state compared to the nation as a whole. You can read more about how BLS calculates location quotients here

3. Montana

Total Real Estate Agent Jobs:
157
Highest 10% Earn:
$132,000
Location Quotient:
1.24 Location Quotient is a measure used by the Bureau of Labor Statistics (BLS) to determine how concentrated a certain industry is in a single state compared to the nation as a whole. You can read more about how BLS calculates location quotients here
Full List Of Best States For Real Estate Agents

How Do Real Estate Agent Rate Their Jobs?

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4.0

I didn't do well in school so I had to learn how much hustle • October 2019

4.0

Zippia Official LogoI didn't do well in school so I had to learn how much hustle • October 2019

What do you like the most about working as Real Estate Agent?

Flexibility and potential for making great money. Show More

What do you NOT like?

Not knowing where my next paycheck is coming from. Being unemployed in between clients. Show More

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Top Real Estate Agent Employers

Most Common Employers For Real Estate Agent

Rank  Company  Average Salary  Hourly Rate  Job Openings  
1Citi$117,291$56.39139
2Berkshire Hathaway$106,139$51.03207
3William Raveis$101,726$48.9187
4Edina Realty$101,648$48.87101
5Century Homebuilders$101,505$48.8092
6NextHome$101,491$48.79134
7Real Estate One, Inc.$101,438$48.7789
8Crye-Leike$101,387$48.74319
9Keller Williams Realty$101,078$48.602,483
10Weichert$101,056$48.58614

Becoming a Real Estate Agent FAQs

Do real estate agents make good money?

Yes, real estate agents make good money. Real estate agents earn an average salary of around $60,000 per year. Higher paying jobs for realtors may result in earnings over $100,000 per year. Conversely, real estate agents can make less than $30,000 per year, depending on location, leads, and sales skills.

How do I get started as a real estate agent?

To get started as a real estate agent, you'll need to obtain a real estate license. The process of obtaining this license can involve different requirements depending on the state. Your first step should be to research the licensing process for your state.

How long does it take to become a real estate agent?

It can take as few as four months to become a real estate agent. The process of obtaining and activating a real estate license typically takes between four and six months. This can depend on the requirements of the state in which you intend to practice.

Is there a difference between a realtor and a real estate agent?

The main difference between a realtor and a real estate agent is the fact that realtors belong to an organization called the NAR. Although their responsibilities are very similar, there are a few key differences between realtors and real estate agents.

Loan Officer vs. Real Estate Agent

A loan officer is a financial professional who helps people and businesses during the loan application process, while a real estate agent is responsible for helping people buy or sell homes or property.

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