Transaction Coordination

Transaction Coordinator Salary in 2026: Employee Pay vs Per-File Income

Employee salary figures for real estate transaction coordinators from Salary.com, ZipRecruiter, Indeed and PayScale, why they disagree, the closest BLS occupations, pay by state, and how independent TCs work out per-file income.

Ijharul Islam October 30, 2026 10 min read

Employed real estate transaction coordinators are paid roughly $44,000 to $47,000 a year on the national averages we checked in October 2026: Salary.com puts it at $44,455 and ZipRecruiter at $46,821. Independent TCs don't draw a salary. They earn per-file fees times closed files, minus costs and self-employment tax.

More on this topic: TC and brokerage operations, every guide in one place.

Those two numbers hide a lot. Indeed's broader “transaction coordinator” title averages $58,393, PayScale's self-reported figure is far lower, and the Bureau of Labor Statistics doesn't track TCs at all. Below we put every figure side by side with its date and method, explain why they disagree, and show how to work out income if you run your own TC business. What TCs charge their clients is a separate question, covered in how much transaction coordinators charge.

Key takeaways

Salary.com ($44,455, October 1, 2026) and ZipRecruiter ($46,821, October 30, 2026) are the two national averages that measure real estate TCs specifically.
Indeed's $58,393 covers every job titled transaction coordinator, not only residential real estate, which is one reason it runs higher.
The BLS has no transaction coordinator occupation. The closest ones are real estate sales agents and administrative assistants, and neither is the same job.
By state, ZipRecruiter's averages run from $53,029 in Washington to $34,989 in Florida.
Independent TC income is fee per file times files closed, less fall-throughs, costs and self-employment tax (15.3% per the IRS, on top of income tax).

How much does a transaction coordinator make?

Four pay sites publish a national figure. They measure different things, so read the second column before the third:

Source (date)	What it measures	National figure	Spread	Based on
Salary.com (as of Oct 1, 2026)	Real Estate Transaction Coordinator	$44,455 a year (about $21/hour)	25th–75th: $41,230–$47,641; 10th–90th: $38,294–$50,541	Salary.com's compensation data
ZipRecruiter (as of Oct 30, 2026)	Real Estate Transaction Coordinator	$46,821 a year ($22.51/hour)	25th–75th: $39,000–$50,000; 90th: $62,500	Employer job postings and third-party data
Indeed (updated Oct 19, 2026)	Any job titled transaction coordinator	$58,393 a year	Low $36,139, high $94,350	694 salaries from Indeed job postings in the past 36 months
PayScale (updated Sep 1, 2026)	Real Estate Transaction Coordinator	$15.50/hour median	10th–90th: $12.31–$20.47/hour	40 self-reported salary profiles

For a related, more senior title, Salary.com lists Transaction Manager – Real Estate at an average of $56,235 (October 2026), with its most popular positions between $49,605 and $62,865. We couldn't read Glassdoor's pages (they refused our requests), so its figure isn't included.

If you want one sentence: most salaried real estate TC jobs fall between about $39,000 and $50,000 a year (ZipRecruiter's 25th to 75th percentile), with a tail above that in expensive markets and senior roles.

Why do transaction coordinator salary figures disagree?

Each site counts a different group of people in a different way:

Job title. Indeed's page covers every posting titled transaction coordinator. That can include roles outside residential real estate, so its average isn't directly comparable with the real-estate-only pages.
Method. Indeed and ZipRecruiter lean on job postings (what employers advertise), PayScale on what employees report about themselves, and Salary.com on its own compensation data. Advertised pay and reported pay are rarely the same number.
Sample size. PayScale's figure rests on 40 profiles. Indeed's rests on 694 postings collected over three years, which mixes older and newer pay.
Outliers. Indeed's highest-paying city, Portland, Oregon, shows $143,774 a year, more than double every national average. Single-city figures can swing on a handful of postings.
Who's missing. All four measure employees. Independent TCs paid per file don't show up in salary data at all, and in residential real estate many coordinators work that way.

So don't quote one figure as “the” TC salary. Use the real-estate-specific pages for a baseline, then check current postings in your own market.

What does the Bureau of Labor Statistics say about TC pay?

Nothing directly: the BLS doesn't publish an occupation for transaction coordinators. The two nearest occupations it does cover, with May 2025 data from its Occupational Outlook Handbook:

BLS occupation	Median annual wage, May 2025	How it compares with a TC
Real estate sales agents	$52,830	Licensed, mostly paid by commission, and represent clients; a TC usually doesn't
Real estate brokers	$73,220	Licensed brokers who can run a brokerage; a different job
Secretaries and administrative assistants, except legal, medical and executive	$47,540	Administrative support across all industries, not real estate files
All occupations	$50,980	The national benchmark

The administrative assistant median sits close to the real-estate TC averages above, which fits: an employed TC is an administrative specialist. But treat these as context, not as a TC salary.

How much do independent transaction coordinators make per file?

An independent TC's income is a formula, not a salary: fee per file × files closed per month, minus files that fall through, minus your costs, before tax. What TCs charge per file, and the few published fee figures with their caveats, are in how much transaction coordinators charge; we don't repeat them here.

A worked example, with made-up numbers so you can swap in your own: a $400 fee per closed file and $300 a month in software, phone and other costs.

Files closed per month	Fees per year	Costs per year	Before tax
4	$19,200	$3,600	$15,600
8	$38,400	$3,600	$34,800
12	$57,600	$3,600	$54,000

Two things the table leaves out. First, tax: independent TCs pay self-employment tax, which the IRS sets at 15.3% (12.4% Social Security and 2.9% Medicare) on net self-employment earnings, plus income tax. Second, capacity: income only scales while you can keep every file on time, which is why how many files a TC can handle matters as much as your fee. The free transaction coordinator fee calculator runs this math with your own fee, volume, fall-through rate and costs.

Employee vs independent TC: which pays more?

It depends on volume. An employee's pay is steady and the employer covers part of the payroll taxes; an independent TC's pay follows closings and can go well past a salary in a busy year, or fall below it in a slow one.

	Employed TC	Independent TC
Paid by	The brokerage or team	Each agent client, usually per file at closing
Pay basis	Salary or hourly	Flat fee per file or side, sometimes a retainer
Taxes	Withheld by the employer	Self-employment tax plus income tax, paid by you
Benefits	Whatever the employer offers	None unless you buy them
Ceiling	Set by the role	Set by your fee, your systems and your file count
Slow months	Same paycheck	Less income

Whether someone is an employee or a contractor isn't a choice of label: the IRS looks at who controls the work. We compare the two setups in in-house vs independent transaction coordinators.

How does transaction coordinator pay change with experience?

None of the pages we read publishes an experience breakdown we could verify for real estate TCs, so we won't invent one. What the data does show is the spread: Salary.com's 10th-to-90th percentile runs from $38,294 to $50,541, and ZipRecruiter's 90th percentile is $62,500. That's the room experience, market and responsibilities move you through.

In practice, pay rises with the scope of the job rather than with years alone:

More files, without more errors. A TC who can run a larger book reliably is worth more to a brokerage and earns more independently.
Senior and lead roles. Titles such as transaction manager pay more; Salary.com's average for Transaction Manager – Real Estate is $56,235.
Listing coordination. Adding pre-contract work as a separate service is extra income per seller (see listing coordinator vs transaction coordinator).
A license, where it widens what you may do. In some states licensed TCs can take on tasks unlicensed assistants can't; see how to become a transaction coordinator.
Training. Courses help you get hired, but we found no data showing a pay premium for any TC certificate; see transaction coordinator certification.

Which states pay transaction coordinators the most?

ZipRecruiter's state table for real estate transaction coordinators (checked October 30, 2026) shows how much location matters:

State	Average annual salary	Hourly
Washington	$53,029	$25.49
District of Columbia	$52,909	$25.44
New York	$51,224	$24.63
Massachusetts	$51,134	$24.58
California	$46,208	$22.22
Texas	$43,621	$20.97
Georgia	$39,535	$19.01
Florida	$34,989	$16.82

Indeed's city list for its broader title points the same way, led by Portland, Oregon ($143,774), New York ($102,355), Dallas ($69,842), Los Angeles ($67,811) and Denver ($65,519), with the outlier caveat above. Independent TCs feel the market through fees instead: what agents will pay per file tracks local commissions and costs. State licensing rules differ too; see our state guides for Texas, California and Florida.

How can a transaction coordinator earn more?

Price from your own numbers. Track hours per file for a month, then set a fee that covers your target hourly rate and costs.
Charge for the exceptions. Dual-side files, rush closings and fall-throughs belong in your TC agreement.
Cut the minutes per file. Every hour saved on data entry and chasing documents is capacity for another client.
Add a service. Listing coordination or compliance file prep are natural add-ons.
Plan the business. A simple transaction coordinator business plan turns a fee and a file count into a yearly income target.

Frequently asked questions

Do transaction coordinators make good money?

Employed TCs earn a little below the $50,980 BLS median for all US occupations; Salary.com and ZipRecruiter put real estate TCs at about $44,000-$47,000 in October 2026. Independent TCs with steady agent clients can earn more, but income follows closings.

How much does a transaction coordinator make per hour?

Salary.com's average works out to about $21 an hour and ZipRecruiter's to $22.51. PayScale's self-reported median is $15.50, from only 40 profiles.

Is a transaction coordinator salary higher with a real estate license?

No national source we read separates licensed and unlicensed TCs. A license can widen the tasks you're allowed to do in some states, which can make you more useful to a brokerage.

How many files does an independent TC need to replace a salary?

Divide the salary you're replacing, plus your yearly costs and the extra self-employment tax, by your fee per file. At a hypothetical $400 fee, $45,000 needs well over 100 closed files a year.

Do transaction coordinators get commission?

Usually not. Employees are paid a salary or hourly; independent TCs charge a flat fee per file, often collected at closing. A fee tied to a deal closing isn't the same as a share of the agent's commission.

Can a transaction coordinator work part time?

Yes. Many independent TCs start with a few agents and a few files a month, which is why income ranges are so wide.

Run more files in the same hours

Closingbird reads each executed contract, fills in the dates, parties and amounts for you to check, reminds each deadline's owner and invoices your fee from the file, so the hours you save become capacity. Start a free trial (14-day free trial, no credit card required) or see pricing.

Sources

Checked in October 2026. Rules and prices change, and many vary by state, so confirm with the source, your state's real estate commission or your broker before you rely on them.

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