2017’s Best Places to Be a Real-Estate Agent

“Location, location, location” might be the most hackneyed expression in the real-estate profession, but the principle applies just as much to realtors as it does to their clients. After all, success in the industry hinges on both an agent’s work ethic and area of operation.

Indeed, a career in real estate offers abundant perks. You can be your own boss, determine your own schedule, earn a potentially high income, and be ready to help your clients buy, rent or sell properties in just a few weeks or months, depending on your state’s licensing requirements. With time and experience, you could even build your own real-estate brokerage and hire your own agents.

But the job isn’t always a bowl of cherries, especially at the onset, as most established agents are inclined to admit. It requires real commitment, work outside normal business hours, a likeable personality and financial stability — in case of a tough season.

To determine the best markets for this particular profession, WalletHub’s analysts compared 150 of the largest U.S. cities across 14 key indicators of a healthy real-estate environment. Our data set ranges from “sales per agent” to “annual median wage for real-estate agents” to “housing-market health index.” Read on for our findings, advice and insight from experts, and a full description of our methodology.

The real-estate market is often unpredictable. For advice and insight on the current and future conditions shaping the industry, we turned to a panel of experts for their thoughts on the following key questions:

Should real-estate agents feel threatened by new apps and other online tools offering services to potential homebuyers?
How can real-estate agents protect themselves from the “boom-bust” cycle of the housing market?
What tips do you have for a young real-estate agent? What does he or she need to do in order to get ahead in the current marketplace?
In evaluating the best cities for real estate agents, what are the top five indicators?
How likely is it that the Federal Reserve would increase interest rates again in the coming months? How would that impact real-estate agents?

In order to determine the best cities for real-estate agents, WalletHub’s analysts compared 150 of the most populated U.S. cities across two key dimensions, including “Job Opportunity & Competition” and “Real-Estate Market Health.” Our sample considers only city proper in each case and excludes cities in the surrounding metro area.

We evaluated the two dimensions using 14 relevant metrics, which are listed below with their corresponding weights. Each metric was graded on a 100-point scale, with 100 representing the most favorable conditions for real-estate agents. Data for the metrics marked with an asterisk (*) were available at the state level only.

We then calculated the overall score for each city based on its weighted average across all metrics and used the resulting scores to rank the cities accordingly.

Overall Rank	City	Total Score	‘Job Opportunity & Competition’ Rank	‘Real-Estate Market Health’ Rank
1	Honolulu, HI	60.76	1	47
2	Seattle, WA	60.57	5	2
3	Denver, CO	58.30	8	4
4	Boston, MA	55.20	4	23
5	Aurora, CO	54.04	12	12
6	Madison, WI	52.75	16	16
7	Reno, NV	52.70	14	27
8	San Francisco, CA	51.84	11	42
9	Irvine, CA	51.82	32	9
10	Austin, TX	51.78	10	38
11	Colorado Springs, CO	51.64	23	15
12	Portland, OR	51.43	22	18
13	Henderson, NV	50.82	50	8
14	Lincoln, NE	50.77	29	13
15	Santa Rosa, CA	50.46	6	73
16	Spokane, WA	50.44	7	70
17	Nashville, TN	49.76	88	3
18	Vancouver, WA	49.24	54	14
19	Washington, DC	48.89	37	26
20	New York, NY	48.21	2	119
21	Bakersfield, CA	47.85	13	79
22	Grand Rapids, MI	47.78	28	50
23	Tacoma, WA	47.73	52	28
24	Las Vegas, NV	47.60	53	35
25	San Jose, CA	47.42	21	66
26	North Las Vegas, NV	47.36	55	32
27	Port St. Lucie, FL	47.33	68	20
28	Rancho Cucamonga, CA	47.29	18	75
29	Lexington-Fayette, KY	47.16	40	43
30	Glendale, CA	46.91	48	45
31	Plano, TX	46.69	79	19
32	Tampa, FL	46.53	117	6
33	Durham, NC	46.50	64	39
34	Gilbert, AZ	46.09	112	10
35	St. Petersburg, FL	45.97	120	7
36	Memphis, TN	45.84	147	1
37	Riverside, CA	45.82	30	71
38	Ontario, CA	45.79	38	63
39	San Diego, CA	45.78	51	51
40	Orlando, FL	45.62	118	11
41	Sioux Falls, SD	45.61	24	91
42	Irving, TX	45.29	81	24
43	Atlanta, GA	45.14	140	5
44	Fremont, CA	45.11	27	90
45	Amarillo, TX	44.99	19	112
46	Dallas, TX	44.75	92	30
47	Boise, ID	44.69	73	31
48	Chandler, AZ	44.67	116	22
49	Grand Prairie, TX	44.65	90	33
50	Tempe, AZ	44.51	110	25
51	Los Angeles, CA	44.38	77	49
52	Huntington Beach, CA	44.37	46	77
53	Oakland, CA	44.33	63	58
54	Virginia Beach, VA	44.29	41	86
55	Peoria, AZ	44.20	122	21
56	Huntsville, AL	43.90	66	60
57	Mesa, AZ	43.82	132	17
58	Fontana, CA	43.82	44	87
59	Fort Worth, TX	43.80	106	36
60	Santa Clarita, CA	43.58	95	48
61	Stockton, CA	43.58	67	65
62	Rochester, NY	43.54	26	106
63	Salt Lake City, UT	43.52	65	46
64	Chattanooga, TN	43.47	35	96
65	Moreno Valley, CA	43.40	33	93
66	Worcester, MA	43.34	15	116
67	Raleigh, NC	43.30	105	44
68	Charlotte, NC	43.23	74	53
69	Oceanside, CA	43.15	72	61
70	Overland Park, KS	43.15	61	72
71	Chesapeake, VA	43.10	59	80
72	Tallahassee, FL	43.01	42	94
73	Anaheim, CA	43.01	91	54
74	Fort Wayne, IN	42.92	25	145
75	Oxnard, CA	42.86	20	110
76	Phoenix, AZ	42.73	126	34
77	Pembroke Pines, FL	42.69	94	52
78	Arlington, TX	42.68	83	62
79	Columbus, OH	42.66	98	55
80	Buffalo, NY	42.65	17	127
81	San Bernardino, CA	42.58	69	76
82	Yonkers, NY	42.52	3	143
83	Scottsdale, AZ	42.50	78	68
84	Pittsburgh, PA	42.47	43	98
85	Lubbock, TX	42.44	57	59
86	Jersey City, NJ	42.18	31	107
87	Sacramento, CA	41.95	135	37
88	Knoxville, TN	41.79	49	102
89	Glendale, AZ	41.73	133	41
90	Long Beach, CA	41.64	102	67
91	Corpus Christi, TX	41.52	39	144
92	Minneapolis, MN	41.36	82	81
93	Indianapolis, IN	41.36	9	149
94	Garden Grove, CA	41.19	104	74
95	El Paso, TX	41.17	33	131
96	Mobile, AL	40.98	62	97
97	Cape Coral, FL	40.72	143	29
98	Modesto, CA	40.60	125	57
99	Fresno, CA	40.51	121	64
100	Santa Ana, CA	40.48	100	88
101	Garland, TX	40.46	108	78
102	St. Paul, MN	40.46	96	85
103	St. Louis, MO	40.18	112	83
104	Norfolk, VA	40.11	84	95
105	Chula Vista, CA	40.06	103	89
106	Tulsa, OK	40.04	36	118
107	Birmingham, AL	39.76	127	69
108	Newport News, VA	39.61	60	111
109	Miami, FL	39.43	97	92
110	Albuquerque, NM	39.26	99	82
111	Hialeah, FL	38.98	119	84
112	Montgomery, AL	38.96	45	133
113	Laredo, TX	38.67	93	101
114	Jacksonville, FL	38.22	145	56
115	Augusta, GA	38.17	58	122
116	Winston-Salem, NC	38.03	56	121
117	Tucson, AZ	37.90	124	99
118	Little Rock, AR	37.36	89	115
119	Akron, OH	37.35	114	104
120	Houston, TX	37.33	70	137
121	Richmond, VA	37.26	123	100
122	Louisville, KY	37.24	47	141
123	Fort Lauderdale, FL	36.97	71	124
124	Newark, NJ	36.83	86	123
125	Oklahoma City, OK	36.81	80	128
126	Kansas City, MO	36.52	111	114
127	Anchorage, AK	35.83	75	142
128	Chicago, IL	35.70	107	120
129	Baton Rouge, LA	35.30	85	132
130	Wichita, KS	35.21	150	40
131	Aurora, IL	34.68	109	126
132	Brownsville, TX	34.65	138	103
133	Philadelphia, PA	34.60	139	113
134	Cincinnati, OH	34.50	134	117
135	Omaha, NE	34.38	87	138
136	Baltimore, MD	33.72	144	108
137	Providence, RI	33.65	115	130
138	Des Moines, IA	33.59	142	105
139	Greensboro, NC	33.32	136	125
140	San Antonio, TX	32.93	76	148
141	Toledo, OH	32.31	130	134
142	Cleveland, OH	32.09	149	109
143	Columbus, GA	31.43	129	139
144	Milwaukee, WI	31.08	137	135
145	Detroit, MI	30.58	146	129
146	New Orleans, LA	29.52	141	140
147	Springfield, MO	28.91	148	136
148	Fayetteville, NC	28.85	101	147
149	Shreveport, LA	28.82	131	146
150	Jackson, MS	26.78	128	150

Job Opportunity & Competition – Total Points: 60

Sales per Agent: Full Weight (~7.50 Points)
Median Home Price: Full Weight (~7.50 Points)
Note: Real-estate agents are typically paid a commission based on the value of the home sold.
Annual Median Wage for Real-Estate Agents: Full Weight (~7.50 Points)
Real-Estate Employment Attractiveness: Full Weight (~7.50 Points)
Note: This metric measures both real-estate job density (number of real-estate agents per working-age population) and competition (number of real-estate job openings per résumé).
Real-Estate Employment Growth (2013–2015): Full Weight (~7.50 Points)
Annual Median Wage Growth for Real-Estate Jobs (2013–2015): Full Weight (~7.50 Points)
Unemployment Rate: Full Weight (~7.50 Points)
Projected Number of Real-Estate Jobs Needed by 2020 per Capita*: Full Weight (~7.50 Points)

Real-Estate Market Health – Total Points: 40

Home Turnover Rate: Full Weight (~6.67 Points)
Housing-Market Health Index: Full Weight (~6.67 Points)
Days on Market: Full Weight (~6.67 Points)
Average Ratio of Home Sale Price to Home List Price: Full Weight (~6.67 Points)
Building-Permit Activity: Full Weight (~6.67 Points)
Note: This metric measures the number of unit permits pulled per capita.
Percentage of Home Flips: Full Weight (~6.67 Points)
Note: RealtyTrac defines a home flip as “a property that is sold in an arms-length sale for the second time within a 12-month period based on publicly recorded sales deed data.”

Sources: Data used to create this ranking were collected from the U.S. Census Bureau, Bureau of Labor Statistics, Zillow, Indeed, Projections Central – State Occupational Projections and ATTOM Data Solutions (RealtyTrac).