Real estate · Metro area · South Carolina
Real estate agents and brokers in the Columbia, SC metro area
Competitor counts, household spending and official business counts for real estate agents and brokers in the Columbia, SC metro area, set against other metro areas and the U.S.
Groundwork market score · out of 100
Score 40 out of 100: Lower middle
Ranked #285 of 387 scored metro areas
#4 of 8 scored metro areas based in South Carolina
- Listings
- 1,112
- 65 chain locations (6%)
- Official establishments
- 363
- +19.3% since 2019
- Household spending a year
- $5B
- On rent and homeowner costs · $14,697 a household
- Housing spending per listing (U.S. = 100)
- 82
- 18% below the U.S.
- Listings per 10k households
- 32.7
- 7% above the U.S.
- Population, 2025
- 879,918
- +6.0% since 2020
See the real estate agents and brokers around any address in the Columbia 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 Columbia 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
Households in the Columbia metro area spend about $5B a year on rent and homeowner costs, or $14,697 per household, 12% below the U.S. average. Housing spending per office is 18% 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.
The Columbia metro area has 1,112 real estate agents and brokers on map listings as of September 2026. 65 of them (6%) are chain locations, against 4% across the U.S. That is 32.7 per 10,000 households, 7% above the U.S. rate of 30.6.
In 2023, official counts showed 363 businesses with payroll in the Columbia metro area classed as offices of real estate agents and brokers, up 19.3% from 2019. That is one for every 936 households, against one for every 788 across the U.S.
Population estimates show the Columbia metro area grew 6.0% from 2020 to 2025, faster than the U.S. (+3.1%). The Groundwork market score for real estate agents and brokers in the Columbia metro area is 40 (lower middle), #285 of 387 scored metro areas and #4 of 8 scored metro areas based in South Carolina.
How the Columbia metro area compares
The same measures for South Carolina 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 | Columbia metro area | South Carolina | U.S. |
|---|---|---|---|
| Listings per 10k households | 32.7 | 33.6 | 30.6 |
| Housing spending per listing (U.S. = 100) | 82 | 81 | 100 |
| Households per official establishment | 936 | 635 | 788 |
| Official establishment growth, 2019–2023 | +19.3% | +31.7% | +20.1% |
| Population growth, 2020–2025 | +6.0% | +8.5% | +3.1% |
| Spending per household on rent and homeowner costs | $14,697 | $14,791 | $16,661 |
| Median household income | $68,359 | $69,324 | $80,734 |
| Groundwork market score | 40 | 35 |
Official counts and lending
Businesses
- Official establishments, 2019 to 2023
- 363+19.3% over the period
- Employees, 2023
- 764
- Annual payroll, 2023
- $46.2M
- One-person businesses, 2023
- Not publishedNot published for this business type
- Map listings, September 2026
- 1,11265 chain locations
- Listings at the U.S. rate for this spending
- 915The U.S. ratio of listings to household spending, applied here
SBA-backed loans since fiscal 2022
- Loans
- 0
- Amount
- $0
SBA-backed loans to businesses classed as offices of real estate agents and brokers in the Columbia 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 Columbia metro area
- Population, 2025 estimate
- 879,918+6.0% since 2020
- Households
- 339,601
- Median age
- 39.2
- Homes lived in by their owners
- 69%
- Vehicles per household
- 1.9
- Land area
- 3,703 sq. mi.
- People per square mile
- 229
- Median household income
- $68,359+22.1% vs. 2015–2019, before inflation
- Average household income
- $92,243
- Median home value
- $232,400
- Jobs located here
- 410,492
- Daytime population
- 894,123Residents who don’t work, plus everyone whose job is here
Looking at a specific site in the Columbia 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 Columbia 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 South Carolina
Every South Carolina market ranked →The highest-scoring metro areas in South Carolina for real estate agents and brokers, numbered among those based in South Carolina (a market based in another state is listed without a number), with the Columbia metro area marked.
Top metro areas in South Carolina
| Market | Score | Listings | Per 10k households | Housing spending per listing (U.S. = 100) | Population growth | U.S. rank |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| 1Spartanburg, SC | 60 | 298 | 20.8 | 125 | +14.3% | #89 of 387 |
| 2Florence, SC | 58 | 143 | 18.2 | 137 | +0.9% | #102 of 387 |
| 3Sumter, SC | 55 | 75 | 18.3 | 137 | −0.3% | #130 of 387 |
| Augusta-Richmond County, GA-SC | 45 | 689 | 29.7 | 91 | +4.7% | #238 of 387 |
| 4Columbia, SC | 40 | 1,112 | 32.7 | 82 | +6.0% | #285 of 387 |
| Charlotte-Concord-Gastonia, NC-SC | 39 | 3,741 | 34.8 | 85 | +10.1% | #292 of 387 |
| 5Greenville-Anderson-Greer, SC | 39 | 1,260 | 32.8 | 83 | +9.0% | #294 of 387 |
| 6Charleston-North Charleston, SC | 34 | 1,612 | 48.0 | 61 | +10.7% | #350 of 387 |
| 7Hilton Head Island-Bluffton-Port Royal, SC | 32 | 576 | 60.3 | 49 | +12.0% | #363 of 387 |
| 8Myrtle Beach-Conway-North Myrtle Beach, SC | 28 | 972 | 61.2 | 43 | +20.9% | #378 of 387 |
Other business types in the Columbia 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 estate40
- Real estate agents and brokers40
- Property management49
- Mortgage brokers and lenders37
- Home inspectors72
Funeral services
Questions
How many real estate agents and brokers are in the Columbia, SC metro area?
Map listings as of September 2026 show 1,112 real estate agents and brokers in the Columbia metro area. 65 of them (6%) are chain locations. The listings count real estate agents and brokerages, commercial brokers included. Official counts show 363 businesses with payroll classed as offices of real estate agents and brokers in 2023, up 19.3% from 2019.
How much do households in the Columbia, SC metro area spend on rent and homeowner costs?
About $5B a year, or $14,697 per household. That is 12% below the U.S. average (an index of 88, where 100 is the U.S. average). For the 1,112 real estate agents and brokers on map listings, housing spending per office is 18% 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. It is estimated from the incomes of the 339,601 households in the Columbia metro area and national spending patterns by income.
How does the Columbia, SC metro area compare with the U.S. for real estate agents and brokers?
The Columbia metro area has 32.7 real estate agents and brokers per 10,000 households, 7% above the U.S. rate of 30.6. The index of housing spending per office is 82, where 100 is the U.S. At the U.S. ratio of real estate agents and brokers to household spending, the Columbia metro area would have about 915, against 1,112 on map listings. There is one business with payroll in the industry for every 936 households, against one for every 788 across the U.S. The official count rose 19.3% from 2019 to 2023, against +20.1% for the U.S.
How fast is the Columbia, SC metro area growing?
Population estimates put the Columbia metro area at 879,918 people in 2025, up 6.0% since 2020, faster than the U.S. (+3.1%). It has 339,601 households. Median household income in the Columbia metro area is $68,359, 15% below the U.S. median of $80,734. Against the 2015–2019 survey, the median rose 22.1%, 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 Columbia metro area scores 40 for real estate agents and brokers (lower middle), #285 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 Columbia 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 Columbia metro area
Screening a site or an acquisition in the Columbia 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 Columbia 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.