Real estate · Metro area · Massachusetts
Real estate agents and brokers in the Boston-Cambridge-Newton, MA-NH metro area
The real estate agents and brokers in the Boston-Cambridge-Newton, MA-NH metro area, the household spending behind them and how the market ranks against other metro areas.
Groundwork market score · out of 100
Score 59 out of 100: Upper middle
Ranked #99 of 387 scored metro areas
#5 of 6 scored metro areas based in Massachusetts
- Listings
- 6,765
- 329 chain locations (5%)
- Official establishments
- 1,704
- +7.6% since 2019
- Household spending a year
- $41.4B
- On rent and homeowner costs · $21,309 a household
- Housing spending per listing (U.S. = 100)
- 112
- 12% above the U.S.
- Listings per 10k households
- 34.9
- 14% above the U.S.
- Population, 2025
- 5,034,221
- +2.3% since 2020
See the real estate agents and brokers around any address in the Boston-Cambridge-Newton 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 Boston-Cambridge-Newton 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
At $21,309 per household (28% above the U.S. average), households in the Boston-Cambridge-Newton metro area spend about $41.4B a year on rent and homeowner costs. Housing spending per office is 12% 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.
There are 6,765 real estate agents and brokers on map listings in the Boston-Cambridge-Newton metro area as of September 2026. 329 of them (5%) are chain locations, against 4% across the U.S. That is 34.9 per 10,000 households, 14% above the U.S. rate of 30.6.
In 2023, official counts showed 1,704 businesses with payroll in the Boston-Cambridge-Newton metro area classed as offices of real estate agents and brokers, up 7.6% from 2019. That is one for every 1,139 households, against one for every 788 across the U.S. Since fiscal 2022, 34 SBA-backed loans worth $5.9M have gone to businesses classed as offices of real estate agents and brokers in the Boston-Cambridge-Newton metro area.
Between 2020 and 2025, the population of the Boston-Cambridge-Newton metro area grew 2.3%, slower than the U.S. (+3.1%). For real estate agents and brokers, the Boston-Cambridge-Newton metro area has a Groundwork market score of 59 (upper middle): #99 of 387 scored metro areas and #5 of 6 scored metro areas based in Massachusetts.
How the Boston-Cambridge-Newton metro area compares
The same measures for Massachusetts 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 | Boston-Cambridge-Newton metro area | Massachusetts | U.S. |
|---|---|---|---|
| Listings per 10k households | 34.9 | 31.4 | 30.6 |
| Housing spending per listing (U.S. = 100) | 112 | 119 | 100 |
| Households per official establishment | 1,139 | 1,181 | 788 |
| Official establishment growth, 2019–2023 | +7.6% | +8.9% | +20.1% |
| Population growth, 2020–2025 | +2.3% | +2.4% | +3.1% |
| Spending per household on rent and homeowner costs | $21,309 | $20,433 | $16,661 |
| Median household income | $115,863 | $103,960 | $80,734 |
| Groundwork market score | 59 | 71 |
Official counts and lending
Businesses
- Official establishments, 2019 to 2023
- 1,704+7.6% over the period
- Employees, 2023
- 6,159
- Annual payroll, 2023
- $633.9M
- One-person businesses, 2023
- Not publishedNot published for this business type
- Map listings, September 2026
- 6,765329 chain locations
- Listings at the U.S. rate for this spending
- 7,585The U.S. ratio of listings to household spending, applied here
SBA-backed loans since fiscal 2022
- Loans
- 34
- Amount
- $5.9M
SBA-backed loans to businesses classed as offices of real estate agents and brokers in the Boston-Cambridge-Newton 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 Boston-Cambridge-Newton metro area
- Population, 2025 estimate
- 5,034,221+2.3% since 2020
- Households
- 1,940,688
- Median age
- 40.8
- Homes lived in by their owners
- 62%
- Vehicles per household
- 1.6
- Land area
- 3,486 sq. mi.
- People per square mile
- 1,421
- Median household income
- $115,863+28.3% vs. 2015–2019, before inflation
- Average household income
- $159,721
- Median home value
- $646,300
- Jobs located here
- 2,811,395
- Daytime population
- 5,216,901Residents who don’t work, plus everyone whose job is here
Looking at a specific site in the Boston-Cambridge-Newton 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 Boston-Cambridge-Newton 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 Massachusetts
Every Massachusetts market ranked →The highest-scoring metro areas in Massachusetts for real estate agents and brokers, numbered among those based in Massachusetts (a market based in another state is listed without a number), with the Boston-Cambridge-Newton metro area marked.
Top metro areas in Massachusetts
| Market | Score | Listings | Per 10k households | Housing spending per listing (U.S. = 100) | Population growth | U.S. rank |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| 1Amherst Town-Northampton, MA | 91 | 129 | 20.8 | 166 | +10.4% | #1 of 387 |
| 2Worcester, MA | 80 | 739 | 22.0 | 163 | +3.7% | #6 of 387 |
| 3Springfield, MA | 70 | 394 | 21.4 | 149 | +0.2% | #39 of 387 |
| Providence-Warwick, RI-MA | 65 | 1,717 | 25.4 | 135 | +2.1% | #62 of 387 |
| 4Pittsfield, MA | 64 | 136 | 23.6 | 139 | −1.2% | #69 of 387 |
| 5Boston-Cambridge-Newton, MA-NH | 59 | 6,765 | 34.9 | 112 | +2.3% | #99 of 387 |
| 6Barnstable Town, MA | 37 | 529 | 50.0 | 73 | +2.4% | #315 of 387 |
Other business types in the Boston-Cambridge-Newton 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 estate57
- Real estate agents and brokers59
- Property management52
- Mortgage brokers and lenders60
- Home inspectors82
Funeral services
Questions
How many real estate agents and brokers are in the Boston-Cambridge-Newton, MA-NH metro area?
As of September 2026, map listings count 6,765 real estate agents and brokers in the Boston-Cambridge-Newton metro area. 329 of them (5%) are chain locations. The listings count real estate agents and brokerages, commercial brokers included. Official counts show 1,704 businesses with payroll classed as offices of real estate agents and brokers in 2023, up 7.6% from 2019.
How much do households in the Boston-Cambridge-Newton, MA-NH metro area spend on rent and homeowner costs?
About $41.4B a year, or $21,309 per household. That is 28% above the U.S. average (an index of 128, where 100 is the U.S. average). For the 6,765 real estate agents and brokers on map listings, housing spending per office is 12% 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. It is estimated from the incomes of the 1,940,688 households in the Boston-Cambridge-Newton metro area and national spending patterns by income.
How does the Boston-Cambridge-Newton, MA-NH metro area compare with the U.S. for real estate agents and brokers?
The Boston-Cambridge-Newton metro area has 34.9 real estate agents and brokers per 10,000 households, 14% above the U.S. rate of 30.6. The index of housing spending per office is 112, where 100 is the U.S. At the U.S. ratio of real estate agents and brokers to household spending, the Boston-Cambridge-Newton metro area would have about 7,585, against 6,765 on map listings. There is one business with payroll in the industry for every 1,139 households, against one for every 788 across the U.S. The official count rose 7.6% from 2019 to 2023, against +20.1% for the U.S.
How fast is the Boston-Cambridge-Newton, MA-NH metro area growing?
Population estimates put the Boston-Cambridge-Newton metro area at 5,034,221 people in 2025, up 2.3% since 2020, slower than the U.S. (+3.1%). It has 1,940,688 households. Median household income in the Boston-Cambridge-Newton metro area is $115,863, 44% above the U.S. median of $80,734. Against the 2015–2019 survey, the median rose 28.3%, 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 Boston-Cambridge-Newton metro area scores 59 for real estate agents and brokers (upper middle), #99 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 Boston-Cambridge-Newton 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 Boston-Cambridge-Newton metro area
Screening a site or an acquisition in the Boston-Cambridge-Newton 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 Boston-Cambridge-Newton 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.