How much does a Real Estate Agent make in District of Columbia?

BLS reports a median annual wage of $43,720 for Real Estate Agents in District of Columbia as of the latest OES release. That is the 50th-percentile figure — half earn more, half earn less. The 25th-percentile is $39,810 and the 75th-percentile is $96,410.

How are District of Columbia Real Estate Agent salaries calculated on this page?

Nominal wages come from BLS Occupational Employment and Wage Statistics (OES) — annual employer surveys, May 2026 reference period. Real-wage figures use BEA Regional Price Parities (2023 vintage) to adjust for state-level cost of living. No self-report or jobs-board data is mixed in.

How many Real Estate Agents does District of Columbia employ?

BLS OES counts 450 Real Estate Agents employed in District of Columbia in the most recent release. Employment density relative to population determines whether wage tiers reflect a robust competitive market or a thinner labor pool.

Why is the BEA RPP for District of Columbia different from a single CPI number?

BEA splits regional price parity into three components — goods, services, and rents — reweighted to the BEA's national consumption basket. District of Columbia's overall index of 110.7 reflects rents 168.1, services 109.0, and goods 106.5.

Where does District of Columbia rank for Real Estate Agent pay?

On nominal BLS wages alone, District of Columbia ranks among the 51 states and DC by median pay. After the BEA cost-of-living adjustment the ordering changes — high-cost states fall, low-cost states rise. Both rankings are shown in the data table on this page.

What are the limits of these Real Estate Agent salary numbers?

BLS OES is an employer survey of W-2 wages — it excludes contractor pay, bonuses outside the base wage definition, equity compensation, and tip income. Self-employed practitioners and gig workers are not represented. For occupations with significant non-W-2 income, the BLS figure is a floor, not a complete picture.

When does this data update?

BLS OES releases a new May reference set roughly each spring; we re-run the ETL pipeline within two weeks of release. BEA RPP refreshes annually. The last-synced timestamp at the top of this page reflects the most recent build.

District of Columbia Real Estate Agent Salary: BLS $44K Median, Real $39K (2026)

TL;DR

Real Estate Agents in District of Columbia earn a BLS median of $43,720, with real take-home of $39,489 after BEA RPP adjustment.
Wage envelope: $36,310 (P10) to $130,240 (P90), with quartiles at $39,810 and $96,410.
BEA RPP 110.7 drains roughly $4,231 of purchasing power from the BLS median, the gap routes mostly into housing.
Real Estate Agent ranking: #42 on the BLS table, #49 once cost of living is in.

Wage breakdown — District of Columbia

Percentile	Nominal (BLS)	Real (BEA RPP-adjusted)
P10 (entry tier)	$36,310	$32,797
P25 (lower quartile)	$39,810	$35,958
P50 (median)	$43,720	$39,489
P75 (upper quartile)	$96,410	$87,081
P90 (top tier)	$130,240	$117,637
Mean	$70,420	$63,606
Employment	450 Real Estate Agents in District of Columbia

Cost of living — BEA Regional Price Parity

Component	District of Columbia index (US = 100)
All-items RPP	110.7
Goods	106.5
Services	109.0
Rents	168.1

District of Columbia is a high-cost state — RPP 110.7 above the national 100 baseline. Most of the cost premium routes through rents (168.1) and services (109.0).

After-tax take-home — District of Columbia (2024 BLS · 2024 tax year, single filer)

Layer-by-layer take-home math at the BLS median

Layer	Amount	Note
Gross BLS P50 (Real Estate Agent)	$43,720	nominal median
Federal income tax	−$3,108	7.1% effective; std deduction $15,750 applied
State income tax	−$1,547	4–10.75% (graduated)
FICA (SS 6.2% + Medicare 1.45%)	−$3,345	SS capped at $183,600 wage base
Take-home (after-tax)	$35,720	81.7% of gross
Real take-home (RPP-adjusted)	$32,263	÷ (110.7 / 100) BEA cost-of-living

What the District of Columbia state-tax burden means for Real Estate Agent take-home

Mid-band state-tax burden at 3.5% effective. Combined with federal and FICA, take-home is $35,720 (81.7% of gross). After the 110.7 RPP, real take-home is $32,263.

Computed from 2026 IRS federal brackets (Rev. Proc. 2025-32), 2026 state DOR brackets, and 2026 FICA rates. Single filer, standard deduction, no other adjustments. See methodology · tax for limitations (married filers, ITM/SALT itemizers, retirement deferrals, HSA, dependent credits, etc.).

National context

Across the United States, BLS reports a national median of $56,320 for Real Estate Agents with mean pay of $70,970 and total employment of 190,600. District of Columbia sits at #42 on nominal pay and #49 on real (cost-adjusted) pay among the 51 states and DC. After cost adjustment, District of Columbia falls 7 positions — the cost premium eats into the headline wage.

Frequently asked questions

How much does a Real Estate Agent make in District of Columbia?: BLS reports a median annual wage of $43,720 for Real Estate Agents in District of Columbia as of the latest OES release. That is the 50th-percentile figure — half earn more, half earn less. The 25th-percentile is $39,810 and the 75th-percentile is $96,410.
How are District of Columbia Real Estate Agent salaries calculated on this page?: Nominal wages come from BLS Occupational Employment and Wage Statistics (OES) — annual employer surveys, May 2026 reference period. Real-wage figures use BEA Regional Price Parities (2023 vintage) to adjust for state-level cost of living. No self-report or jobs-board data is mixed in.
How many Real Estate Agents does District of Columbia employ?: BLS OES counts 450 Real Estate Agents employed in District of Columbia in the most recent release. Employment density relative to population determines whether wage tiers reflect a robust competitive market or a thinner labor pool.
Why is the BEA RPP for District of Columbia different from a single CPI number?: BEA splits regional price parity into three components — goods, services, and rents — reweighted to the BEA's national consumption basket. District of Columbia's overall index of 110.7 reflects rents 168.1, services 109.0, and goods 106.5.
Where does District of Columbia rank for Real Estate Agent pay?: On nominal BLS wages alone, District of Columbia ranks among the 51 states and DC by median pay. After the BEA cost-of-living adjustment the ordering changes — high-cost states fall, low-cost states rise. Both rankings are shown in the data table on this page.
What are the limits of these Real Estate Agent salary numbers?: BLS OES is an employer survey of W-2 wages — it excludes contractor pay, bonuses outside the base wage definition, equity compensation, and tip income. Self-employed practitioners and gig workers are not represented. For occupations with significant non-W-2 income, the BLS figure is a floor, not a complete picture.
When does this data update?: BLS OES releases a new May reference set roughly each spring; we re-run the ETL pipeline within two weeks of release. BEA RPP refreshes annually. The last-synced timestamp at the top of this page reflects the most recent build.

Sources & methodology

U.S. Bureau of Labor Statistics — Occupational Employment and Wage Statistics (OES), SOC 41-9022, 2024 reference period.
U.S. Bureau of Economic Analysis — Regional Price Parities, 2023 vintage (all-items, goods, services, rents).
Real-wage figures = nominal BLS wage ÷ (state RPP / 100).
See the methodology page for full computation details and limitations.

By Marcus Liang · Founder & Editor · Last synced 2026-05-08.

Cross-comparison: see how District of Columbia Real Estate Agent pay ranks against the other 254 state × occupation pages on the Real Wage Atlas → — four-way ranking by real wage, after-tax take-home, state-tax savings, and cost-of-living arbitrage.