Real Estate Agent vs Real Estate Broker: pay, outlook, education and work, side by side.
Every row comes from one named source and says which career leads on that one dimension. There is no overall score.
Real Estate Agent vs Real Estate Broker: BLS classifies them as different occupations (SOC 41-9022 and 41-9021). The national median annual wage is $52,830 for real estate agents and $73,220 for real estate brokers (BLS, May 2025). BLS projects national employment to change +1.7% for real estate agents and +0.8% for real estate brokers from 2025 to 2035. Typical entry-level education: High school diploma or equivalent vs High school diploma or equivalent. Which fits better depends on what you value; the table shows who leads on each dimension, with no overall winner.
Side by side
Data Differences smaller than a stated threshold read “About the same” (pay 5%, growth 2 points, openings 10%, one education level, ORS 10 points, O*NET 0.2).
Pick what matters to you; the matching rows are highlighted. Nothing is combined into a score.
| Dimension · source | Real Estate AgentSOC 41-9022 | Real Estate BrokerSOC 41-9021 | Leads on this dimension |
|---|---|---|---|
| Median annual wageBLS OEWS, May 2025 (national) | $52,830 | $73,220 | Real Estate Broker |
| EmploymentBLS OEWS, May 2025 | 193,370 | 46,100 | Not ranked |
| Projected employment change, 2025–35BLS Employment Projections (national) | +1.7% | +0.8% | About the same |
| Projected numeric change in jobs, 2025–35BLS Employment Projections (national) · A count, not a rate: it scales with the size of the occupation. | +7,400 jobs | +800 jobs | Not ranked |
| Projected openings (annual average)BLS Employment Projections, 2025–35 | 32,600 a year | 7,800 a year | Real Estate Agent |
| Typical entry-level educationBLS Employment Projections · typical, not a legal requirement | High school diploma or equivalent | High school diploma or equivalent | About the same |
| Typical work experience in a related occupationBLS Employment Projections | None | Less than 5 years | Real Estate Agent |
| Typical on-the-job trainingBLS Employment Projections | Moderate-term on-the-job training | None | Not ranked |
| Pressure level (O*NET, 1–5; lower = less)O*NET® 31.0 work context | 3.09 | 2.90 | About the same |
| Social-contact level (O*NET, 1–5)O*NET® 31.0 work context · not ranked: neither direction is better | 4.02 | 4.25 | Not ranked |
| Freedom to make decisions (O*NET, 1–5)O*NET® 31.0 work context | 4.91 | 4.87 | About the same |
| Work styles O*NET rates most importantO*NET® 31.0 work styles (occupation ratings, not a personality test) | Social Orientation, Dependability, Achievement Orientation | Social Orientation, Perseverance, Dependability | Not ranked |
Choose based on what matters to you
Data Each line restates a measured difference from the table; nothing here predicts how you will feel about a job.
- starting without related work experience matters (None vs Less than 5 years)
- higher median pay matters most ($73,220 vs $52,830)
Which skills each one leans on
Data O*NET 31.0 skill ratings: level (0–7) and importance.
Skill-profile match: 81% (similarity of the two O*NET skill profiles, importance × level; 100% = identical).
- Operations Monitoring (+1.2 on O*NET's 0–7 skill-level scale)
- Operation and Control (+1.1 on O*NET's 0–7 skill-level scale)
- Technology Design (+1.0 on O*NET's 0–7 skill-level scale)
- Programming (+1.0 on O*NET's 0–7 skill-level scale)
- Active Learning (+0.8 on O*NET's 0–7 skill-level scale)
- Judgment and Decision Making (+0.4 on O*NET's 0–7 skill-level scale)
- Monitoring (+0.4 on O*NET's 0–7 skill-level scale)
- Quality Control Analysis (+0.2 on O*NET's 0–7 skill-level scale)
What each career involves
Data Core tasks from O*NET 31.0.
Real Estate Agent
- Present purchase offers to sellers for consideration.
- Act as an intermediary in negotiations between buyers and sellers, generally representing one or the other.
- Confer with escrow companies, lenders, home inspectors, and pest control operators to ensure that terms and conditions of purchase agreements are met before closing dates.
- Advise clients on market conditions, prices, mortgages, legal requirements, and related matters.
Real Estate Broker
- Obtain agreements from property owners to place properties for sale with real estate firms.
- Sell, for a fee, real estate owned by others.
- Compare a property with similar properties that have recently sold to determine its competitive market price.
- Act as an intermediary in negotiations between buyers and sellers over property prices and settlement details and during the closing of sales.
Largest employing industries
Data Share of all jobs in each occupation, BLS Employment Matrix 2025.
Real Estate Agent
- Real estate (37.3% of all jobs in this occupation)
- Construction of buildings (2.9% of all jobs in this occupation)
- Government, excluding state and local education and hospitals (1.7% of all jobs in this occupation)
Real Estate Broker
- Real estate (40.1% of all jobs in this occupation)
- Credit intermediation and related activities (1.4% of all jobs in this occupation)
- Construction of buildings (0.9% of all jobs in this occupation)
Moving between these careers
Data The comparison shows which; the career-change guides show how.
- Real Estate Agent → Real Estate Broker: skills to build: Active Learning. Careers after Real Estate Agent
- Real Estate Broker → Real Estate Agent: skills to build: Operations Monitoring, Operation and Control, Technology Design.
Go deeper
Real Estate Agent career hub · Real Estate Agent salary · Real Estate Agent career change · Real Estate Broker career hub · Real Estate Broker salary
Common questions
Which pays more, Real Estate Agent or Real Estate Broker?
Which is growing faster?
Which is better?
How this page is built
BLS classifies them as different occupations (SOC 41-9022 and 41-9021). Pay: BLS OEWS May 2025 national median for each occupation's SOC code. Outlook: BLS Employment Projections 2025–35 (growth, numeric change and annual openings are separate metrics). Requirements rows: 2025 preliminary BLS Occupational Requirements Survey, shown only when both roles have detailed-occupation estimates. Work environment: O*NET 31.0 work context. This page includes information from the O*NET® 31.0 Database by the U.S. Department of Labor, Employment and Training Administration (USDOL/ETA). Used under the CC BY 4.0 license. O*NET® is a trademark of USDOL/ETA. TryHired has modified all or some of this information. USDOL/ETA has not approved, endorsed, or tested these modifications. Searches this page answers include “realtor vs real estate broker” (Ahrefs, U.S.).
- Any one employer's pay, schedule or culture.
- Job security, ease of hiring or work-life balance: these are not measured here.
- Which career you will prefer: the rows describe the occupations, not you.
- U.S. Bureau of Labor Statistics, Occupational Employment and Wage Statistics, May 2025 estimates (public domain).
- U.S. Bureau of Labor Statistics, Employment Projections program, 2025–35 national projections (growth, openings, typical entry-level education and experience).
- O*NET 31.0 Database, U.S. Department of Labor, Employment and Training Administration (USDOL/ETA), used under the CC BY 4.0 license. TryHired selected, ranked and combined the data; O*NET is not responsible for these pages.
- U.S. Bureau of Labor Statistics, Occupational Requirements Survey, 2025 estimates (preliminary: two of the third wave's samples, collected August 2023 to July 2025; released January 16, 2026), public domain.
- U.S. Bureau of Labor Statistics, Employment Projections program, 2025–35 National Employment Matrix (all jobs, including self-employed).