Hiring a real estate broker in Irvine, CA

Do Irvine residents in sales and related work earn more than employers in the Los Angeles-Long Beach-Anaheim, CA area pay?

Irvine residents working in sales and related occupations earn a median of $52,660 (Census ACS 5-year 2023, tables S2401 and B24011), against $55,715 as the median of the 22 wages BLS publishes for that same occupation group in the Los Angeles-Long Beach-Anaheim, CA area (BLS OEWS, May 2025), a difference of 5%, with the employers figure the higher of the two.

Both sides of that figure describe the whole sales and related group, not this one role. In the Los Angeles-Long Beach-Anaheim, CA area the group covers 22 occupations BLS publishes a wage for, from door-to-door sales workers, news and street vendors, and related workers at $35,090 to sales engineers at $133,380 (BLS OEWS, May 2025), with real estate brokers at $91,770 inside it.

That comparison is between two different measures, not a pay gap. The two weight the same occupation group differently: the Census figure is the midpoint across the people who actually hold those jobs, so a group carrying a few very well paid occupations is pulled toward them, while the BLS figure is the midpoint across the 22 published occupation wages, which counts each of those occupations once whatever its headcount. Census also counts where people live and BLS counts where the jobs are, and the two cover different populations, Census the civilian employed population 16 and over, BLS wage-and-salary jobs only. Read the number against other cities, where the same definitional difference applies on both sides, rather than as a shortfall.

The two sit within 10% of each other, so residents of Irvine and employers across the metro are priced about the same in this field, and pay alone is unlikely to be what wins or loses this hire.

Is the talent actually in Irvine?

This is a job zone four: considerable preparation needed occupation. Most of these occupations require a four-year bachelor's degree, but some do not. O*NET OnLine, SOC 41-9021.

That matters here, because 70.6% of Irvine adults hold a bachelor's degree or higher. That is a deep local pool for a degree-requiring role. Census ACS 5-year 2023, table S1501, residents of Irvine aged 25 and over.

The average Irvine commute runs 24.3 minutes, which is roughly how far your catchment reaches before candidates start saying no. 25.9% of Irvine workers already work from home, so a fully onsite requirement here is competing against that. Census ACS 5-year 2023, place-level commuting characteristics for Irvine.

How often do these jobs turn over?

In Orange County, retail trade employs 155,664 and turns over 9.3% a quarter, with 15,480 hires against 20,814 separations. Average earnings in that industry run $4,129 a month. Census LEHD Quarterly Workforce Indicators, 2024 Q1, NAICS 44-45.

That figure covers every occupation in the industry, not this role alone, so read it as the local churn rate rather than as a number about real estate brokers. It still tells you what you are hiring into: a normal churn rate, where a well-run search closes on schedule.

What does the search cost?

The fee is set by the seniority of the role, never by salary and never by location. Across all six tiers it runs $6,240 to $54,340 per search. A contingency firm hiring at this role's $91,770 median in the Los Angeles-Long Beach-Anaheim, CA area (BLS OEWS, May 2025) would bill roughly $18,354 to $27,531 on the first year salary alone.

One owner runs the search from market map to signed offer. Searches typically fill in 23 to 35 days, which is a typical window rather than a promise, and the replacement guarantee runs 45 days at 50% off.

Questions employers ask about hiring a real estate broker in Irvine

What does it cost to hire a real estate broker in Irvine?

Tier I to Tier VI, $6,240 to $54,340 per search, set by the seniority of the role and never by salary or location. A contingency firm billing 20 to 30% of this role's $91,770 median wage in the Los Angeles-Long Beach-Anaheim, CA area (BLS OEWS, May 2025) would charge roughly $18,354 to $27,531 on the first year salary alone.

What should an offer for a real estate broker in Irvine look like?

Employers in the Los Angeles-Long Beach-Anaheim, CA area pay real estate brokers a median of $91,770, with the middle half of the market between $75,840 and $118,050 (BLS OEWS, May 2025). A band set below $75,840 competes for the bottom quarter of that market.

Do Irvine residents in sales and related work earn more than employers in the Los Angeles-Long Beach-Anaheim, CA area pay?

Irvine residents working in sales and related occupations earn a median of $52,660 (Census ACS 5-year 2023, tables S2401 and B24011), against $55,715 as the median of the 22 wages BLS publishes for that same occupation group in the Los Angeles-Long Beach-Anaheim, CA area (BLS OEWS, May 2025), a difference of 5%. Both figures cover the whole occupation group rather than this one role, and one counts where people live while the other counts where the jobs are, so the percentage is not a pay gap.

Is the talent for this role already in Irvine?

This is a job zone 4 occupation, which usually calls for a bachelor's degree, and 70.6% of Irvine adults hold one or higher (Census ACS 5-year 2023, table S1501). That is a deep local pool for a degree-requiring role.

Related

• Hiring Real Estate Brokers: the role, the pay, the process
• Recruiting services in Irvine
• Every California city we cover

Irvine is the 13th largest of 21 California cities in this dataset.