Real Estate Sales Agents Salary
Real Estate Sales Agents in St. Louis, MO-IL make a median of $45,500 a year, or about $21.88 an hour. The range runs from $32K at the entry level to $113K for experienced workers. Adjusted for local prices (RPP 95.09), that's roughly $47,849 in purchasing power. A 2-bedroom apartment runs $1,218/month, about 39.2% of take-home, which is tight.
So what does $46K get you in St. Louis?
Groceries, utilities, transportation, and healthcare scaled from national averages by St. Louis’s Regional Price Parity (95.09). Rent from HUD Fair Market Rents. Taxes estimated for single filer, standard deduction. * Healthcare is the employee-paid share only (premiums + out-of-pocket). Actual costs vary by coverage type: employer-sponsored, ACA marketplace, or uninsured.
About real estate sales agents
Sponsored links, AffordMap may earn a commission at no cost to you. Learn more
What this looks like in St. Louis
Pay for real estate sales agents in St. Louis runs about 14% below the U.S. median of $53K. The catch: housing math doesn't keep up. A 2-bedroom at the HUD median rents for $1,218/month, which is 39.3% of the median worker's take-home, past the 30% guideline most planners use. Cost of living (RPP 95.09) is near the national average, so spending patterns here track the typical American budget fairly closely. That combination, below-market pay with high housing costs, makes this a financially demanding market for real estate sales agentss.
Compared to nearby metros
Median pay for real estate sales agents in metros near St. Louis, adjusted for local cost of living.
| Metro | Median pay | COL-adjusted |
|---|---|---|
| Jefferson City | $45K | $51K |
| Kansas City | $45K | $48K |
| Springfield | $30K | $34K |
| Columbia | $39K | $43K |
COL-adjusted = median salary ÷ (BEA Regional Price Parity ÷ 100). Expresses purchasing power in national-average dollars.
Compensation breakdown
Annual earnings by percentile, St. Louis, MO-IL
Entry-level real estate sales agents (10th percentile) start around $32K. Mid-career wages sit at $46K. Top earners bring in $113K or more, a $81K spread from bottom to top.
Real Estate Sales Agents pay across states
Median income ranked highest to lowest, compared to the national figure
View Real Estate Sales Agents salary in all states
| State | Median salary | vs. national | Employment |
|---|---|---|---|
| District of Columbia | $124K | +134% | 590 |
| New York | $103K | +95% | 8,660 |
| New Jersey | $100K | +89% | N/A |
| Alaska | $89K | +69% | 170 |
| Nevada | $80K | +51% | 1,490 |
| Washington | $79K | +50% | 5,150 |
| Montana | $79K | +50% | 370 |
| New Mexico | $76K | +44% | 550 |
| North Dakota | $74K | +40% | N/A |
| South Dakota | $65K | +23% | 640 |
| Virginia | $64K | +21% | 5,750 |
| Colorado | $64K | +21% | 6,120 |
| Oregon | $62K | +17% | 1,940 |
| Alabama | $61K | +15% | 1,580 |
| Rhode Island | $60K | +14% | N/A |
| Illinois | $59K | +12% | 6,030 |
| West Virginia | $59K | +12% | 370 |
| Arizona | $59K | +11% | 5,610 |
| Kentucky | $59K | +11% | 1,120 |
| Wisconsin | $58K | +10% | 5,680 |
| Michigan | $58K | +10% | 2,210 |
| New Hampshire | $58K | +9% | 240 |
| California | $58K | +9% | 17,500 |
| Maine | $57K | +8% | 740 |
| South Carolina | $57K | +7% | 4,930 |
| Pennsylvania | $56K | +6% | 5,510 |
| Maryland | $53K | -0% | 2,940 |
| North Carolina | $51K | -3% | 7,960 |
| Utah | $51K | -4% | 4,240 |
| Wyoming | $50K | -5% | 300 |
| Florida | $49K | -7% | 26,790 |
| Oklahoma | $48K | -9% | 3,710 |
| Nebraska | $47K | -11% | 1,400 |
| Delaware | $47K | -11% | 900 |
| Indiana | $47K | -11% | 3,680 |
| Connecticut | $47K | -11% | N/A |
| Georgia | $47K | -12% | 9,940 |
| Minnesota | $46K | -12% | 2,530 |
| Tennessee | $46K | -12% | 2,360 |
| Ohio | $46K | -12% | 5,130 |
| Hawaii | $46K | -13% | 690 |
| Louisiana | $46K | -13% | 1,940 |
| Texas | $46K | -13% | 22,250 |
| Missouri | $44K | -17% | 1,590 |
| Idaho | $40K | -25% | 1,170 |
| Kansas | $40K | -25% | 1,450 |
| Mississippi | $40K | -25% | 670 |
| Arkansas | $38K | -28% | 1,640 |
Showing 1–10 of 48 states with published data
BLS does not publish data for every state when sample sizes are too small
Track real estate sales agents salary changes
BLS updates this data quarterly. We'll email you when St. Louis numbers change.
Related careers in Sales
Frequently asked questions
Can a real estate sales agent afford a 2BR apartment alone in St. Louis?
It’s a stretch — at the median salary of $46K, rent takes 39.3% of take-home pay. A 2-bedroom at the HUD Fair Market Rent runs $1,218/month. The 30% guideline puts the comfortable ceiling at roughly $900/month in rent — so roommates or a 1-bedroom would ease the math significantly.
What’s the entry-level salary for real estate sales agents in St. Louis?
The 10th-percentile wage — what new real estate sales agents typically earn — is $32K/year. Take-home on that works out to about $1,925/month. At HUD’s $1,218/month FMR, rent would take 63% of that take-home — above the 30% guideline, so a 1-bedroom or shared housing is likely necessary starting out.
Is real estate sales agent a high-paying job in St. Louis?
Local pay runs 14% below the national median — $46K here vs. $53K nationally.
How does St. Louis compare to the national average for real estate sales agents?
St. Louis pays $46K median vs. the U.S. average of $53K — that’s -14%. After adjusting for local cost of living (RPP 95.09), the purchasing-power equivalent is $48K — below the national median.
How much do real estate sales agents make in St. Louis, MO-IL?
The median is $45,500 a year, that works out to about $22 an hour. But the range is wide: entry-level workers start around $32,090, and experienced real estate sales agents can clear $113,010. These are BLS numbers, based on employer-reported data, not self-reported surveys.
Is $46K enough to live in St. Louis?
On that salary, you'd take home roughly $3,102/month after taxes. A 2-bedroom here rents for about $1,218/month, which eats 39.3% of your paycheck. That's above the 30% rule of thumb, housing will be a stretch at the median salary, though you can manage with roommates or a smaller place.
How far does a real estate sales agents salary go in St. Louis?
St. Louis has a Regional Price Parity of 95.09 (100 is the national average). That's below average, your money stretches further here than the raw salary number suggests. After cost-of-living adjustment, the median real estate sales agents salary is worth about $47,849 in national-average purchasing power.
Where do real estate sales agents get paid the most?
The table above ranks every state by median pay for this role. Keep in mind that the highest-paying states tend to have the highest costs of living, so the top salary doesn't always mean the most money in your pocket.