Real estate · Metro area · California
Real estate agents and brokers in the San Diego-Chula Vista-Carlsbad, CA metro area
How the San Diego-Chula Vista-Carlsbad, CA metro area compares with other metro areas and the U.S. for real estate agents and brokers: competitors, household spending, official counts and growth.
Groundwork market score · out of 100
Score 30 out of 100: Lower middle
Ranked #371 of 387 scored metro areas
#24 of 25 scored metro areas based in California
- Listings
- 5,499
- 160 chain locations (3%)
- Official establishments
- 2,942
- +14.2% since 2019
- Household spending a year
- $23.9B
- On rent and homeowner costs · $20,407 a household
- Housing spending per listing (U.S. = 100)
- 80
- 20% below the U.S.
- Listings per 10k households
- 46.9
- 53% above the U.S.
- Population, 2025
- 3,282,248
- −0.6% since 2020
See the real estate agents and brokers around any address in the San Diego-Chula Vista-Carlsbad metro area
The site report maps the real estate agents and brokers on map listings near the address, by name and distance, and sizes the households and spending around it. Or open the report at the center of the San Diego-Chula Vista-Carlsbad metro area. Signed out, you see a blurred preview; on an account, each report is one action.
Free10 actions over 3 days, no cardSurvey estimates 2020–2024 · population estimates 2025 · official business counts 2023 · map listings September 2026 · Data credits · How we measure
What this means
The Groundwork market score for real estate agents and brokers in the San Diego-Chula Vista-Carlsbad metro area is 30 (lower middle), #371 of 387 scored metro areas and #24 of 25 scored metro areas based in California. That puts it in the bottom quarter of metro areas.
As of September 2026, map listings count 5,499 real estate agents and brokers in the San Diego-Chula Vista-Carlsbad metro area. Of those, 160 are chain locations, or 3%, against 4% across the U.S. That comes to 46.9 for every 10,000 households, 53% above the U.S. rate of 30.6.
Household spending on rent and homeowner costs in the San Diego-Chula Vista-Carlsbad metro area comes to about $23.9B a year: $20,407 per household, 22% above the U.S. average. Housing spending per office is 20% below the U.S. figure. That figure is all rent and homeowner costs, used as a measure of housing demand; it is not money real estate agents and brokers take in.
The official count of businesses with payroll classed as offices of real estate agents and brokers in the San Diego-Chula Vista-Carlsbad metro area was 2,942 in 2023, up 14.2% from 2019. That is one for every 398 households, against one for every 788 across the U.S. Since fiscal 2022, 29 SBA-backed loans worth $7.7M have gone to businesses classed as offices of real estate agents and brokers in the San Diego-Chula Vista-Carlsbad metro area. Between 2020 and 2025, the population of the San Diego-Chula Vista-Carlsbad metro area declined 0.6%, against +3.1% for the U.S.
How the San Diego-Chula Vista-Carlsbad metro area compares
The same measures for California and the whole U.S. Housing spending per listing divides all rent and homeowner costs by the listings counted: a measure of housing demand for each business, not money any of them take in, so it is shown against the U.S. (100) only. Households per establishment divides households by the official count.
| Measure | San Diego-Chula Vista-Carlsbad metro area | California | U.S. |
|---|---|---|---|
| Listings per 10k households | 46.9 | 38.0 | 30.6 |
| Housing spending per listing (U.S. = 100) | 80 | 96 | 100 |
| Households per official establishment | 398 | 601 | 788 |
| Official establishment growth, 2019–2023 | +14.2% | +17.3% | +20.1% |
| Population growth, 2020–2025 | −0.6% | −0.4% | +3.1% |
| Spending per household on rent and homeowner costs | $20,407 | $19,977 | $16,661 |
| Median household income | $106,268 | $99,122 | $80,734 |
| Groundwork market score | 30 | 37 |
Official counts and lending
Businesses
- Official establishments, 2019 to 2023
- 2,942+14.2% over the period
- Employees, 2023
- 5,502
- Annual payroll, 2023
- $445.7M
- One-person businesses, 2023
- Not publishedNot published for this business type
- Map listings, September 2026
- 5,499160 chain locations
- Listings at the U.S. rate for this spending
- 4,384The U.S. ratio of listings to household spending, applied here
SBA-backed loans since fiscal 2022
- Loans
- 29
- Amount
- $7.7M
SBA-backed loans to businesses classed as offices of real estate agents and brokers in the San Diego-Chula Vista-Carlsbad metro area, through June 2026, placed by the borrower’s ZIP code. Official establishments are businesses with payroll; the official counts leave out places with fewer than 3.
Population and households in the San Diego-Chula Vista-Carlsbad metro area
- Population, 2025 estimate
- 3,282,248−0.6% since 2020
- Households
- 1,171,278
- Median age
- 38.9
- Homes lived in by their owners
- 55%
- Vehicles per household
- 1.9
- Land area
- 4,211 sq. mi.
- People per square mile
- 781
- Median household income
- $106,268+34.6% vs. 2015–2019, before inflation
- Average household income
- $141,250
- Median home value
- $854,700
- Jobs located here
- 1,516,991
- Daytime population
- 3,269,716Residents who don’t work, plus everyone whose job is here
Looking at a specific site in the San Diego-Chula Vista-Carlsbad metro area?
These figures cover the whole metro area. A site report draws rings around one address and counts what’s inside them: households, spending, jobs, and the real estate agents and brokers on map listings by name and distance.
Or open the report at the center of the San Diego-Chula Vista-Carlsbad metro area. Signed out, you see a blurred preview; on an account, each report is one action.
Free10 actions over 3 days, no cardReal estate agents and brokers across California
Every California market ranked →The highest-scoring metro areas in California for real estate agents and brokers, numbered among those based in California, with the San Diego-Chula Vista-Carlsbad metro area marked.
Top metro areas in California
| Market | Score | Listings | Per 10k households | Housing spending per listing (U.S. = 100) | Population growth | U.S. rank |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| 1Merced, CA | 79 | 158 | 18.4 | 166 | +5.1% | #9 of 387 |
| 2Hanford-Corcoran, CA | 76 | 64 | 14.5 | 214 | +1.0% | #16 of 387 |
| 3Yuba City, CA | 74 | 133 | 21.5 | 152 | +3.3% | #23 of 387 |
| 4Visalia, CA | 71 | 270 | 18.9 | 167 | +2.4% | #36 of 387 |
| 5Bakersfield-Delano, CA | 68 | 572 | 20.1 | 156 | +2.3% | #47 of 387 |
| 6Stockton-Lodi, CA | 65 | 683 | 27.8 | 125 | +5.5% | #63 of 387 |
| 7Fresno, CA | 62 | 925 | 25.0 | 129 | +3.2% | #80 of 387 |
| 8Vallejo, CA | 58 | 451 | 28.6 | 127 | +0.6% | #106 of 387 |
| 9El Centro, CA | 58 | 125 | 25.2 | 116 | +1.1% | #107 of 387 |
| 10Salinas, CA | 54 | 367 | 27.7 | 129 | −1.5% | #138 of 387 |
| 24San Diego-Chula Vista-Carlsbad, CA | 30 | 5,499 | 46.9 | 80 | −0.6% | #371 of 387 |
Other business types in the San Diego-Chula Vista-Carlsbad metro area
Each with its Groundwork market score here, out of 100, where it has one.
Food and drink
Groceries and convenience
Auto
Beauty and personal care
Fitness and classes
Health care
Child care
Clothing and laundry
Home services
Real estate
- Real estate28
- Real estate agents and brokers30
- Property management28
- Mortgage brokers and lenders25
- Home inspectors54
Funeral services
Questions
How many real estate agents and brokers are in the San Diego-Chula Vista-Carlsbad, CA metro area?
The San Diego-Chula Vista-Carlsbad metro area has 5,499 real estate agents and brokers on map listings as of September 2026. 160 of them (3%) are chain locations. The listings count real estate agents and brokerages, commercial brokers included. Official counts show 2,942 businesses with payroll classed as offices of real estate agents and brokers in 2023, up 14.2% from 2019.
How much do households in the San Diego-Chula Vista-Carlsbad, CA metro area spend on rent and homeowner costs?
About $23.9B a year, or $20,407 per household. That is 22% above the U.S. average (an index of 122, where 100 is the U.S. average). For the 5,499 real estate agents and brokers on map listings, housing spending per office is 20% below the U.S. figure. The spending figure is all rent and homeowner costs, a measure of housing demand, not money real estate agents and brokers take in. It is estimated from the incomes of the 1,171,278 households in the San Diego-Chula Vista-Carlsbad metro area and national spending patterns by income.
How does the San Diego-Chula Vista-Carlsbad, CA metro area compare with the U.S. for real estate agents and brokers?
The San Diego-Chula Vista-Carlsbad metro area has 46.9 real estate agents and brokers per 10,000 households, 53% above the U.S. rate of 30.6. The index of housing spending per office is 80, where 100 is the U.S. At the national ratio of real estate agents and brokers to household spending, the San Diego-Chula Vista-Carlsbad metro area would have about 4,384, against 5,499 on map listings. There is one business with payroll in the industry for every 398 households, against one for every 788 across the U.S. The official count rose 14.2% from 2019 to 2023, against +20.1% for the U.S.
How fast is the San Diego-Chula Vista-Carlsbad, CA metro area growing?
Population estimates put the San Diego-Chula Vista-Carlsbad metro area at 3,282,248 people in 2025, down 0.6% since 2020, against +3.1% for the U.S. It has 1,171,278 households. The median household income in the San Diego-Chula Vista-Carlsbad metro area is $106,268 a year, 32% above the U.S. median of $80,734. That rose 34.6% from the 2015–2019 survey, before inflation.
What is the Groundwork market score?
The Groundwork market score runs from 0 to 100 and compares a market with others of its kind for one business type: states with states, metro areas with metro areas, small-town markets and counties with their own. It weighs household spending per competitor (35%), households per business with payroll (25%), population growth (20%) and spending power (20%), each ranked against those peers. A higher score means that, taken together, the market has more household spending and more households for each business already there, faster population growth and more spending per household than similar markets. It describes a market, not any one site or deal. The San Diego-Chula Vista-Carlsbad metro area scores 30 for real estate agents and brokers (lower middle), #371 of 387 scored metro areas.
How can I see the market around a specific site?
Run a Groundwork site report on an address in the San Diego-Chula Vista-Carlsbad metro area. It maps the real estate agents and brokers on map listings near the site and sizes the households and spending within the distance you choose. New accounts get 10 actions over 3 days, no card.
How the score works · Top markets for real estate agents and brokers · All 56 business types in the San Diego-Chula Vista-Carlsbad metro area
Screening a site or an acquisition in the San Diego-Chula Vista-Carlsbad metro area?
A site report maps the competitors on map listings near an address and sizes the households and spending around it.
The button opens the report at the center of the San Diego-Chula Vista-Carlsbad metro area. Signed out, you see a blurred preview; on an account, each report is one action.
This product uses the Census Bureau Data API but is not endorsed or certified by the Census Bureau.
Figures are estimates for research only. Not investment or real estate advice.