“A sales associate may not collect any money in connection with any real estate brokerage transaction, whether as a commission, deposit, payment, rental, or otherwise, except in the name of the employer and with the express consent of the employer”
The short answer: the federal wage survey puts Florida real estate sales agents at a median of $49,310 and a mean of $73,600 for May 2025, with the 25th percentile at $39,330, the 75th at $79,990 and the 90th at $153,200. In the Miami metro the median is $47,080 and the mean $84,400. Those are the only public numbers with a source behind them — and they leave out most commission-only agents, which is why the arithmetic below matters more than the average.
What does BLS say Florida real estate agents earn?
The Bureau of Labor Statistics’ Occupational Employment and Wage Statistics program surveys employers twice a year and publishes wage percentiles by occupation and area. For May 2025, the latest release, the rows for real estate are:
| Area · occupation | Employment | Annual mean | 10th | 25th | Median | 75th | 90th |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| Florida · Real Estate Sales Agents | 26,790 | $73,600 | $31,190 | $39,330 | $49,310 | $79,990 | $153,200 |
| Florida · Real Estate Brokers | 3,640 | $88,370 | $38,320 | $48,310 | $66,010 | $116,100 | $162,500 |
| Miami metro · Real Estate Sales Agents | 9,160 | $84,400 | $36,360 | $42,230 | $47,080 | $118,540 | $153,200 |
| Miami metro · Real Estate Brokers | 970 | $88,180 | $36,290 | $48,310 | $71,460 | $109,620 | $152,670 |
| National · Real Estate Sales Agents | 193,370 | $69,510 | $32,970 | $40,040 | $52,830 | $82,020 | $123,590 |
Source: BLS OEWS, May 2025, cross-industry estimates, read 2026-09-22. "Miami metro" is the Miami–Fort Lauderdale–West Palm Beach metropolitan area. Employment counts are wage-and-salary positions in the survey, not the number of licensees.
Two things stand out. Florida’s mean ($73,600) sits well above its median ($49,310), which means a long right tail: a minority of agents earn far more than the middle. And the Miami metro’s mean ($84,400) is higher than the state’s while its median ($47,080) is lower — the signature of a market where a few large closings in the high price bands pull the average up while the typical agent closes less often.
Why the survey misses most of the answer
OEWS measures wage-and-salary workers. A Florida sales associate is, in almost every brokerage, an independent contractor paid a share of commissions that the law says must flow through the broker — the statute quoted on this page is why your commission check comes from the brokerage, never from the closing table. Commission-only contractors are under-represented in a wage survey, so the rows above describe the shape of the distribution better than they describe any one agent’s year. Use them for what they show — the spread between the 10th and 90th percentiles is five to one — not as a forecast.
How does a commission become take-home?
Four multiplications, in this order:
- The side’s commission. Negotiated per listing (seller side) or per buyer-representation agreement (buyer side); since August 2024 the buyer side is set in that agreement, not through the MLS.
- The split. The brokerage’s share comes out under your independent-contractor agreement.
- The fees. Transaction fee, E&O, any monthly or technology fee — the lines the split does not show.
- The count. How many of those closings you produce in a year, which is the variable everything else depends on.
An illustration, not any brokerage’s terms: a $400,000 sale, buyer’s side 2.5%, pays $10,000 to the buyer’s broker. At a 70/30 split the agent’s share is $7,000; a $395 transaction fee and a $150 E&O charge leave $6,455. Six of those in a year is $38,730 — near the state’s 25th percentile. Twelve is $77,460 — near the 75th. The difference between the two agents is not the license or the split; it is six more closings, which is a pipeline question. The commission page runs the same example against the four common fee models.
How much do new and part-time agents make?
The survey does not break out tenure or hours, so there is no honest first-year or part-time figure to quote. What can be said from the arithmetic: a new agent’s first closings come from the sphere and rarely from month one, and a fixed monthly fee is the line that turns a slow first year negative — twelve fees out of two commissions. Part-time agents face the same fee math with fewer closings. Both are covered on their own pages, with the questions to ask a brokerage before you sign.
What decides your number in Miami
| Variable | Why it moves your income | What you control |
|---|---|---|
| Price band | A 2.5% side on $300,000 is $7,500; on $900,000 it is $22,500 — same work, three times the fee | The neighborhoods and buyers you specialize in |
| Sphere | The first closings for almost every agent | How many people know you are licensed, and how you keep in touch |
| Follow-up system | A lead answered in minutes converts; one answered in two days is someone else’s | Whether your CRM is built and used |
| Language | Miami-Dade’s Spanish-speaking buyers and sellers choose agents who answer in Spanish | Which market you serve, and in what language |
| Fee schedule | Fixed fees set the break-even closing count | The brokerage you choose |
| Mentorship | Deals that close instead of falling apart at inspection or appraisal | Who you shadow and how often your pipeline is reviewed |
The price band is the quiet one. Miami-Dade runs from $300,000 condos in Kendall to $1 million houses in Coral Gables, and the same skills applied in a higher band produce the mean instead of the median. Read the neighborhood guides with that in mind.
Agents vs brokers: the income difference
Florida brokers out-earn sales agents on every percentile in the survey — median $66,010 against $49,310 — and they carry the liability, the office and the agents under them. The broker license takes 72 pre-license hours, experience and a separate exam; real estate broker vs real estate agent explains what each license lets you do, and how to become a real estate agent in Florida is the path everyone starts on.
Frequently asked
How much does a real estate agent make in Florida?
BLS OEWS for May 2025 puts Florida real estate sales agents at a median of $49,310 a year and a mean of $73,600, with the 25th percentile at $39,330 and the 90th at $153,200. Those are wage-and-salary figures; commission-only independent contractors — most agents — are under-represented, so treat them as a floor for the distribution's shape, not a forecast of your year.
How much do real estate agents make per sale?
The side's commission times the agent's split, minus fees. On a $400,000 sale where the buyer's side is 2.5% and the agent keeps 70%, the agent's share is $7,000 before a transaction fee and E&O — an illustration, not any brokerage's terms. In Miami-Dade the price band you work moves that number more than anything else.
Do real estate agents make good money?
The spread is the answer: in Florida the 10th percentile earned $31,190 and the 90th earned $153,200 in May 2025. The top of the distribution is real; so is the bottom. What separates them is closings, and closings come from a sphere, a follow-up system and a price band — not from the license.
How much do new real estate agents make?
Less than the median, because the median includes agents in their twentieth year and the survey does not break out tenure. A new agent's income is closings × commission × split − fees, and the first closings come from the sphere, not from month one. Fixed monthly fees are the line that turns a slow first year negative.
How much do real estate brokers make?
More, on the survey: Florida real estate brokers had a median of $66,010 and a mean of $88,370 in May 2025, against $49,310 and $73,600 for sales agents. Brokers also carry the liability, the office and the agents; the broker-vs-agent guide explains the difference.
How much do real estate agents make a year?
There is no salary — agents are paid on commission — but the BLS wage survey is the closest public benchmark: Florida median $49,310, mean $73,600, Miami metro median $47,080 and mean $84,400 (May 2025). The Miami mean above the state mean, with a lower median, is the high-price-band effect: fewer, larger closings.
- BLS Occupational Employment and Wage Statistics, May 2025 — Florida, Real Estate Sales Agents (41-9022) and Brokers (41-9021)
- BLS OEWS, May 2025 — Miami-Fort Lauderdale-West Palm Beach metropolitan area
- BLS OEWS, May 2025 — National
- Florida Statutes §475.42 — a sales associate collects only in the broker's name