Real Estate Agent · Texas · SOC 41-9022
Real Estate Agents in Texas: 2026 Salary, Real Wage, and Cost-Adjusted Pay
BLS Occupational Employment and Wage Statistics, 2024 reference period · BEA Regional Price Parity 2023 vintage · Last synced 2026-05-08.
TL;DR
- Headline Real Estate Agent pay in Texas is $50,150. Real take-home, after the state's cost-of-living index, lands at $51,627.
- BLS percentile breakdown: P10 $31,150 · P25 $37,120 · P75 $84,040 · P90 $136,250.
- Mid-band cost of living: real and nominal wage are within a few percent of each other.
- On a real-wage basis, this state sits at #30 of 51; nominal rank is #26.
Wage breakdown — Texas
| Percentile | Nominal (BLS) | Real (BEA RPP-adjusted) |
|---|---|---|
| P10 (entry tier) | $31,150 | $32,067 |
| P25 (lower quartile) | $37,120 | $38,213 |
| P50 (median) | $50,150 | $51,627 |
| P75 (upper quartile) | $84,040 | $86,514 |
| P90 (top tier) | $136,250 | $140,261 |
| Mean | $73,360 | $75,520 |
| Employment | 21,270 Real Estate Agents in Texas | |
Cost of living — BEA Regional Price Parity
| Component | Texas index (US = 100) |
|---|---|
| All-items RPP | 97.1 |
| Goods | 98.1 |
| Services | 92.4 |
| Rents | 97.5 |
Texas's overall RPP (97.1) is close to the national 100 baseline; nominal and real wage move roughly together.
After-tax take-home — Texas (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) | $50,150 | nominal median |
| Federal income tax | −$3,880 | 7.7% effective; std deduction $15,750 applied |
| State income tax | $0 | no state income tax |
| FICA (SS 6.2% + Medicare 1.45%) | −$3,836 | SS capped at $183,600 wage base |
| Take-home (after-tax) | $42,434 | 84.6% of gross |
| Real take-home (RPP-adjusted) | $43,683 | ÷ (97.1 / 100) BEA cost-of-living |
What the Texas state-tax burden means for Real Estate Agent take-home
Texas levies no state income tax on wages, which is worth roughly $2,508 a year for a Real Estate Agent at the BLS median compared with the national-average state burden (≈5%). After the favorable cost of living, real take-home is $43,683 — higher than the nominal after-tax figure because RPP is below 100.
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. Texas sits at #26 on nominal pay and #30 on real (cost-adjusted) pay among the 51 states and DC. After cost adjustment, Texas falls 4 positions — the cost premium eats into the headline wage.
Frequently asked questions
- How much does a Real Estate Agent make in Texas?
- BLS reports a median annual wage of $50,150 for Real Estate Agents in Texas as of the latest OES release. That is the 50th-percentile figure — half earn more, half earn less. The 25th-percentile is $37,120 and the 75th-percentile is $84,040.
- What is the real (cost-adjusted) Real Estate Agent salary in Texas?
- After BEA RPP adjustment (regional price parity index 97.1 for Texas), the real-wage equivalent is $51,627 — what the $50,150 nominal salary actually buys. Quartiles in real terms: $38,213 to $86,514.
- How are Texas 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 Texas employ?
- BLS OES counts 21,270 Real Estate Agents employed in Texas in the most recent release. Employment density relative to population determines whether wage tiers reflect a robust competitive market or a thinner labor pool.
- Where does Texas rank for Real Estate Agent pay?
- On nominal BLS wages alone, Texas 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.
- Is Texas a 'real-wage arbitrage' state for Real Estate Agents?
- No — Texas's RPP is close to the national 100 baseline, so nominal and real wages move roughly together. Neither an arbitrage nor a penalty state.
- Commission split, brokerage cap, and team-lead economics in Texas?
- Texas commission structures are typically 5-6% of sale price, split between buyer and seller side, then split again between brokerage and agent at ratios from 50/50 (entry-level) to 90/10 or 100% post-cap (senior agents at high-cap brokerages like Keller Williams or eXp). A Texas agent producing $5M in transaction volume at 2.5% gross side commission and a 70/30 post-cap split keeps roughly $87,500 — but must net out brokerage fees, MLS dues, E&O insurance, marketing, transaction coordinator fees, and self-employment tax. Realistic take-home is typically 50-65% of headline gross commission income. Team-lead and rainmaker agents extract a share of team-member production, which is the primary path to top-quartile earnings in Texas.
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.
Cross-comparison: see how Texas 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.