How much does a Real Estate Agent make in New Jersey?

BLS reports a median annual wage of $66,680 for Real Estate Agents in New Jersey as of the latest OES release. That is the 50th-percentile figure — half earn more, half earn less. The 25th-percentile is $49,230 and the 75th-percentile is $101,000.

How are New Jersey 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.

What does the top of the Real Estate Agent pay scale look like in New Jersey?

The 90th percentile lands at $133,730. That tier typically reflects senior roles, specialty certifications, high-cost-of-living metros within the state, or union-negotiated rate cards. Below that, the P75 quartile is $101,000.

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.

Should I negotiate based on the BLS median for New Jersey?

The BLS median is a calibration anchor, not a ceiling. Use it to validate that an offer is in-band — anything well below the P25 in this state is a flag, anything above the P75 typically requires demonstrable specialty depth, niche credentials, or a high-COL metro within New Jersey.

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.

Is the New Jersey real estate market shift (post-2024 NAR commission settlement) affecting agent pay?

The 2024 NAR settlement on buyer-broker commission disclosure has compressed effective commissions in New Jersey markets where buyers now negotiate buy-side fees explicitly. Anecdotal early data shows 0.25-0.75 percentage points of buy-side commission compression in New Jersey's competitive metros. Combined with cyclically suppressed transaction volume in 2024-2025 high-rate environment, gross commission income for the median New Jersey agent has declined roughly 15-30% from the 2021-2022 peak. The BLS figure on this page reflects the most recent OEWS release date noted on the page; current-year realized earnings are likely below it for the typical commission-only agent.

New Jersey Real Estate Agent Salary: BLS $67K Median, Real $61K (2026)

TL;DR

Headline Real Estate Agent pay in New Jersey is $66,680. Real take-home, after the state's cost-of-living index, lands at $61,207.
On a real-wage basis, this state sits at #12 of 51; nominal rank is #7.
BEA RPP near 100 means nominal pay translates almost 1:1 into real take-home.
Quartile range $49,230 (bottom 25%) to $101,000 (top 25%); the P10-P90 envelope is $42,780 to $133,730.

Wage breakdown — New Jersey

Percentile	Nominal (BLS)	Real (BEA RPP-adjusted)
P10 (entry tier)	$42,780	$39,269
P25 (lower quartile)	$49,230	$45,190
P50 (median)	$66,680	$61,207
P75 (upper quartile)	$101,000	$92,711
P90 (top tier)	$133,730	$122,755
Mean	$79,370	$72,856
Employment	950 Real Estate Agents in New Jersey

Cost of living — BEA Regional Price Parity

Component	New Jersey index (US = 100)
All-items RPP	108.9
Goods	105.8
Services	114.8
Rents	134.1

New Jersey is a high-cost state — RPP 108.9 above the national 100 baseline. Most of the cost premium routes through rents (134.1) and services (114.8).

After-tax take-home — New Jersey (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)	$66,680	nominal median
Federal income tax	−$5,917	8.9% effective; std deduction $15,750 applied
State income tax	−$2,192	1.4–10.75% (graduated)
FICA (SS 6.2% + Medicare 1.45%)	−$5,101	SS capped at $183,600 wage base
Take-home (after-tax)	$53,471	80.2% of gross
Real take-home (RPP-adjusted)	$49,082	÷ (108.9 / 100) BEA cost-of-living

What the New Jersey state-tax burden means for Real Estate Agent take-home

Mid-band state-tax burden at 3.3% effective. Combined with federal and FICA, take-home is $53,471 (80.2% of gross). After the 108.9 RPP, real take-home is $49,082.

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. New Jersey sits at #7 on nominal pay and #12 on real (cost-adjusted) pay among the 51 states and DC. After cost adjustment, New Jersey falls 5 positions — the cost premium eats into the headline wage.

Frequently asked questions

How much does a Real Estate Agent make in New Jersey?: BLS reports a median annual wage of $66,680 for Real Estate Agents in New Jersey as of the latest OES release. That is the 50th-percentile figure — half earn more, half earn less. The 25th-percentile is $49,230 and the 75th-percentile is $101,000.
How are New Jersey 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.
What does the top of the Real Estate Agent pay scale look like in New Jersey?: The 90th percentile lands at $133,730. That tier typically reflects senior roles, specialty certifications, high-cost-of-living metros within the state, or union-negotiated rate cards. Below that, the P75 quartile is $101,000.
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.
Should I negotiate based on the BLS median for New Jersey?: The BLS median is a calibration anchor, not a ceiling. Use it to validate that an offer is in-band — anything well below the P25 in this state is a flag, anything above the P75 typically requires demonstrable specialty depth, niche credentials, or a high-COL metro within New Jersey.
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.
Is the New Jersey real estate market shift (post-2024 NAR commission settlement) affecting agent pay?: The 2024 NAR settlement on buyer-broker commission disclosure has compressed effective commissions in New Jersey markets where buyers now negotiate buy-side fees explicitly. Anecdotal early data shows 0.25-0.75 percentage points of buy-side commission compression in New Jersey's competitive metros. Combined with cyclically suppressed transaction volume in 2024-2025 high-rate environment, gross commission income for the median New Jersey agent has declined roughly 15-30% from the 2021-2022 peak. The BLS figure on this page reflects the most recent OEWS release date noted on the page; current-year realized earnings are likely below it for the typical commission-only agent.

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 New Jersey 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.