Business phone system for residential property managers

Residential property managers in the United States

County Business Patterns counted 60,818 residential property managers in the U.S. in 2023 (NAICS 531311, Residential Property Managers). They employed 536,933 people in mid-March and paid $31.6 billion in annual payroll. The average establishment has 8.8 employees. That is 17.9 establishments for every 100,000 residents.

California has the most (10,249), followed by New York (5,734), Florida (5,377), and Texas (4,939). Relative to population, District of Columbia leads with 48.1 per 100,000 residents, and West Virginia has the fewest at 6.9.

Why the phone matters for residential property managers

Property managers hear from tenants, owners, prospective renters and vendors, and maintenance calls can be urgent. Separating leasing calls from maintenance and routing emergencies after hours keeps small teams sane.

Calls residential property managers commonly handle:

• A tenant calls about a leaking water heater.
• A prospective tenant calls to schedule a showing.
• An owner calls about a monthly statement.
• A plumber calls to confirm access to a unit.
• The manager calls a tenant about a late payment.

Texting and after-hours calls

Managers text maintenance appointment windows, showing confirmations and rent reminders.

Maintenance emergencies happen at night, so after-hours routing to an on-call person is especially important here.

How big residential property managers are

64.9% of U.S. residential property managers with employees had fewer than five people in March 2023. 85.0% had fewer than ten. Most phone decisions in this industry are made for small teams, where one shared number and sensible routing matter more than a desk phone per person.

Residential property managers by state

Establishment counts for the 51 states (and DC) where Census published a figure, with the rate per 100,000 residents.

Largest metro areas for residential property managers

Census published residential property management company counts for 740 metro and micropolitan areas. The 25 largest:

What a phone system costs a residential property management company in the U.S.

The average U.S. residential property management company has 8.8 employees, so the comparison uses a 9-person team. Priced per seat, 9 users would run $270.00 a month on RingCentral RingEX Core and $224.55 on Ooma Office Pro (month-to-month list prices, checked September 28, 2026). Callata comes to $179.00 a month for 9 users ($99 a month with 5 users included, then $20 per additional user), below both.

Over a year, that is $1,092 less than RingCentral for a residential property management company in the U.S. of that size. Annual contracts lower some competitors' prices, so compare the plan you would actually sign.

How Callata works for residential property managers

Callata is a business phone system priced at $99 a month with 5 users included, then $20 per additional user. Callata Office includes up to 3 local business numbers, unlimited inbound calling, 1,500 pooled outbound US and Canada minutes per user each month, a browser softphone that can also ring your cell, voicemail with transcription, call recording with AI summaries, business-hours routing and E911 on every number.

Texting from a local number requires carrier registration (10DLC), a one-time $49 fee. Porting an existing number is free.

AI agents are optional: an AI receptionist or scheduler can pick up when the team is busy or closed, take a message, send a text or email, or transfer the call. They draw on prepaid AI minutes ($0.25/minute), disclose that they are AI, and outbound AI calls require prior consent and are limited to 8am–9pm.