Real estate · County · Massachusetts
Real estate agents and brokers in Essex County, MA
The real estate agents and brokers in Essex County, MA, the household spending behind them and how the market ranks against other counties.
Groundwork market score · out of 100
Score 60 out of 100: Upper middle
Ranked #573 of 2,176 scored counties
#6 of 14 scored counties in Massachusetts
- Listings
- 878
- 49 chain locations (6%)
- Official establishments
- 206
- +6.7% since 2019
- Household spending a year
- $6.3B
- On rent and homeowner costs · $20,216 a household
- Housing spending per listing (U.S. = 100)
- 132
- 32% above the U.S.
- Listings per 10k households
- 28.0
- 8% below the U.S.
- Population, 2025
- 826,653
- +2.3% since 2020
See the real estate agents and brokers around any address in Essex County
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 Essex County. 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 $20,216 per household (21% above the U.S. average), households in Essex County spend about $6.3B a year on rent and homeowner costs. Housing spending per office is 32% 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.
Essex County has 878 real estate agents and brokers on map listings as of September 2026. Chain locations make up 6% of them, against 4% across the U.S. Per 10,000 households, that is 28.0, 8% below the U.S. rate of 30.6.
In 2023, official counts showed 206 businesses with payroll in Essex County classed as offices of real estate agents and brokers, up 6.7% from 2019. That is one for every 1,520 households, against one for every 788 across the U.S. Since fiscal 2022, 7 SBA-backed loans worth $822K have gone to businesses classed as offices of real estate agents and brokers in Essex County.
Between 2020 and 2025, the population of Essex County grew 2.3%, slower than the U.S. (+3.1%). The Groundwork market score for real estate agents and brokers in Essex County is 60 (upper middle), #573 of 2,176 scored counties and #6 of 14 scored counties in Massachusetts.
How Essex County 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 | Essex County | Massachusetts | U.S. |
|---|---|---|---|
| Listings per 10k households | 28.0 | 31.4 | 30.6 |
| Housing spending per listing (U.S. = 100) | 132 | 119 | 100 |
| Households per official establishment | 1,520 | 1,181 | 788 |
| Official establishment growth, 2019–2023 | +6.7% | +8.9% | +20.1% |
| Population growth, 2020–2025 | +2.3% | +2.4% | +3.1% |
| Spending per household on rent and homeowner costs | $20,216 | $20,433 | $16,661 |
| Median household income | $101,883 | $103,960 | $80,734 |
| Groundwork market score | 60 | 71 |
Official counts and lending
Businesses
- Official establishments, 2019 to 2023
- 193 → 206+6.7% over the period
- Employees, 2023
- 380
- Annual payroll, 2023
- $25.4M
- One-person businesses, 2023
- Not publishedNot published for this business type
- Map listings, September 2026
- 87849 chain locations
- Listings at the U.S. rate for this spending
- 1,161The U.S. ratio of listings to household spending, applied here
SBA-backed loans since fiscal 2022
- Loans
- 7
- Amount
- $822K
SBA-backed loans to businesses classed as offices of real estate agents and brokers in Essex County, 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 Essex County
- Population, 2025 estimate
- 826,653+2.3% since 2020
- Households
- 313,147
- Median age
- 42.2
- Homes lived in by their owners
- 64%
- Vehicles per household
- 1.7
- Land area
- 493 sq. mi.
- People per square mile
- 1,651
- Median household income
- $101,883+28.5% vs. 2015–2019, before inflation
- Average household income
- $140,108
- Median home value
- $619,100
- Jobs located here
- 329,644
- Daytime population
- 736,954Residents who don’t work, plus everyone whose job is here
Looking at a specific site in Essex County?
These figures cover the whole county. 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 Essex County. 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 counties in Massachusetts for real estate agents and brokers, numbered among those based in Massachusetts, with Essex County marked.
Top counties in Massachusetts
| Market | Score | Listings | Per 10k households | Housing spending per listing (U.S. = 100) | Population growth | U.S. rank |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| 1Hampshire County, MA | 81 | 129 | 20.8 | 166 | +10.4% | #18 of 2,176 |
| 2Franklin County, MA | 77 | 39 | 12.4 | 258 | −0.3% | #63 of 2,176 |
| 3Worcester County, MA | 68 | 739 | 22.0 | 163 | +3.7% | #284 of 2,176 |
| 4Bristol County, MA | 62 | 570 | 24.4 | 140 | +2.9% | #491 of 2,176 |
| 5Hampden County, MA | 60 | 394 | 21.4 | 149 | +0.2% | #566 of 2,176 |
| 6Essex County, MA | 60 | 878 | 28.0 | 132 | +2.3% | #573 of 2,176 |
| 7Middlesex County, MA | 56 | 2,086 | 32.9 | 125 | +2.8% | #764 of 2,176 |
| 8Plymouth County, MA | 56 | 662 | 32.6 | 118 | +3.5% | #766 of 2,176 |
| 9Berkshire County, MA | 55 | 136 | 23.6 | 139 | −1.2% | #795 of 2,176 |
| 10Norfolk County, MA | 49 | 1,072 | 37.8 | 109 | +2.2% | #1,119 of 2,176 |
Other business types in Essex County
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 estate52
- Real estate agents and brokers60
- Property management62
- Mortgage brokers and lenders53
- Home inspectors75
Funeral services
Questions
How many real estate agents and brokers are in Essex County, MA?
Map listings as of September 2026 show 878 real estate agents and brokers in Essex County. 49 of them (6%) are chain locations. The listings count real estate agents and brokerages, commercial brokers included. Official counts show 206 businesses with payroll classed as offices of real estate agents and brokers in 2023, up 6.7% from 2019.
How much do households in Essex County, MA spend on rent and homeowner costs?
About $6.3B a year, or $20,216 per household. That is 21% above the U.S. average (an index of 121, where 100 is the U.S. average). For the 878 real estate agents and brokers on map listings, housing spending per office is 32% 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 313,147 households in Essex County and national spending patterns by income.
How does Essex County, MA compare with the U.S. for real estate agents and brokers?
Essex County has 28.0 real estate agents and brokers per 10,000 households, 8% below the U.S. rate of 30.6. The index of housing spending per office is 132, where 100 is the U.S. At the U.S. ratio of real estate agents and brokers to household spending, Essex County would have about 1,161, against 878 on map listings. There is one business with payroll in the industry for every 1,520 households, against one for every 788 across the U.S. The official count rose 6.7% from 2019 to 2023, against +20.1% for the U.S.
How fast is Essex County, MA growing?
Population estimates put Essex County at 826,653 people in 2025, up 2.3% since 2020, slower than the U.S. (+3.1%). It has 313,147 households. Median household income in Essex County is $101,883, 26% above the U.S. median of $80,734. Against the 2015–2019 survey, the median rose 28.5%, 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. Essex County scores 60 for real estate agents and brokers (upper middle), #573 of 2,176 scored counties.
How can I see the market around a specific site?
Run a Groundwork site report on an address in Essex County. 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 Essex County
Screening a site or an acquisition in Essex County?
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 Essex County. 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.