Analysis of 2025 ASC Appraisal License Data

Using data from the Appraisal Subcommittee's (ASC) Federal Registry, we've analyzed the licensing of real estate appraisers across the United States. Our analysis covers approximately 66,715 active appraisers holding over 91,000 licenses, examining certification types, geographic distribution, and licensing tenure. This report provides insights into how appraisers are licensed and where they practice in 2025.

Data Collection and Processing

We downloaded the complete list of active appraisers from the ASC Federal Registry in Excel format. After importing into PostgreSQL (database), we cleaned the data by standardizing names, fixing inconsistent phone numbers and ZIP codes, and matching the same appraiser across different state licenses.

For geographic analysis, we incorporated the incredible "basic" free US ZIP code database from SimpleMaps, which provides population data and geographic coordinates for calculating state and regional statistics.

All of our data processing code and SQL queries are available in the asc_data_2025 GitHub repository for those interested in exploring or improving the analysis.

About the Data

Before diving into the findings, it's important to understand how we processed this data. The ASC maintains the federal registry of real estate appraisers, but the data comes from individual state regulatory agencies, each with their own reporting methods. This presents several challenges:

1. No unique national identifier for appraisers
2. Inconsistent name formats across states
3. Multiple licenses per appraiser (both across states and within states for certification upgrades)
4. Varying data quality and completeness

To address these challenges, we implemented a data cleaning process that attempts to:

1. Normalize names (removing titles, suffixes, and standardizing formats)
2. Identify unique appraisers across multiple licenses
3. Track certification progression (move from Certified Residential to Certified General, for example)
4. Validates contact information and credentials

While this process helps mitigate data quality issues, it's important to note that there's still some limitations. Especially because there's no standard national-level unique identifier for appraisers. For example, different appraisers sharing the same first and last name might be counted as a single individual, while variations in name spelling could cause the same person to be counted multiple times. Additionally, incomplete or inconsistent data from state agencies can affect the accuracy of experience calculations and certification tracking. We estimate these edge cases affect a small percentage of the total population, but readers should consider these limitations when interpreting our findings.

National Overview

As of 2025, there are approximately 66,715 unique active appraisers holding 91,290 active licenses across the United States. This difference in numbers reflects appraisers holding multiple licenses, either across state lines or at different certification levels.

Certification Distribution

Certification Type	Count	Percentage
Certified Residential	44,518	48.8%
Certified General	40,240	44.1%
Licensed Residential	6,532	7.2%

Experience Levels

The appraisal profession shows a interesting distribution of experience:

Experience Range	Count	Percentage
0-5 years	23,459	35.2%
5-10 years	6,652	10.0%
10-15 years	7,584	11.4%
15-20 years	10,469	15.7%
20+ years	18,551	27.8%

This distribution reveals both challenges and opportunities:

1. A significant portion (35.2%) are relatively new to the profession
2. A large group (27.8%) has extensive experience (20+ years)
3. There's a noticeable gap in the 5-15 year experience range, suggesting reduced entry during the post-2008 period

Geographic Distribution

State Distribution

The top 10 states by number of active appraisers:

State	Total Appraisers	Population	Pop. per Appraiser	Appraisers per 100k	Certified General	Certified Residential	Licensed
California	7,486	39.2M	5,242	19.1	34%	57%	10%
Texas	5,687	29.6M	5,212	19.2	42%	49%	11%
Florida	5,476	21.9M	4,004	25.0	36%	64%	0%
New York	3,299	19.8M	5,999	16.7	49%	47%	4%
Georgia	3,204	10.8M	3,378	29.6	50%	42%	8%
Illinois	3,103	12.7M	4,090	24.5	45%	55%	0%
North Carolina	3,062	10.6M	3,457	28.9	41%	56%	4%
Virginia	3,062	8.7M	2,827	35.4	39%	50%	12%
Pennsylvania	3,038	13.0M	4,275	23.4	47%	53%	0%
Ohio	2,656	11.8M	4,435	22.6	37%	49%	15%

Key State-Level Insights

1. Virginia leads in appraiser density with 35.4 appraisers per 100,000 residents (one appraiser per 2,827 residents)
2. New York has the lowest appraiser density among top states with 16.7 appraisers per 100,000 residents (one appraiser per 5,999 residents)
3. Some states (FL, IL, PA) have seemed to phase out the Licensed Residential category (or never had this type of license)
4. Certified General percentages vary significantly, from 34% (CA) to 50% (GA)
5. Population served per appraiser ranges from about 2,800 to 6,000 residents, suggesting varying levels of market coverage and potential opportunities

Regional Distribution

Distribution of appraisers across major US regions:

Region	Total Appraisers	States	Population	Pop. per Appraiser	Appraisers per 100k	Certified General	Certified Residential	Licensed
South	25,896	17	127.6M	4,928	20.3	35%	59%	8%
West	17,142	13	78.6M	4,588	21.8	33%	59%	10%
Midwest	14,301	12	68.9M	4,817	20.8	36%	55%	11%
Northeast	10,381	9	57.1M	5,504	18.2	38%	55%	8%
Caribbean	285	2	3.3M	11,417	8.8	57%	45%	<1%
Pacific	24	3	-	-	-	63%	21%	17%

Key Regional Insights

1. The South leads with the most appraisers (25,896) and states (17), serving a population of 127.6M
2. The West shows one appraiser per 4,588 residents
3. The Northeast has the lowest mainland coverage with one appraiser per 5,504 residents
4. Territories (Caribbean, Pacific) show distinct patterns with much higher Certified General percentages
5. Mainland regions show consistent Licensed percentages (8-11%) while territories vary significantly
6. Certification distributions are relatively uniform across mainland regions, with Certified Residential dominant (55-59%)

City Distribution

The top 25 cities by number of active appraisers:

City	State	Total Appraisers	Population	Pop. per Appraiser	Appraisers per 100k	Certified General	Certified Residential	Licensed
Chicago	IL	440	2,691,226	6,116	16.4	59.8%	40.5%	0.2%
Atlanta	GA	322	1,038,385	3,225	31.0	66.2%	29.5%	5.0%
New York	NY	322	1,617,259	5,023	19.9	86.7%	12.7%	0.9%
Phoenix	AZ	319	1,454,993	4,561	21.9	33.9%	60.2%	6.3%
Miami	FL	302	1,849,309	6,124	16.3	32.8%	67.2%	0.0%
Los Angeles	CA	293	2,384,216	8,137	12.3	62.5%	31.4%	6.1%
Charlotte	NC	292	967,202	3,312	30.2	47.3%	49.7%	3.4%
Tampa	FL	278	826,077	2,972	33.7	50.7%	50.0%	0.7%
San Diego	CA	276	1,330,316	4,820	20.8	36.6%	59.1%	4.7%
Dallas	TX	260	1,372,181	5,278	19.0	95.8%	4.2%	0.0%
Denver	CO	259	1,108,441	4,280	23.4	49.8%	44.0%	7.0%
Las Vegas	NV	254	1,625,332	6,399	15.6	29.5%	61.4%	9.5%
Portland	OR	238	929,296	3,905	25.6	48.7%	43.7%	7.6%
Seattle	WA	211	994,393	4,713	21.2	59.7%	39.3%	1.0%
Columbus	OH	202	874,256	4,328	23.1	53.5%	36.1%	10.9%
Jacksonville	FL	198	945,632	4,776	20.9	39.4%	60.1%	1.0%
Raleigh	NC	198	560,455	2,831	35.3	36.9%	61.1%	2.0%
Indianapolis	IN	187	978,823	5,234	19.1	38.5%	51.9%	9.6%
Orlando	FL	179	1,072,954	5,994	16.7	40.2%	60.3%	0.0%
Cincinnati	OH	165	814,555	4,937	20.3	35.8%	50.9%	13.9%
Irvine	CA	164	308,406	1,881	53.2	64.0%	34.2%	1.8%
San Jose	CA	162	1,014,813	6,264	16.0	22.2%	69.1%	9.3%
Louisville	KY	162	765,842	4,727	21.2	42.0%	58.6%	1.2%
Saint Louis	MO	159	891,907	5,609	17.8	42.1%	56.6%	1.9%
Knoxville	TN	157	414,609	2,641	37.9	40.1%	55.4%	4.5%

Key City-Level Insights

1. Irvine leads in appraiser density with 53.2 appraisers per 100,000 residents (one appraiser per 1,881 residents)
2. Los Angeles has the lowest appraiser density among major cities with 12.3 appraisers per 100,000 residents (one appraiser per 8,137 residents)
3. Several Florida cities (Miami, Orlando) have phased out the Licensed Residential category
4. Certified General percentages vary dramatically, from 22.2% (San Jose) to 95.8% (Dallas)
5. Population served per appraiser ranges from about 1,900 to 8,100 residents, suggesting significant variations in market coverage

Note: City-level statistics should be interpreted with caution due to data matching limitations. City names may be recorded differently across licenses and databases, and metropolitan areas may be split across multiple municipalities, potentially understating the true concentration of appraisers in some metro areas.

Multi-State Appraisers

While most appraisers maintain a single state license, some appraisal professionals practice across multiple states. On average, appraisers hold 1.34 licenses, indicating that most multiple licenses are for cross-state practice rather than different certification levels within the same state. Here's the distribution of appraisers by number of licenses held:

Number of Licenses	Appraisers	Percentage
1 license	55,762	83.6%
2-5 licenses	9,959	14.9%
6-10 licenses	656	1.0%
11-20 licenses	246	0.4%
20+ licenses	92	0.1%

This distribution shows that multi-state practice is relatively uncommon, with only 16.4% of appraisers holding licenses in multiple states. Even more rare are those with extensive multi-state coverage - less than 1% of appraisers hold more than 10 state licenses.

Here are the top 10 appraisers by number of state licenses:

Name	Active Licenses	Years Licensed	Company	Primary State
Gerald Rasmussen	50	32	Cushman Wakefield	CT
Ronald Owens	50	32	BBG	TX
Richard Plock	49	10	Robert A Stanger Co	NJ
Eric Enloe	49	22	Partner Valuation Advisors	IL
Hans Schmitter	48	13	Perspecta Valuation	IN
Joseph Miller	45	10	Partner Valuation Advisors	IL
Jerome Witte	45	33	QVAL Property Advisors	TX
Steven Romer	44	21	Westrock Appraisal Services	FL
Erik Hill	43	6	Partner Valuation Advisors	TX
Travis Welch	43	16	QVAL Property Advisors	TX

The prevalence of large national firms among top multi-state appraisers is not coincidental. These appraisers typically:

1. Work for major valuation firms that serve institutional clients across the country
2. Specialize in complex commercial property types (e.g., senior housing, medical facilities, industrial portfolios)
3. Handle assignments for national lenders or investors who work across state lines
4. Participate in portfolio valuations that span multiple states
5. Serve as subject matter experts for specialized property types where local expertise may be limited

This data shows that maintaining multiple state licenses is relatively rare. The most licensed appraisers range from 6 to 33 years of experience, demonstrating that national coverage is not solely dependent on years in the profession. Notably, several of these appraisers work for large valuation firms that specialize in commercial real estate, with Texas being a common base of operations.

Summary

While we've made every effort to clean and analyze the ASC data accurately, the nature of the source data presents inherent challenges. The lack of a national identifier for appraisers, variations in name formats across state systems, and inconsistencies in reporting methods mean that our deduplication efforts, while thorough, may not be perfect.

We welcome feedback from the appraisal community, especially regarding:

1. Corrections to any statistics presented
2. Suggestions for additional metrics to analyze
3. Insights into state-specific licensing nuances
4. Ideas for improving our deduplication methodology

If you find this analysis helpful and wish to reference these statistics, we kindly request that you link back to this report at https://jobsinappraisal.com/resources/asc-data-analysis-2025.

We'll continue refining our analysis methods and plan to provide updated statistics as new ASC data becomes available.