Local market data · Real estate agents · Chicago
AI for real estate agents in Chicago
The Chicago metro area had 4,272 real estate agents in 2022, the 6th most of 387 US metros and 3% of all in the country. They employed 11,522 people at an average of $87,322 a year. 96% have fewer than 10 staff, so the same few people answer the phone, book, follow up and do the paperwork. Those are the jobs AI tools take on today.
Talk through your real estate business with the person who builds it
A free 30-minute call. You leave knowing which part of your real estate agent to hand to AI first, what we would build, and roughly how long it takes.
Real estate agents in Chicago vs the US
| Chicago metro | United States | |
|---|---|---|
| Businesses | 4,272 | 165,585 |
| People employed | 11,522 | 416,530 |
| Average staff per business | 2.7 | 2.5 |
| Average yearly pay per employee | $87,322 | $82,258 |
| Share with fewer than 10 staff | 96% | 97% |
Pay here is 6% higher than the national average for real estate agents, so every hour of staff time costs more to spend on admin. The average real estate agent here has 2.7 people on payroll, 7% higher than the US figure of 2.5.
How big real estate agents in Chicago are
Businesses with paid employees, by number of employees, March 2022.
Real estate agents by county in the Chicago area
Cook County has the most, with 2,478 of the metro's 4,272 (58%). Among the 10 big metros on this page, Chicago ranks 9th for average pay and 6th for the share of small firms.
| County | Businesses | Employees | Avg pay |
|---|---|---|---|
| Cook County | 2,478 | 7,712 | $96,146 |
| DuPage County | 583 | 1,461 | $71,026 |
| Lake County | 355 | 859 | $87,461 |
| Will County | 253 | 506 | $54,261 |
| Kane County | 196 | 298 | $63,695 |
| Lake County | 144 | 296 | $57,250 |
| McHenry County | 112 | 165 | $52,242 |
| Porter County | 53 | 88 | $66,705 |
| Kendall County | 47 | 55 | $60,636 |
| DeKalb County | 20 | 35 | $64,000 |
| Grundy County | 15 | 27 | $35,259 |
| Jasper County | 11 | 13 | $52,231 |
1 smaller counties not shown. Census withholds pay where few firms would make it identifiable.
Where AI helps a real estate agent first
Real estate agents get the most from AI where deals quietly slip away: a new inquiry that waited too long, a past client nobody followed up with, a listing that needs copy by tonight. Pick the one leak that costs you most and fix that first. Westward builds these for agents, and a person approves everything that goes out.
What your team's admin hours cost in Chicago
Change any number. The starting values are the Chicago averages above; the hours and the share are yours to set.
Those hours cost you$50,400 a year
The share you would hand off$15,120 a year
Hours your team gets back360 a year
See what we would build for thisGuides for real estate agents, one job each
- Get more customers for real estate agents
- Never miss a call for real estate agents
- Follow up automatically for real estate agents
- Booking and scheduling for real estate agents
- More reviews for real estate agents
- Marketing and content for real estate agents
- Show up on Google and ChatGPT for real estate agents
- Cut admin and paperwork for real estate agents
- A dashboard that runs itself for real estate agents
Real estate agents in other big metros
| Metro | Businesses | Avg pay | Rank of 387 |
|---|---|---|---|
| Los Angeles | 9,270 | $107,672 | 1st |
| New York | 7,168 | $114,346 | 2nd |
| Miami | 6,621 | $86,878 | 3rd |
| Dallas | 3,551 | $89,226 | 8th |
| Houston | 2,571 | $92,753 | 16th |
| Atlanta | 4,575 | $92,755 | 5th |
| Washington | 2,987 | $97,520 | 12th |
| Philadelphia | 1,951 | $89,392 | 19th |
| Boston | 1,682 | $120,838 | 23rd |
Where these numbers come from
From the U.S. Census Bureau, County Business Patterns 2022 (released 2024), industry code NAICS 531210 (Offices of real estate agents and brokers), for the Chicago-Naperville-Elgin, IL-IN metro area (13 counties). It counts businesses with paid employees in March 2022, so solo owners with no payroll are not in it. Average pay is total yearly payroll divided by employees. The calculator uses 50 working weeks and 2,080 hours a year. Page checked 2026-11-12.
Find the hours your real estate business can get back
A free 30-minute call. You leave knowing which part of your real estate agent to hand to AI first, what we would build, and roughly how long it takes.