Cold email software for CRE brokers
Acqro gives commercial real estate brokers cold email that researches each prospect's company before writing. Below: verified federal data on the industry across all 50 states, the buyers it sells to, and a playbook for outreach that earns replies.
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How many CRE brokers are in the United States?
The United States had 163,894 establishments in NAICS 531210, offices of real estate agents and brokers, in 2023, employing 395,264 people. The largest markets by establishments were California, Florida and Texas. Source: U.S. Census Bureau County Business Patterns.
CRE brokers in the US by the numbers
- US establishments
- 163,894−1.0% vs 2022Census CBP 2023, NAICS 531210
- Paid employees
- 395,264Census CBP 2023
- Average annual pay
- $79,090Census CBP 2023
- Firms under 10 employees
- 97.1%Census CBP 2023
- Largest state
- CaliforniaBy establishments, CBP 2023
Census does not publish a separate category for commercial real estate brokers; figures use NAICS 531210, Offices of Real Estate Agents and Brokers, the closest official industry. 97.1% of establishments have fewer than 10 employees, so most firms in the industry run outbound with a founder or a very small sales team. The 4,672 firms with 10 to 249 employees are the ones most likely to be building a repeatable outbound process.
The five largest states hold 42.4% of all establishments. Among states with at least 100 establishments, the fastest growth between 2022 and 2023 was in Oklahoma (+4.5%), West Virginia (+3.4%) and Maine (+3.0%). Growing markets bring new competitors and new buyers at the same time, which rewards outreach that is specific rather than volume-driven.
CRE brokers by state
All states and DC ranked by number of establishments, with the change since 2022.
| Rank | State | Establishments | Employees | Change vs 2022 |
|---|---|---|---|---|
| 1 | California | 22,558 | 53,008 | −3.4% |
| 2 | Florida | 21,144 | 44,695 | −0.5% |
| 3 | Texas | 11,405 | 33,989 | +2.3% |
| 4 | Colorado | 7,456 | 13,021 | −3.9% |
| 5 | North Carolina | 6,880 | 14,681 | +2.8% |
| 6 | New York | 6,584 | 19,852 | −2.8% |
| 7 | Arizona | 6,269 | 12,144 | −2.7% |
| 8 | Georgia | 6,227 | 13,754 | −0.7% |
| 9 | Washington | 5,670 | 14,425 | −0.8% |
| 10 | Illinois | 4,933 | 13,253 | −0.1% |
| 11 | Virginia | 4,254 | 11,464 | 0.0% |
| 12 | South Carolina | 3,337 | 7,097 | +1.6% |
| 13 | Ohio | 3,312 | 8,422 | +0.3% |
| 14 | Minnesota | 3,247 | 6,341 | −2.4% |
| 15 | Utah | 3,171 | 4,891 | −4.2% |
| 16 | Pennsylvania | 3,092 | 9,697 | +1.1% |
| 17 | Oregon | 2,900 | 5,711 | −4.6% |
| 18 | Indiana | 2,682 | 6,201 | +0.8% |
| 19 | Missouri | 2,550 | 6,531 | +1.6% |
| 20 | Michigan | 2,548 | 6,711 | −2.0% |
| 21 | Massachusetts | 2,359 | 7,461 | −0.1% |
| 22 | New Jersey | 2,315 | 10,441 | −1.9% |
| 23 | Nevada | 2,295 | 7,479 | −2.5% |
| 24 | Maryland | 2,264 | 5,720 | −5.1% |
| 25 | Wisconsin | 2,071 | 5,215 | +1.8% |
| 26 | Idaho | 1,841 | 2,723 | −2.7% |
| 27 | Tennessee | 1,637 | 6,348 | +1.0% |
| 28 | Oklahoma | 1,614 | 3,177 | +4.5% |
| 29 | Alabama | 1,582 | 4,403 | −0.8% |
| 30 | Kentucky | 1,450 | 2,751 | +3.0% |
| 31 | Kansas | 1,318 | 2,519 | −0.3% |
| 32 | Iowa | 1,195 | 2,293 | +2.2% |
| 33 | Louisiana | 1,156 | 2,269 | −4.3% |
| 34 | Arkansas | 1,145 | 2,346 | +1.6% |
| 35 | Nebraska | 1,131 | 2,499 | −3.3% |
| 36 | Montana | 1,100 | — | −1.5% |
| 37 | Maine | 814 | 1,178 | +3.0% |
| 38 | Connecticut | 755 | 3,578 | −5.7% |
| 39 | New Mexico | 746 | 1,501 | −0.1% |
| 40 | Hawaii | 594 | 3,165 | +0.5% |
| 41 | Mississippi | 577 | 1,229 | +1.4% |
| 42 | South Dakota | 456 | 800 | +1.6% |
| 43 | Wyoming | 447 | 891 | −2.8% |
| 44 | Rhode Island | 418 | 874 | +0.7% |
| 45 | Delaware | 417 | 1,150 | −2.1% |
| 46 | North Dakota | 373 | 611 | −0.3% |
| 47 | Alaska | 371 | 852 | +1.9% |
| 48 | New Hampshire | 363 | 864 | −0.5% |
| 49 | District of Columbia | 352 | 2,483 | −7.4% |
| 50 | West Virginia | 276 | 653 | +3.4% |
| 51 | Vermont | 243 | 456 | +1.7% |
Who CRE brokers sell to
Common buyer industries for commercial real estate brokers, with US establishment counts and how many have 10 to 249 employees.
| Buyer industry | Establishments | 10–249 employees | Employees |
|---|---|---|---|
| Legal Services | 181,092 | 23,511 | 1,190,297 |
| Management, Scientific, and Technical Consulting Services | 225,945 | 22,061 | 1,736,343 |
| Offices of Physicians | 218,066 | 58,939 | 2,771,935 |
| Lessors of Real Estate | 136,539 | 10,403 | 605,793 |
How CRE brokers should run cold email
Commercial real estate brokers sell tenant representation, leasing and investment sales to businesses and property owners. These are the contacts, triggers and messages that make a first email relevant rather than generic.
Who to email
- CEO or COO at growing tenants
- CFO or head of facilities
- Owner or principal of a professional practice
- Asset manager at property owners
Signals worth researching
- Headcount growth that outpaces current office capacity
- Lease expirations referenced in public filings or news
- New market entry or regional office announcements
- Hybrid work policy changes that alter space needs
What to say
- Reference the growth or change that affects their space
- Offer market context for their submarket rather than listings
- Suggest a short review of options before a lease decision window
What to avoid
- Sending listing blasts as cold email
- Assuming a lease date you have not verified
Cold email for CRE brokers, answered
How many CRE brokers are there in the US?
There were 163,894 establishments in NAICS 531210 (Offices of Real Estate Agents and Brokers) in 2023, employing 395,264 people. Source: U.S. Census Bureau, County Business Patterns 2023.
Which states have the most CRE brokers?
By establishments in 2023: California (22,558), Florida (21,144), Texas (11,405), Colorado (7,456) and North Carolina (6,880). Source: U.S. Census Bureau, County Business Patterns 2023.
How can commercial real estate brokers find tenants with cold email?
Look for companies whose situation is changing: rapid hiring, a new regional office, a merger, or a change in work policy. Those events create space decisions. A short message referencing the change and offering market context is more useful to a tenant than a list of available properties.
Who is the decision-maker for office space?
At smaller companies it is usually the CEO, owner or managing partner. At mid-sized companies it is often the CFO, COO or a head of facilities or workplace. Brokers get better results emailing the person who owns the budget and the timeline.
Is cold email legal in the United States?
Yes. The federal CAN-SPAM Act permits commercial email to business contacts without prior consent, provided the message identifies the sender accurately, uses a truthful subject line, includes a valid physical postal address and a working opt-out, and honours opt-out requests promptly. CAN-SPAM applies in every state and preempts most state commercial email laws, except provisions aimed at falsity or deception. This is general information, not legal advice.
Explore related pages
CRE Brokers by state
Other industries
Sources and methodology
Every figure on this page comes from a federal statistical release and is shown with its source and reference year. Figures the agencies withhold or publish with high noise are left out rather than estimated. Page updated September 17, 2026.
- U.S. Census Bureau, County Business Patterns 2023 and 2022: establishments, paid employment for the pay period including March 12, annual payroll, and establishments by employment size. Industries use NAICS 2017 codes.
- Industry definition: NAICS 531210, Offices of Real Estate Agents and Brokers, used as the closest official category for commercial real estate brokers.
Built for CRE brokers who sell to a finite list
Acqro researches every account on your list and writes the first email from what it finds.
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