LendingTree Compares Renting and Owning a Home in the 50 Largest Metropolitan Areas in the U.S.

Staff Report

Monday, March 4th, 2019

LendingTree, the nation's leading online loan marketplace, released its analysis of the costs of renting and owning a home in the 50 largest metros in the U.S.

Cost is one of the biggest factors that people consider when they are choosing between renting and owning. To take a closer look at how the cost of renting a home differs from the price of owning one, LendingTree compared monthly rental and monthly mortgage payments for homes in the 50 largest metropolitan areas in the United States.

Key findings:

Louisville, Milwaukee and Oklahoma are the metros where median rents are cheapest when compared to median mortgages. In these areas, median rent costs are an average of $310 cheaper than median mortgage costs.

Miami and Orlando, Fla.; and Virginia are the metros where rent payments are the most expensive when compared to mortgage payments. Median mortgage payments are an average of $215 cheaper than median rent payments in these metros.

Four of the top 10 metros where monthly rents are higher than monthly mortgage payments are in Florida. According to a recent housing study from Harvard University, low wages and too few rental units are key factors that have caused Florida's rental affordability crisis to become the worst in the nation.

Metros where monthly rent payment is lower than monthly mortgage payments

Louisville
Median monthly rent payment: $866
Median monthly mortgage payment: $1,195
Difference between median monthly rent and median monthly mortgage payment: -$329

Milwaukee
Median monthly rent payment: $925
Median monthly mortgage payment: $1,225
Difference between median monthly rent and median monthly mortgage payment: -$301

Oklahoma
Median monthly rent payment: $900
Median monthly mortgage payment: $1,200
Difference between median monthly rent and median monthly mortgage payment: -$300

Metros where monthly mortgage payment is lower than monthly mortgage payments

Miami
Median monthly rent payment: $1,477
Median monthly mortgage payment: $1,215
Difference between median monthly mortgage and median monthly rent payment: $262

Orlando, Fla.
Median monthly rent payment: $1,263
Median monthly mortgage payment: $1,036
Difference between median monthly mortgage and median monthly rent payment: $227

Virginia Beach, Va.
Median monthly rent payment: $1,318
Median monthly mortgage payment: $1,163
Difference between median monthly mortgage and median monthly rent payment: $155

 

50 largest metros ranked by the difference between the cost of renting and owning a home

Rank

Top 50 MSA
Name

Average
median
rent

Average
median
mortgage

Difference
between
rent and
mortgage

1

Louisville, Ky.

$866

$1,195

-$329

2

Milwaukee

$925

$1,225

-$301

3

Oklahoma City

$900

$1,200

-$300

4

Boston

$1,417

$1,700

-$284

5

San Francisco

$1,856

$2,130

-$275

6

New York

$1,489

$1,738

-$249

7

Providence, R.I.

$1,016

$1,242

-$226

8

Philadelphia

$1,159

$1,367

-$207

9

Raleigh, N.C.

$1,200

$1,383

-$183

10

Chicago

$1,180

$1,362

-$182

11

Detroit

$945

$1,123

-$178

12

Sacramento, Calif.

$1,342

$1,517

-$175

13

Baltimore

$1,325

$1,483

-$158

14

Nashville, Tenn.

$1,073

$1,217

-$143

15

Seattle

$1,501

$1,635

-$135

16

Columbus, Ohio

$947

$1,068

-$121

17

Cincinnati

$883

$998

-$115

18

San Diego

$1,746

$1,842

-$96

19

Los Angeles

$1,639

$1,730

-$91

20

Pittsburgh

$858

$948

-$90

21

San Jose, Calif.

$2,162

$2,250

-$88

22

Kansas City, Mo.

$974

$1,050

-$76

23

Hartford, Conn.

$1,148

$1,218

-$70

24

Cleveland

$831

$873

-$42

25

Minneapolis

$1,201

$1,237

-$36

26

St. Louis

$952

$973

-$22

27

New Orleans

$1,084

$1,105

-$21

28

Buffalo, N.Y.

$794

$815

-$21

29

Indianapolis

$950

$969

-$20

30

Portland, Ore.

$1,285

$1,290

-$6

31

Birmingham, Ala.

$904

$893

$11

32

Richmond, Va.

$1,190

$1,168

$23

33

Houston

$1,244

$1,217

$27

34

Phoenix

$1,149

$1,105

$44

35

Salt Lake City

$1,137

$1,090

$47

36

Atlanta

$1,166

$1,110

$56

37

San Antonio

$1,095

$1,038

$57

38

Austin, Texas

$1,334

$1,263

$71

39

Memphis, Tenn.

$973

$900

$73

40

Dallas

$1,251

$1,167

$84

41

Charlotte, N.C.

$1,121

$1,037

$84

42

Riverside, Calif.

$1,369

$1,280

$89

43

Jacksonville, Fla.

$1,140

$1,048

$91

44

Washington

$1,819

$1,727

$92

45

Las Vegas

$1,198

$1,102

$96

46

Denver

$1,362

$1,252

$110

47

Tampa, Fla.

$1,192

$1,072

$120

48

Virginia Beach, Va.

$1,318

$1,163

$155

49

Orlando, Fla.

$1,263

$1,036

$227

50

Miami

$1,477

$1,215

$262