Study Finds That Renting Is Cheaper Than Buying a Home in All 50 of America’s Largest Metro Areas

Renting has become more affordable than buying a home in 50 of the largest metro areas in the United States, a recent study reveals.

The analysis, performed by Bankrate, found that it costs about 37 percent more a month to buy a home than to rent nationwide. The cost disparity is largely a product of rising home prices, increased mortgage rates, and a slowdown in rent hikes, the study noted.

The average monthly rent payment is $1,979 while the average monthly payment on a $412,778 home, the median price, is just over $2,703. The average monthly mortgage rate, meanwhile, is 7.33 percent as of April 17th, 2024, a three percent increase since March 2022.

While the trend is persistent across the 50 largest metropolitan areas in the United States, the disparity between the costs of renting and buying a home vary wildly depending on location.

The analysis uses the buy-to-rent ratio, which compares “typical monthly mortgage payments to typical monthly rent payments.” The disparity is most drastic in California’s Bay Area, with a buy-to-rent ratio of over 180 percent in San Francisco, Oakland, and Berkeley and a 162 percent ratio in San Jose, Sunnyvale, and Santa Clara. (Read more from “Study Finds That Renting Is Cheaper Than Buying a Home in All 50 of America’s Largest Metro Areas” HERE)

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