Real estate · County · Massachusetts
Real estate businesses in Essex County, MA
Competitor counts, household spending and official business counts for real estate businesses in Essex County, MA, set against other counties and the U.S.
Groundwork market score · out of 100
Score 52 out of 100: Upper middle
Ranked #999 of 2,229 scored counties
#8 of 14 scored counties in Massachusetts
- Listings
- 1,141
- 80 chain locations (7%)
- Official establishments
- 520
- +11.1% since 2019
- Household spending a year
- $6.3B
- On rent and homeowner costs · $20,216 a household
- Housing spending per listing (U.S. = 100)
- 128
- 28% above the U.S.
- Listings per 10k households
- 36.4
- 5% below the U.S.
- Population, 2025
- 826,653
- +2.3% since 2020
See the real estate businesses around any address in Essex County
The site report maps the real estate businesses 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 28% above the U.S. figure. The spending figure is all rent and homeowner costs, a measure of housing demand, not money real estate businesses take in.
There are 1,141 real estate businesses on map listings in Essex County as of September 2026. 80 of them (7%) are chain locations, against 6% across the U.S. That is 36.4 per 10,000 households, 5% below the U.S. rate of 38.5.
In 2023, official counts showed 520 businesses with payroll in Essex County classed as real estate agents, property managers, mortgage lenders and inspectors, up 11.1% from 2019. That is one for every 602 households, against one for every 414 across the U.S. Official counts also show 4,292 one-person businesses without payroll. Since fiscal 2022, 12 SBA-backed loans worth $1.4M have gone to businesses classed as real estate agents, property managers, mortgage lenders and inspectors in Essex County.
Population estimates show Essex County grew 2.3% from 2020 to 2025, slower than the U.S. (+3.1%). The Groundwork market score for real estate businesses in Essex County is 52 (upper middle), #999 of 2,229 scored counties and #8 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 | 36.4 | 38.6 | 38.5 |
| Housing spending per listing (U.S. = 100) | 128 | 122 | 100 |
| Households per official establishment | 602 | 500 | 414 |
| Official establishment growth, 2019–2023 | +11.1% | +11.8% | +15.8% |
| 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 | 52 | 70 |
Official counts and lending
Businesses
- Official establishments, 2019 to 2023
- 468 → 520+11.1% over the period
- Employees, 2023
- 1,955
- Annual payroll, 2023
- $164.1M
- One-person businesses, 2023
- 4,292Businesses with no payroll
- Map listings, September 2026
- 1,14180 chain locations
- Listings at the U.S. rate for this spending
- 1,462The U.S. ratio of listings to household spending, applied here
SBA-backed loans since fiscal 2022
- Loans
- 12
- Amount
- $1.4M
SBA-backed loans to businesses classed as real estate agents, property managers, mortgage lenders and inspectors 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 businesses 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 across Massachusetts
Every Massachusetts market ranked →The highest-scoring counties in Massachusetts for real estate businesses, 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 |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| 1Franklin County, MA | 77 | 44 | 13.9 | 288 | −0.3% | #71 of 2,229 |
| 2Hampshire County, MA | 74 | 161 | 25.9 | 167 | +10.4% | #134 of 2,229 |
| 3Worcester County, MA | 63 | 924 | 27.5 | 164 | +3.7% | #469 of 2,229 |
| 4Bristol County, MA | 58 | 694 | 29.7 | 145 | +2.9% | #683 of 2,229 |
| 5Plymouth County, MA | 54 | 814 | 40.1 | 121 | +3.5% | #883 of 2,229 |
| 6Hampden County, MA | 53 | 493 | 26.7 | 150 | +0.2% | #928 of 2,229 |
| 7Middlesex County, MA | 52 | 2,533 | 39.9 | 130 | +2.8% | #997 of 2,229 |
| 8Essex County, MA | 52 | 1,141 | 36.4 | 128 | +2.3% | #999 of 2,229 |
| 9Berkshire County, MA | 51 | 157 | 27.3 | 152 | −1.2% | #1,039 of 2,229 |
| 10Norfolk County, MA | 45 | 1,304 | 46.0 | 113 | +2.2% | #1,353 of 2,229 |
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
Funeral services
Questions
How many real estate businesses are in Essex County, MA?
As of September 2026, map listings count 1,141 real estate businesses in Essex County. 80 of them (7%) are chain locations. The listings count real estate agents and brokers, property managers, mortgage brokers and lenders, and home inspectors. Official counts show 520 businesses with payroll classed as real estate agents, property managers, mortgage lenders and inspectors in 2023, up 11.1% from 2019. Another 4,292 one-person businesses have no payroll, by official counts.
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 1,141 real estate businesses on map listings, housing spending per office is 28% 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 businesses 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 businesses?
Essex County has 36.4 real estate businesses per 10,000 households, 5% below the U.S. rate of 38.5. The index of housing spending per office is 128, where 100 is the U.S. At the U.S. ratio of real estate businesses to household spending, Essex County would have about 1,462, against 1,141 on map listings. There is one business with payroll in the industry for every 602 households, against one for every 414 across the U.S. The official count rose 11.1% from 2019 to 2023, against +15.8% 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 52 for real estate businesses (upper middle), #999 of 2,229 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 businesses 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 businesses · 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.