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Real Estate Sales Agents salary in San Jose, CA

Median pay for real estate sales agents in San Jose, CA: $65,370/yr

Typical range (10th–90th percentile): $41,460 – $123,600 · about 1,440 employed locally

Above the typical metro median ($50,020) by +$15,350 (+31%).

What it's really worth in San Jose

With San Jose's cost of living at 113 (US=100), that $65,370 has the buying power of about $57,819 in an average-cost US metro.

Local context: median household income $151,713 · median home $1,610,466 · median rent $3,625/mo.

Full San Jose cost of living & taxes →

How San Jose ranks for this job

On raw pay, San Jose, CA is 22nd of the 167 metros we hold real estate sales agents wages for. Once San Jose's cost of living is applied, it ranks 51st.

The headline number flatters San Jose. Once housing and everyday costs are taken into account, real estate sales agents here keep less of what they earn than the raw salary implies.

What that salary buys in San Jose

A median home in San Jose, CA costs $1,610,466 — about 24.6× 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 $3,625/mo works out at 67% 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 San Jose.

MetroMedian payvs San JoseRent vs San Jose
New York, NY $103,960 +59%
Buffalo, NY $83,670 +28% 0.4×
Rochester, NY $83,200 +27% 0.4×
Seattle, WA $80,950 +24% 0.6×

Same job elsewhere in CA

MetroMedian payvs San JoseRent vs San Jose
Oxnard, CA $79,720 +22% 0.8×
San Diego, CA $72,550 +11% 0.8×
San Francisco, CA $65,190 +0% 0.9×
Stockton, CA $62,970 −4% 0.7×

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

Other jobs in San Jose

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.