Groundwork

Real estate · Metro area · California

Real estate agents and brokers in the San Jose-Sunnyvale-Santa Clara, CA metro area

How the San Jose-Sunnyvale-Santa Clara, 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 45 out of 100: Lower middle

Ranked #229 of 387 scored metro areas
#16 of 25 scored metro areas based in California

Listings
2,725
131 chain locations (5%)
Official establishments
1,159
+15.1% since 2019
Household spending a year
$16.4B
On rent and homeowner costs · $24,133 a household
Housing spending per listing (U.S. = 100)
110
10% above the U.S.
Listings per 10k households
40.1
31% above the U.S.
Population, 2025
1,984,473
−0.6% since 2020

See the real estate agents and brokers around any address in the San Jose-Sunnyvale-Santa Clara 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 Jose-Sunnyvale-Santa Clara metro area. Signed out, you see a blurred preview; on an account, each report is one action.

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Survey estimates 2020–2024 · population estimates 2025 · official business counts 2023 · map listings September 2026 · Data credits · How we measure

What this means

Map listings as of September 2026 show 2,725 real estate agents and brokers in the San Jose-Sunnyvale-Santa Clara metro area. Chain locations make up 5% of them, against 4% across the U.S. That comes to 40.1 for every 10,000 households, 31% above the U.S. rate of 30.6.

At $24,133 per household (45% above the U.S. average), households in the San Jose-Sunnyvale-Santa Clara metro area spend about $16.4B a year on rent and homeowner costs. Housing spending per office is 10% above 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 Jose-Sunnyvale-Santa Clara metro area was 1,159 in 2023, up 15.1% from 2019. That is one for every 587 households, against one for every 788 across the U.S. Since fiscal 2022, 15 SBA-backed loans worth $3.8M have gone to businesses classed as offices of real estate agents and brokers in the San Jose-Sunnyvale-Santa Clara metro area.

Population estimates show the San Jose-Sunnyvale-Santa Clara metro area declined 0.6% from 2020 to 2025, against +3.1% for the U.S. The San Jose-Sunnyvale-Santa Clara metro area scores 45 (lower middle) on the Groundwork market score for real estate agents and brokers, ranking #229 of 387 scored metro areas and #16 of 25 scored metro areas based in California.

How the San Jose-Sunnyvale-Santa Clara 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.

Real estate agents and brokers in San Jose-Sunnyvale-Santa Clara, CA metro area compared with California and the U.S.
MeasureSan Jose-Sunnyvale-Santa Clara metro areaCaliforniaU.S.
Listings per 10k households40.138.030.6
Housing spending per listing (U.S. = 100)11096100
Households per official establishment587601788
Official establishment growth, 2019–2023+15.1%+17.3%+20.1%
Population growth, 2020–2025−0.6%−0.4%+3.1%
Spending per household on rent and homeowner costs$24,133$19,977$16,661
Median household income$162,111$99,122$80,734
Groundwork market score4537

Official counts and lending

Businesses

Official establishments, 2019 to 2023
1,159+15.1% over the period
Employees, 2023
3,412
Annual payroll, 2023
$390M
One-person businesses, 2023
Not publishedNot published for this business type
Map listings, September 2026
2,725131 chain locations
Listings at the U.S. rate for this spending
3,010The U.S. ratio of listings to household spending, applied here

SBA-backed loans since fiscal 2022

Loans
15
Amount
$3.8M

SBA-backed loans to businesses classed as offices of real estate agents and brokers in the San Jose-Sunnyvale-Santa Clara 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 Jose-Sunnyvale-Santa Clara metro area

Population, 2025 estimate
1,984,473−0.6% since 2020
Households
679,914
Median age
39.5
Homes lived in by their owners
55%
Vehicles per household
1.9
Land area
2,680 sq. mi.
People per square mile
735
Median household income
$162,111+32.4% vs. 2015–2019, before inflation
Average household income
$224,488
Median home value
$1,447,800
Jobs located here
1,157,383
Daytime population
2,140,529Residents who don’t work, plus everyone whose job is here

Looking at a specific site in the San Jose-Sunnyvale-Santa Clara 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 Jose-Sunnyvale-Santa Clara metro area. Signed out, you see a blurred preview; on an account, each report is one action.

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Real 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 Jose-Sunnyvale-Santa Clara metro area marked.

Top metro areas in California

Metro areas in California ranked for real estate agents and brokers by Groundwork market score
MarketScoreListingsPer 10k householdsHousing spending per listing (U.S. = 100)Population growthU.S. rank
1Merced, CA7915818.4166+5.1%#9 of 387
2Hanford-Corcoran, CA766414.5214+1.0%#16 of 387
3Yuba City, CA7413321.5152+3.3%#23 of 387
4Visalia, CA7127018.9167+2.4%#36 of 387
5Bakersfield-Delano, CA6857220.1156+2.3%#47 of 387
6Stockton-Lodi, CA6568327.8125+5.5%#63 of 387
7Fresno, CA6292525.0129+3.2%#80 of 387
8Vallejo, CA5845128.6127+0.6%#106 of 387
9El Centro, CA5812525.2116+1.1%#107 of 387
10Salinas, CA5436727.7129−1.5%#138 of 387
16San Jose-Sunnyvale-Santa Clara, CA452,72540.1110−0.6%#229 of 387

Other business types in the San Jose-Sunnyvale-Santa Clara metro area

Each with its Groundwork market score here, out of 100, where it has one.

Questions

How many real estate agents and brokers are in the San Jose-Sunnyvale-Santa Clara, CA metro area?

There are 2,725 real estate agents and brokers on map listings in the San Jose-Sunnyvale-Santa Clara metro area as of September 2026. 131 of them (5%) are chain locations. The listings count real estate agents and brokerages, commercial brokers included. Official counts show 1,159 businesses with payroll classed as offices of real estate agents and brokers in 2023, up 15.1% from 2019.

How much do households in the San Jose-Sunnyvale-Santa Clara, CA metro area spend on rent and homeowner costs?

About $16.4B a year, or $24,133 per household. That is 45% above the U.S. average (an index of 145, where 100 is the U.S. average). For the 2,725 real estate agents and brokers on map listings, housing spending per office is 10% above 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 679,914 households in the San Jose-Sunnyvale-Santa Clara metro area and national spending patterns by income.

How does the San Jose-Sunnyvale-Santa Clara, CA metro area compare with the U.S. for real estate agents and brokers?

The San Jose-Sunnyvale-Santa Clara metro area has 40.1 real estate agents and brokers per 10,000 households, 31% above the U.S. rate of 30.6. The index of housing spending per office is 110, where 100 is the U.S. At the national ratio of real estate agents and brokers to household spending, the San Jose-Sunnyvale-Santa Clara metro area would have about 3,010, against 2,725 on map listings. There is one business with payroll in the industry for every 587 households, against one for every 788 across the U.S. The official count rose 15.1% from 2019 to 2023, against +20.1% for the U.S.

How fast is the San Jose-Sunnyvale-Santa Clara, CA metro area growing?

Population estimates put the San Jose-Sunnyvale-Santa Clara metro area at 1,984,473 people in 2025, down 0.6% since 2020, against +3.1% for the U.S. It has 679,914 households. The median household income in the San Jose-Sunnyvale-Santa Clara metro area is $162,111 a year, twice the U.S. median of $80,734. That rose 32.4% 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 Jose-Sunnyvale-Santa Clara metro area scores 45 for real estate agents and brokers (lower middle), #229 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 Jose-Sunnyvale-Santa Clara 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 Jose-Sunnyvale-Santa Clara metro area

Screening a site or an acquisition in the San Jose-Sunnyvale-Santa Clara 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 Jose-Sunnyvale-Santa Clara 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.