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10 Cities Where It’s Cheaper To Rent Than Buy a Home in 2023
Written by
Heather Taylor
Edited by
Chris Cluff

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Conventional housing wisdom recommends buying a home as soon as possible to build equity. As home prices and mortgage rates continue to become more expensive and rents drop in certain markets, it may be cheaper to rent and put off homeownership a little while longer.
Where is it cheaper to rent than buy? Realtor.com made these calculations by using August 2023 median rental prices for studio, one-bedroom and two-bedroom homes in the 50 largest metropolitan housing markets.
These median rental prices were weighted by the number of listings and compared to monthly buying costs for a median-priced home. Final calculations revealed 10 housing markets where renters can save the most money every month.
See whether you live in any of these 10 cities where it’s cheaper to rent than buy a home.
Austin, Texas
- Median monthly home purchase cost: $3,946
- Median monthly rent cost: $1,670
- Median monthly home purchase premium: $2,276 (136%)
San Francisco
- Median monthly home purchase cost: $5,859
- Median monthly rent cost: $2,906
- Median monthly home purchase premium: $2,953 (102%)
Columbus, Ohio
- Median monthly home purchase cost: $2,458
- Median monthly rent cost: $1,222
- Median monthly home purchase premium: $1,236 (101%)
Sacramento, California
- Median monthly home purchase cost: $3,779
- Median monthly rent cost: $1,898
- Median monthly home purchase premium: $1,881 (99%)
Los Angeles
- Median monthly home purchase cost: $5,672
- Median monthly rent cost: $2,892
- Median monthly home purchase premium: $2,780 (96%)
San Jose, California
- Median monthly home purchase cost: $6,581
- Median monthly rent cost: $3,367
- Median monthly home purchase premium: $3,214 (96%)
Portland, Oregon
- Median monthly home purchase cost: $3,314
- Median monthly rent cost: $1,709
- Median monthly home purchase premium: $1,605 (94%)
Boston
- Median monthly home purchase cost: $5,526
- Median monthly rent cost: $2,851
- Median monthly home purchase premium: $2,675 (94%)
Seattle
- Median monthly home purchase cost: $4,156
- Median monthly rent cost: $2,168
- Median monthly home purchase premium: $1,988 (92%)
Phoenix
- Median monthly home purchase cost: $3,015
- Median monthly rent cost: $1,595
- Median monthly home purchase premium: $1,420 (89%)
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