Free tool
Rent or buy?
When buying starts to come out ahead of renting, with your place's typical rent and price and assumptions about the future that you can change.
Free, no sign-up. What you type stays on your phone.
This week's average 30-year rate: 7.18% (Freddie Mac, November 5, 2026).
- Connected to 3,222 counties and 33,486 ZIP codes
- Public data from Freddie Mac, the Census Bureau, and FHFA
Move the numbers and the result changes right away. We start with the typical numbers for the United States; change any of them to yours.
Calculating with the numbers for:
Your numbers
That is $11,645. The minimum for this loan is 3.5%.
It changes the result the most.
Adjust advanced details
These are example scenarios, not data: no one knows how much a home will rise.
Real data: in the United States, according to the FHFA House Price Index, prices changed by 6.3% a year on average in the 10 years through 2025. The past does not tell you how much they will rise.
Example assumption; change it.
Repairs and upkeep. Example assumption.
What the money you do not put into the home would earn. Example assumption.
Commissions and taxes when selling. Example assumption.
Let's do the math
If you stay 7 years
Renting comes out ahead by about $90,044
With these assumptions, buying does not come out ahead within 30 years.
- Cost of buying per month (first year)
- $3,037
- Rent per month (first year)
- $1,413
- Cash up front to buy
- $21,626
- What you keep when selling in year 7
- $86,049
Buying's advantage, year by year
Above the dashed line buying is better; below it, renting. The dot marks the years you stay.
Under other scenarios (7 years)
| Appreciation | Break-even | In 7 years |
|---|---|---|
| Low (1%) | Never | Rent +$135,484 |
| Medium (3%) | Never | Rent +$90,044 |
| High (5%) | Year 17 | Rent +$38,767 |
This rests on assumptions
We use the place's typical tax (0.94% of value), an example insurance (0.5% of value a year) and example closing costs (3% of price). Appreciation, rent increases and returns are examples: change them and watch how the result moves.
An educational estimate, not a recommendation. It does not include tax deductions or rate changes.
Rate of 7.18% (Freddie Mac national average as of November 5, 2026). Home insurance is an example; get quotes. This is an educational estimate, not a loan offer.
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How is it calculated?
The same formulas lenders use, with the rules each program publishes. Nothing is hidden.
The formula
Renting = rent × 12, rising 3% a year. Buying = payments + maintenance (1% of the value a year) − what you recover at sale (value − 6% selling costs − balance). Break-even is the year buying comes out equal or better.
Example with the numbers for the United States
- Typical rent
- $1,413
- Monthly cost of owning
- $2,360
- Cash at purchase
- $21,626
- Buying ties renting in
- No break-even within 30 years
Computed from the page's data when it was built; in the tool you replace every number with your own.
What moves the result?
Six things that change the number more than anything else.
-
The rent
Today's rent and how much it rises each year weigh heavily in the comparison.
-
The price
Every dollar of price is a dollar more of loan. It is the first thing that moves the payment.
-
Time
How many years you stay changes whether buying, refinancing or waiting pays.
-
How prices move
Nobody knows in advance. The tool shows scenarios, not promises.
-
The rate
One point of rate changes the payment for the whole term. Compare at least three offers.
-
Closing costs
Charges, prepaids and escrow. The example uses 3% of the price until your estimate arrives.
The official numbers behind the tool
Official data the tool uses, so you can compare.
Price change in the most populous counties of the United States
| Place | 5 years | 10 years | Last year |
|---|---|---|---|
| Los Angeles County (CA) | +43.3% | +86.9% | +1.7% |
| Cook County (IL) | +41.6% | +61.3% | +5.5% |
| Harris County (TX) | +30.7% | +53.8% | +0.6% |
| Maricopa County (AZ) | +56.1% | +125.3% | +0.7% |
| San Diego County (CA) | +53.6% | +99.1% | +0.7% |
| Orange County (CA) | +53.5% | +89.0% | +3.3% |
| Miami-Dade County (FL) | +79.5% | +147.7% | +2.8% |
| Kings County (NY) | +20.1% | +56.9% | +4.6% |
- Los Angeles County (CA) +43.3%+86.9%
- Cook County (IL) +41.6%+61.3%
- Harris County (TX) +30.7%+53.8%
- Maricopa County (AZ) +56.1%+125.3%
- San Diego County (CA) +53.6%+99.1%
- Orange County (CA) +53.5%+89.0%
- Miami-Dade County (FL) +79.5%+147.7%
- Kings County (NY) +20.1%+56.9%
Source: FHFA House Price Index (2025 data)
Rents in the most populous counties of the United States
| Place | Typical rent | 2-bed Fair Market Rent | Rent ÷ income |
|---|---|---|---|
| Los Angeles County (CA) | $1,954 | $2,964 | 26% |
| Cook County (IL) | $1,435 | $2,011 | 21% |
| Harris County (TX) | $1,401 | $1,497 | 22% |
| Maricopa County (AZ) | $1,708 | $1,734 | 23% |
| San Diego County (CA) | $2,246 | $2,823 | 25% |
| Orange County (CA) | $2,434 | $3,057 | 25% |
| Miami-Dade County (FL) | $1,829 | $2,564 | 31% |
| Kings County (NY) | $1,833 | $2,971 | 27% |
- Los Angeles County (CA) $1,954$2,964
- Cook County (IL) $1,435$2,011
- Harris County (TX) $1,401$1,497
- Maricopa County (AZ) $1,708$1,734
- San Diego County (CA) $2,246$2,823
- Orange County (CA) $2,434$3,057
- Miami-Dade County (FL) $1,829$2,564
- Kings County (NY) $1,833$2,971
Source: American Community Survey (Average 2020–2024) · Fair Market Rents (Fiscal year 2027)
— means the source publishes no value.
Want your county's numbers?
Type your county or ZIP code: the tool loads its numbers and keeps them in your browser for the other tools.
Frequently asked questions
Why does the result change so much?
Because it depends on things no one knows for sure: how much the home will rise, how much rent will rise and how much your money would earn elsewhere. Look at the scenario table before deciding.
Is buying always better?
No. If you stay only a few years, buying and selling costs usually weigh more. If you stay many years and the home rises, buying usually comes out ahead. The tool shows where the break-even point is with your numbers.
Where do the rent and price come from?
From the Census American Community Survey for your place, if you saved it. The assumptions about the future (appreciation, rent increases, returns) are examples, not data.
Does it count tax benefits?
No, because they depend on your return. If you itemize deductions, buying may come out a little better than what you see here.
Methodology and sources (Freddie Mac, the Census Bureau, and FHFA)
- Buying: the down payment and closing costs up front; then, each year, the loan payment (principal, interest and mortgage insurance under each program's rules), tax and insurance on the home's value, and maintenance (example: 1% of the value a year).
- Renting: the rent, which goes up each year (example: 3%). The renter invests the down payment and closing cost money, and whoever spends less in a year invests the difference (example: 4% a year).
- When you sell, the home is worth what it grew (example scenarios: 1%, 3% or 5% a year) minus selling costs (example: 6%) minus what you still owe.
- Buying's advantage is your equity after selling, plus what you invested, minus what the renter would have built up. The break-even year is the first one that favors buying. We do not count tax deductions: they depend on each household.
Data
- Freddie Mac Primary Mortgage Market Survey (As of November 5, 2026)
- American Community Survey (Average 2020–2024)
- FHFA House Price Index (2025 data)
What comes next?
Go on to the tool that answers your next question, or read a guide at your own pace.
Want someone to go over it with you? A HUD-approved counselor does it for free or at low cost. Find a counselor
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Guides to read next
- Rent-to-own homes: the risks and what to get in writing How rent-to-own (a lease with an option to buy) works, the risks regulators warn about, what to get in writing and how your rent counts toward a mortgage.
- Selling your home: net proceeds, taxes and disclosures How to get your mortgage payoff amount, negotiate with your agent, figure what you keep, what to disclose to the buyer and the IRS home sale exclusion.
- Closing Disclosure explained: what to check before signing What the Closing Disclosure is, when it must reach you, what to check on each of its five pages and which closing costs are not allowed to go up.
- How much do you need for a down payment? 20% is not required: what each loan asks for (FHA, conventional, VA, USDA), what changes with less than 20% down, and where the money can come from.