--- title: 5 Cities Where Buying a House Is Still Cheaper Than Renting description: Renting is more affordable than buying a home in most U.S. cities now that mortgage rates are high. But there are some exceptions. authors: - name: Sarah Hansen role: Senior Writer url: https://money.com/author/sarah-hansen/ bio: Sarah Hansen is a senior writer at Money covering all things personal finance. Previously, she covered economic policy and capital markets on the breaking news desk at Forbes. education: Northwestern University, New York University at_money_since: 2021 articles: 347 covers: - Housing - Banking - Business - Career Advice - Credit - Credit Cards - Economy and Politics - Education - Health and Wellness - Insurance - Investing - Lifestyle - Loans - Mortgages - Personal Finance - Professional Services - Retirement - Shopping - Taxes social: - https://www.linkedin.com/in/sarah-m-hansen/ former_staff: true editors: - name: Brad Tuttle role: Senior Editor url: https://money.com/author/brad-tuttle/ bio: Brad Tuttle is a former senior editor at Money with over 10 years’ experience covering a vast number of personal finance topics, including careers, cars, travel, budgeting, investing, insurance, credit cards, consumer psychology, real estate, banking, and shopping and deals. education: Columbia University School of Journalism, MS at_money_since: 2014 articles: 366 covers: - Housing - Banking - Business - Career Advice - Credit - Credit Cards - Economy and Politics - Education - Health and Wellness - Identity Theft - Insurance - Investing - Lifestyle - Loans - Mortgages - Personal Finance - Pets - Professional Services - Retirement - Shopping - Taxes - Technology social: - https://twitter.com/bradrtuttle - https://linkedin.com/in/brad-tuttle-834b225 former_staff: true published: '2023-01-27T18:34:04.000Z' modified: '2024-01-10T14:33:05.000Z' section: Housing tags: - News word_count: 276 canonical: https://money.com/cities-where-buying-house-cheaper-renting/ type: NewsArticle source: structured-blocks --- > **Disclosure:** We research all brands listed and may earn a fee from our partners. Research and financial considerations may influence how brands are displayed. Not all brands are included. [Learn more](https://money.com/page/disclaimer/). ![Memphis downtown skyline and Wolf Rover and boats and harbor in the foreground](https://img.money.com/2023/01/News-Buying-Versus-Renting-Big-Cities.jpg) *Memphis, Tennessee* While [renting a house is cheaper than buying](https://money.com/renting-cheaper-than-buying-home-now/) one in most of the United States right now, there are a few exceptions. Of the 50 largest cities in the country, a [new report](https://www.realtor.com/research/december-2022-rent/) from Realtor.com identifies five where it’s actually cheaper to buy. Here’s the list, along with how much less a typical buyer paid in housing costs for the month of December compared to a typical renter: - Memphis, Tennessee: -$411 - Pittsburgh, Pennsylvania: -$348 - Birmingham, Alabama: -$270 - St. Louis, Missouri: -$83 - Baltimore, Maryland: -$65 In these five cities, people buying starter homes paid an average of $235 less than renters on a monthly basis. ## Keep in mind These cities are the exception, not the rule. In the other 45 cities Realtor.com analyzed, renting was [more affordable than buying](https://money.com/renting-cheaper-than-buying-home-now/). Across the board, the typical renter paid $792 less in housing costs in December than a starter homeowner. Realtor.com also noted that the financial advantage of [buying a house](https://money.com/how-to-buy-a-house/) in each of five cities above has shrunk over the past year amid rising home prices and rising [mortgage rates](https://money.com/current-mortgage-rates/). A year ago, 20 cities out of 50 were more favorable to buyers. ## What’s next for the housing market Realtor.com forecasts that rents will continue to rise this year, though at a slower rate than the 11% growth in rent prices in 2022. At the same time, experts say the [market could heat up for buyers](https://money.com/bidding-wars-housing-market-recovery/) in the coming months as mortgage rates continue to fall. ```json { "@context": "https://schema.org", "@graph": [ { "@type": "BreadcrumbList", "@id": "https://money.com/cities-where-buying-house-cheaper-renting/#breadcrumb", "itemListElement": [ { "@type": "ListItem", "position": 1, "name": "Home", "item": "https://money.com" }, { "@type": "ListItem", "position": 2, "name": "Housing", "item": "https://money.com/housing/" }, { "@type": "ListItem", "position": 3, "name": "Home Prices", "item": "https://money.com/home-prices/" }, { "@type": "ListItem", "position": 4, "name": "5 Cities Where Buying a House Is Still Cheaper Than Renting" } ] }, { "@type": "WebSite", "@id": "https://money.com/#website", "url": "https://money.com", "name": "Money", "publisher": { "@id": "https://money.com/#organization" } }, { "@type": "WebPage", "@id": "https://money.com/cities-where-buying-house-cheaper-renting/#webpage", "url": "https://money.com/cities-where-buying-house-cheaper-renting/", "name": "5 Cities Where Buying a House Is Still Cheaper Than Renting", "isPartOf": { "@id": "https://money.com/#website" }, "datePublished": "2023-01-27T18:34:04.000Z", "mainEntity": { "@id": "https://money.com/cities-where-buying-house-cheaper-renting/" }, "inLanguage": "en-US", "breadcrumb": { "@id": "https://money.com/cities-where-buying-house-cheaper-renting/#breadcrumb" }, "dateModified": "2024-01-10T14:33:05.000Z" }, { "@type": "NewsArticle", "headline": "5 Cities Where Buying a House Is Still Cheaper Than Renting", "articleSection": "Housing", "image": [ { "@type": "ImageObject", "url": "https://img.money.com/2023/01/News-Buying-Versus-Renting-Big-Cities.jpg", "width": 3250, "height": 2122, "caption": "News-Buying-Versus-Renting-Big-Cities" } ], "author": [ { "@type": "Person", "name": "Sarah Hansen", "url": "https://money.com/author/sarah-hansen/", "@id": "https://money.com/author/sarah-hansen/#author", "description": "Sarah Hansen is a senior writer at Money covering all things personal finance. 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