Real Estate Sales Agents salary in Columbia, SC

Median pay for real estate sales agents in Columbia, SC: $47,990/yr

Typical range (10th–90th percentile): $33,160 – $84,990 · about 610 employed locally

Below the typical metro median ($50,020) by −$2,030 (-4%).

What it's really worth in Columbia

With Columbia's cost of living at 93 (US=100), that $47,990 has the buying power of about $51,479 in an average-cost US metro.

Local context: median household income $63,471 · median home $256,154 · median rent $1,537/mo.

Full Columbia cost of living & taxes →

How Columbia ranks for this job

On raw pay, Columbia, SC is 97th of the 167 metros we hold real estate sales agents wages for. Once Columbia's cost of living is applied, it ranks 92nd.

Pay and living costs are roughly in step here, so Columbia sits in much the same place whether you look at raw salary or spending power.

What that salary buys in Columbia

A median home in Columbia, SC costs $256,154 — about 5.3× this salary, against a typical US metro figure of 4.7×. Buying is harder here than in the average metro on this income.

Median rent of $1,537/mo works out at 38% of gross pay — above the conventional 30% affordability ceiling, so renting would stretch this salary.

Where real estate sales agents earn more

Pay on its own is only half the picture, so each row shows what rent costs there relative to Columbia.

Metro	Median pay	vs Columbia	Rent vs Columbia
New York, NY	$103,960	+117%	2.3×
Buffalo, NY	$83,670	+74%	0.9×
Rochester, NY	$83,200	+73%	1×
Seattle, WA	$80,950	+69%	1.5×

Same job elsewhere in SC

Metro	Median pay	vs Columbia	Rent vs Columbia
Myrtle Beach, SC	$49,500	+3%	1.1×
Spartanburg, SC	$48,550	+1%	1×

Staying in SC keeps state income tax and licensing the same, which makes these the most directly comparable moves.

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