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Real Estate Sales Agents salary in Madison, WI

Median pay for real estate sales agents in Madison, WI: $54,750/yr

Typical range (10th–90th percentile): $30,890 – $98,380 · about 850 employed locally

Above the typical metro median ($50,020) by +$4,730 (+9%).

What it's really worth in Madison

With Madison's cost of living at 96 (US=100), that $54,750 has the buying power of about $57,070 in an average-cost US metro.

Local context: median household income $82,996 · median home $452,769 · median rent $1,683/mo.

Full Madison cost of living & taxes →

How Madison ranks for this job

On raw pay, Madison, WI is 68th of the 167 metros we hold real estate sales agents wages for. Once Madison's cost of living is applied, it ranks 54th.

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

What that salary buys in Madison

A median home in Madison, WI costs $452,769 — about 8.3× 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 $1,683/mo works out at 37% 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 Madison.

MetroMedian payvs MadisonRent vs Madison
New York, NY $103,960 +90% 2.1×
Buffalo, NY $83,670 +53% 0.9×
Rochester, NY $83,200 +52% 0.9×
Seattle, WA $80,950 +48% 1.3×

Same job elsewhere in WI

MetroMedian payvs MadisonRent vs Madison
Appleton, WI $50,630 −8% 0.7×
Green Bay, WI $48,350 −12% 0.7×
Milwaukee, WI $46,590 −15% 0.9×

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

Who hires real estate sales agents around Madison

Large local employers in sectors that typically employ this role.

Other jobs in Madison

Source: US BLS OEWS (May 2023) median annual wage; cost of living from BEA; home price and rent from Zillow; household income from US Census ACS. Rankings are across the 167 metros we hold wage data for in this occupation. Estimates for guidance only. See methodology.