Rent vs buy: is it better to rent or buy in your city?
For your city, we weigh what renting costs against what owning costs across the years you'll stay there, and then we stamp a winner. With today's numbers, renting wins in 580 of 813 cities. Buying comes out ahead in 176 cities, while 57 are a toss-up.
The numbers behind each verdict today
- The return we assume on savings
- 8.3% 60% S&P 500 with dividends and 40% 10-year Treasuries, rebalanced yearly, 1928 to 2025
Parts the "throwing money away" line leaves out
- In the first years, interest makes up most of a mortgage payment. That money never comes back.
- Buying a home and selling it later costs about 10% of its price. You pay costs on day one and again on the last day.
- Your down payment could have gone into an investment. The earnings from that investment would be a real cost of ownership.
- Even after the mortgage is paid off, upkeep, property tax and insurance still cost you money.
- Renters pay rent plus a small insurance bill. Several costs that ads leave out fall on the owner.
Rent or buy in the biggest cities
| City | Verdict | 7-year gap | Break-even | Price to rent |
|---|---|---|---|---|
| Houston, TX | Toss-up | $2k | year 8 | 14.0 |
Every one of the 813 cities has a page of its own, holding the numbers behind its stamp. Sortable list of 813 cities with a CSV
Next steps
Cost of owning a home Rent vs buy calculator Should I buy a house, or should I keep renting? Is renting throwing money away? Renting and buying: pros and cons Rent vs buy by state