Real Estate Appraiser Salary: Average Pay by State and License Level

The median real estate appraiser salary in the United States was $67,960 in May 2025, according to the BLS Occupational Outlook Handbook^[1]. Pay spans a wide range: the lowest 10% of property appraisers and assessors earned less than $40,030 that year, while the highest 10% earned more than $122,660. Where an individual appraiser lands in that range depends mainly on their license level, whether they are salaried or paid per appraisal, and the state and market where they work. This guide breaks down each factor and shows how pay compares across states.

What appraisers earn nationwide

The median annual wage for property appraisers and assessors was $67,960 in May 2025, which works out to $32.67 per hour. The Bureau of Labor Statistics (BLS) tracks appraisers and assessors together in a single wage series, so these figures cover local tax assessors along with mortgage and fee appraisers.

The mean annual wage sits above the median, at $75,770, per the BLS Occupational Employment and Wage Statistics news release^[2]. High earners pull the mean up, which is why the median is the better figure for planning what a typical appraiser makes. CareerOneStop, the U.S. Department of Labor's career site^[3], publishes the full distribution from the same May 2025 survey:

For context, the median wage across all occupations was $50,980 in May 2025, and the median for financial specialists overall was $84,680, per the BLS Occupational Outlook Handbook^[1]. Appraisers also compare well with neighboring jobs. The May 2025 medians were $78,020 for claims adjusters, examiners, and investigators, $74,690 for construction and building inspectors, and $57,400 for real estate brokers and sales agents.

Appraiser pay by license level

License level is the biggest single driver of appraiser pay, because each credential unlocks higher-fee work. The Appraisal Subcommittee's FAQ^[4] lists three federally recognized classifications: State Licensed, State Certified Residential, and State Certified General, with the trainee stage below them. Trainees cannot appraise independently, so they are paid per appraisal while they log supervised experience.

No government wage series breaks pay out by credential, so the ranges below come from industry salary surveys rather than official statistics. Treat them as ballpark figures.

Trainee appraisers earn the least, and their income swings with workload, because most trainees work part time and are paid per job. Surveys place trainee earnings between roughly $37,000 and $61,000 a year, with about $1,000 to $3,000 a month common during the training period.

Licensed residential appraisers, the first credential above trainee, earn close to the occupation-wide median. Certified residential appraisers, who may appraise any one- to four-unit home regardless of value, earn more. Private surveys place certified residential pay at roughly $91,000 to $98,000 a year. Certified general appraisers sit at the top of the pay scale, with survey averages around $130,000, because that credential covers the commercial and complex assignments that carry the highest fees.

Salary versus fee per appraisal

Appraisers are paid either a salary or a fee per completed appraisal. Staff appraisers at lenders, appraisal firms, and government offices earn a salary, while independent fee appraisers run their own practice and bill for each assignment. Because an independent fee appraiser's income rises and falls with how many appraisals they complete, the BLS Occupational Outlook Handbook^[1] cautions that their earnings can vary significantly.

Salaried settings employ most of the occupation. Local government is the largest employer at 41% of jobs, followed by real estate at 21%, self-employment at 15%, and finance and insurance at 9%.

Pay follows the setting. The May 2025 median wage was $83,630 in finance and insurance, $64,370 in local government, and $62,420 in real estate, per the BLS Occupational Outlook Handbook^[1].

Self-employment offers the highest earning potential, because independent fee appraisers control their own volume and keep what they bill, minus business expenses. The trade-off is uneven income, no employer benefits, and costs they carry themselves. Salaried positions give up some upside in exchange for steady pay and benefits.

Appraisal fees and what clients pay

Clients typically pay a few hundred dollars for an appraisal on a single-family house, and appraisals for government-backed loans usually cost more. The fee is the appraiser's gross revenue per assignment, so it sets the ceiling on what a fee appraiser can earn per job.

Fees vary with property size, condition, location, and loan type. The VA publishes a county-by-county appraisal fee schedule^[5] that took effect May 1, 2026, and the VA notes that its posted fees reflect VA assignments only and are not benchmarks for other lenders.

Federal truth-in-lending rules require creditors and appraisal management companies to pay appraisers a customary and reasonable fee for their market area, per the Appraisal Subcommittee's FAQ^[4].

Real estate appraiser salary by state

Pay varies by state, tracking local home values and the volume of transactions. Among the states compared here, the median annual wage runs from $62,460 in Georgia to $78,060 in New York, and California posts the highest average at $96,360, per the BLS May 2025 state wage estimates^[6].

Source: BLS OEWS May 2025 state wage estimates^[6]

A higher state wage does not always mean more buying power, since the states that pay the most also tend to have the highest costs of living. Volume matters as much as rate, because appraisers paid per job earn more in busy markets where they can complete more assignments each week. License level matters too: a certified general appraiser in a lower-wage state can out-earn a licensed residential appraiser in a higher-wage one.

What do assessors and specialist appraisers make?

Most specialist appraisers fall inside the same federal wage series as residential and commercial appraisers, and what changes is their mix of employers and assignment types rather than the pay system itself.

Assessors value property for local tax rolls rather than for lenders. They mostly work in local government, the occupation's largest employment channel, and their pay follows public-sector salary scales.

Land appraisers specialize in agricultural and vacant land. That work sits inside the same occupational series, and rural land is a niche with fewer appraisers competing for assignments. Insurance appraisal work sits in the finance and insurance sector, a small share of appraiser jobs.

Art appraisers and vehicle appraisers work outside the real estate system entirely. Federal law requires a state license or certification only for appraisers of real estate working on federally related transactions, per the BLS Occupational Outlook Handbook^[1]. Personal property fields such as art, antiques, and cars have no state credential, so pay there depends on the specialist's reputation and market rather than the license ladder.

Appraiser job outlook and demand

Employment of property appraisers and assessors is projected to grow 3% from 2025 to 2035, about as fast as the average for all occupations, per the BLS Occupational Outlook Handbook^[1]. The occupation held about 68,400 jobs in 2025, and the BLS projects 70,700 by 2035, with about 5,200 openings each year over the decade.

Demand for appraisal services follows the real estate market, which fluctuates with interest rates and transaction volume in the short term. The BLS also expects productivity to rise as appraisers adopt mobile technology and automated valuation models, which could moderate the hours needed per assignment over time.

Most appraisers work full time, and many put in long weeks. In an O*NET survey^[7], 70% of respondents reported a typical work week of more than 40 hours.

Is the pay worth the cost of getting licensed?

For most people who finish the climb, the pay justifies the upfront investment. Getting licensed costs a few thousand dollars in coursework, exam, and application fees, and independent appraisers carry recurring costs for software, data access, insurance, and continuing education that can reach several thousand dollars a year. Trainee pay is modest and part time for most people, but income steps up at every credential, and the certified levels carry six-figure potential.

If you are weighing the move, take three steps. Decide how far up the credential ladder you want to go, since certified residential and certified general carry the strongest pay. Check your state licensing board's requirements for that credential. Then complete the qualifying education. RealEstateU offers state-approved appraiser courses that cover the required hours for the trainee and licensed levels, with coursework you can fit around a job. From there, the typical path runs through trainee work under a supervisor and then the upgrade to a certified credential, where the earning power sits.