10 Cities Where Renting Is at Least $1,000 Cheaper Than Buying

In many major cities, it’s now significantly cheaper to rent than to buy a starter home. Across the 50 largest U.S. metro areas, renting costs nearly $800 less per month than buying, the latest Realtor.com Rental Report found. That’s a major increase from just one year ago, when the average difference was $174.

I’m a Real Estate Agent: Here Are the 6 Cities Where You Should Avoid Buying a Home This SummerMore: How To Build Your Savings From Scratch

In the 10 cities with the largest monthly savings for renters, ranked by the percent difference between monthly mortgage payments and asking rents, the savings is over $1,000. Here’s a look at the places where it’s much cheaper to rent than buy.

And here are some tips for finding affordable rentals.

• Buy-rent difference (%): 121.3%
• Buy-rent difference ($): $2,013
• Overall median rent (0-2 bedrooms): $1,659
• Monthly starter home cost: $3,672

Florida’s Retirees Are Fleeing: Here’s Where They’re Going InsteadLearn: 10 US Cities With Plenty of Jobs and Cheap Housing

• Buy-rent difference (%): 97%
• Buy-rent difference ($): $2,855
• Overall median rent (0-2 bedrooms): $2,943
• Monthly starter home cost: $5,798

• Buy-rent difference (%): 86.1%
• Buy-rent difference ($): $1,772
• Overall median rent (0-2 bedrooms): $2,059
• Monthly starter home cost: $3,831

• Buy-rent difference (%): 83%
• Buy-rent difference ($): $2,621
• Overall median rent (0-2 bedrooms): $3,156
• Monthly starter home cost: $5,777

See: 5 Affordable Up-and-Coming US Locations To Buy Vacation Property in 2023

• Buy-rent difference (%): 77.2%
• Buy-rent difference ($): $2,085
• Overall median rent (0-2 bedrooms): $2,702
• Monthly starter home cost: $4,787

• Buy-rent difference (%): 74.9%
• Buy-rent difference ($): $2,150
• Overall median rent (0-2 bedrooms): $2,870
• Monthly starter home cost: $5,020

• Buy-rent difference (%): 73.1%
• Buy-rent difference ($): $2,097
• Overall median rent (0-2 bedrooms): $2,868
• Monthly starter home cost: $4,965

Housing Market: Should Older Americans Rent in Retirement Instead of Paying a Mortgage?

• Buy-rent difference (%): 71.2%
• Buy-rent difference ($): $1,246
• Overall median rent (0-2 bedrooms): $1,750
• Monthly starter home cost: $2,996

• Buy-rent difference (%): 70.1%
• Buy-rent difference ($): $1,116
• Overall median rent (0-2 bedrooms): $1,592
• Monthly starter home cost: $2,708

• Buy-rent difference (%): 67.7%
• Buy-rent difference ($): $1,241
• Overall median rent (0-2 bedrooms): $1,834
• Monthly starter home cost: $3,075

All data is sourced from Realtor.com’s December 2022 Rental Report and is accurate as of Jan. 26, 2023.