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.

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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

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• 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

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• 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

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• 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.

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