Groundwork

Real estate · Metro area · Pennsylvania

Real estate businesses in the Erie, PA metro area

How the Erie, PA metro area compares with other metro areas and the U.S. for real estate businesses: competitors, household spending, official counts and growth.

Groundwork market score · out of 100

Score 73 out of 100: Upper middle

Ranked #26 of 387 scored metro areas
#10 of 16 scored metro areas based in Pennsylvania

Listings
174
13 chain locations (7%)
Official establishments
72
+5.9% since 2019
Household spending a year
$1.8B
On rent and homeowner costs · $16,530 a household
Housing spending per listing (U.S. = 100)
243
2.4 times the U.S.
Listings per 10k households
15.7
59% below the U.S.
Population, 2025
265,832
−1.8% since 2020

See the real estate businesses around any address in the Erie metro area

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 the Erie metro area. Signed out, you see a blurred preview; on an account, each report is one action.

Free10 actions over 3 days, no card

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

What this means

The Erie metro area scores 73 (upper middle) on the Groundwork market score for real estate businesses, ranking #26 of 387 scored metro areas and #10 of 16 scored metro areas based in Pennsylvania. That puts it in the top 10% of metro areas for real estate businesses.

Map listings as of September 2026 show 174 real estate businesses in the Erie metro area. Of those, 13 are chain locations, or 7%, against 6% across the U.S. That comes to 15.7 for every 10,000 households, 59% below the U.S. rate of 38.5.

At $16,530 per household (in line with the U.S. average), households in the Erie metro area spend about $1.8B a year on rent and homeowner costs. Housing spending per office is 2.4 times 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.

The official count of businesses with payroll classed as real estate agents, property managers, mortgage lenders and inspectors in the Erie metro area was 72 in 2023, up 5.9% from 2019. That is one for every 1,536 households, against one for every 414 across the U.S. Since fiscal 2022, 1 SBA-backed loan worth $1.3M has gone to businesses classed as real estate agents, property managers, mortgage lenders and inspectors in the Erie metro area. Population estimates put the population change in the Erie metro area from 2020 to 2025 at −1.8%, against +3.1% for the U.S.

How the Erie metro area compares

The same measures for Pennsylvania 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 in Erie, PA metro area compared with Pennsylvania and the U.S.
MeasureErie metro areaPennsylvaniaU.S.
Listings per 10k households15.725.338.5
Housing spending per listing (U.S. = 100)243165100
Households per official establishment1,536752414
Official establishment growth, 2019–2023+5.9%+15.7%+15.8%
Population growth, 2020–2025−1.8%+0.5%+3.1%
Spending per household on rent and homeowner costs$16,530$18,070$16,661
Median household income$63,354$77,971$80,734
Groundwork market score7376

Official counts and lending

Businesses

Official establishments, 2019 to 2023
72+5.9% over the period
Employees, 2023
323
Annual payroll, 2023
$17.8M
One-person businesses, 2023
728Businesses with no payroll
Map listings, September 2026
17413 chain locations
Listings at the U.S. rate for this spending
422The U.S. ratio of listings to household spending, applied here

SBA-backed loans since fiscal 2022

Loans
1
Amount
$1.3M

SBA-backed loans to businesses classed as real estate agents, property managers, mortgage lenders and inspectors in the Erie 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 Erie metro area

Population, 2025 estimate
265,832−1.8% since 2020
Households
110,587
Median age
41.4
Homes lived in by their owners
68%
Vehicles per household
1.6
Land area
799 sq. mi.
People per square mile
337
Median household income
$63,354+23.0% vs. 2015–2019, before inflation
Average household income
$85,573
Median home value
$177,000
Jobs located here
120,819
Daytime population
270,477Residents who don’t work, plus everyone whose job is here

Looking at a specific site in the Erie 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 businesses on map listings by name and distance.

Or open the report at the center of the Erie metro area. Signed out, you see a blurred preview; on an account, each report is one action.

Free10 actions over 3 days, no card

Real estate across Pennsylvania

Every Pennsylvania market ranked →

The highest-scoring metro areas in Pennsylvania for real estate businesses, numbered among those based in Pennsylvania, with the Erie metro area marked.

Top metro areas in Pennsylvania

Metro areas in Pennsylvania ranked for real estate businesses by Groundwork market score
MarketScoreListingsPer 10k householdsHousing spending per listing (U.S. = 100)Population growthU.S. rank
1Gettysburg, PA875012.2343+3.6%#2 of 387
2Reading, PA8231819.5213+2.7%#3 of 387
3Lebanon, PA8111119.6209+2.2%#4 of 387
4York-Hanover, PA8148226.5159+3.6%#7 of 387
5Chambersburg, PA8015624.6166+3.0%#9 of 387
6Scranton–Wilkes-Barre, PA7738116.3237+1.4%#12 of 387
7Allentown-Bethlehem-Easton, PA-NJ7790726.7160+3.0%#13 of 387
8Harrisburg-Carlisle, PA7770628.7146+4.2%#14 of 387
9Johnstown, PA736511.6316−3.2%#25 of 387
10Erie, PA7317415.7243−1.8%#26 of 387

Other business types in the Erie metro area

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

Questions

How many real estate businesses are in the Erie, PA metro area?

There are 174 real estate businesses on map listings in the Erie metro area as of September 2026. 13 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 72 businesses with payroll classed as real estate agents, property managers, mortgage lenders and inspectors in 2023, up 5.9% from 2019. Official counts list 728 one-person businesses without payroll.

How much do households in the Erie, PA metro area spend on rent and homeowner costs?

About $1.8B a year, or $16,530 per household. That is in line with the U.S. average (an index of 99, where 100 is the U.S. average). For the 174 real estate businesses on map listings, housing spending per office is 2.4 times 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. It is estimated from the incomes of the 110,587 households in the Erie metro area and national spending patterns by income.

How does the Erie, PA metro area compare with the U.S. for real estate businesses?

The Erie metro area has 15.7 real estate businesses per 10,000 households, 59% below the U.S. rate of 38.5. The index of housing spending per office is 243, where 100 is the U.S. At the national ratio of real estate businesses to household spending, the Erie metro area would have about 422, against 174 on map listings. There is one business with payroll in the industry for every 1,536 households, against one for every 414 across the U.S. The official count rose 5.9% from 2019 to 2023, against +15.8% for the U.S.

How fast is the Erie, PA metro area growing?

Population estimates put the Erie metro area at 265,832 people in 2025, down 1.8% since 2020, against +3.1% for the U.S. It has 110,587 households. The median household income in the Erie metro area is $63,354 a year, 22% below the U.S. median of $80,734. That rose 23.0% 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 Erie metro area scores 73 for real estate businesses (upper middle), #26 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 Erie metro area. 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 the Erie metro area

Screening a site or an acquisition in the Erie 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 Erie 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.