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50 cities where it's better to buy than to rent

·Andrea Vale

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It's an oft-heard joke that millennials would rather spend money on avocado toast than buy a home, but the reality is much more complicated.

In decades past, owning a home was a cornerstone of personal achievement, but increasingly, this dream is falling out of favor. As of 2022, 77.8% of the Silent Generation and 76.8% of baby boomers owned homes, in contrast to just 51.5% of millennials. In the same year, almost 25% of millennials stated they would "always rent" and never purchase a house.

There are a variety of reasons. Millennials came into adulthood right around the time the real estate market collapsed in the late 2000s. They are also facing record-breaking student loan debt, inflated mortgage rates, and the fallout from the COVID-19 pandemic, which raised housing prices as more people shifted to work-from-home setups.

While buying a home may once have been a given, members of all generations are now seriously weighing when it is best to rent. Stacker analyzed home and rent prices from Zillow to see where it makes more sense to buy than rent. This analysis measured the 500 largest cities by population.

The price-to-rent ratio was calculated by dividing the 2023 median home price in that city by the annualized rent. The price-to-rent ratio is an industry metric used to measure whether it is cheaper to buy or rent, or whether the housing market is overvalued in that location. It does not take into account affordability.

In the 500 largest cities in the U.S., the average price-to-rent ratio was 18.58. Most of the cities on the list are in the Midwest and South, where home prices are lower than on the coasts.

Buying a home is a big financial decision with many one-time upfront closing costs, including down payments and fees. This analysis does not consider those costs, nor the monthly mortgage payment, which can vary depending on the type of loan secured, interest rates, or credit scores.

Read on to find out where it's worth it to splurge on a down payment and where you'd be better off keeping your savings intact.

You may also like: How to advertise rental property: Marketing tips to find renters

An aerial view of Plainfield.

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#50. Plainfield, Illinois

- Price-to-rent ratio: 12.34
- Median sale price: $351,632
- Median annual rent: $28,492 ($2,374 per month)

An aerial view of turquoise water on Vero Beach.

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#49. Vero Beach, Florida

- Price-to-rent ratio: 12.32
- Median sale price: $368,463
- Median annual rent: $29,903 ($2,492 per month)

A waterfall under a bridge with the Rochester skyline in the background.

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#48. Rochester, New York

- Price-to-rent ratio: 12.30
- Median sale price: $206,245
- Median annual rent: $16,764 ($1,397 per month)

A river.

MechanicSloth // Shutterstock

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#47. McAllen, Texas

- Price-to-rent ratio: 12.25
- Median sale price: $212,890
- Median annual rent: $17,384 ($1,449 per month)

A historic brick building in downtown Fayetteville.

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#46. Fayetteville, North Carolina

- Price-to-rent ratio: 12.12
- Median sale price: $195,603
- Median annual rent: $16,137 ($1,345 per month)

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An aerial view of Warren.

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#45. Warren, Michigan

- Price-to-rent ratio: 12.11
- Median sale price: $187,180
- Median annual rent: $15,462 ($1,288 per month)

Buildings on the river in downtown San Angelo.

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#44. San Angelo, Texas

- Price-to-rent ratio: 12.0
- Median sale price: $194,459
- Median annual rent: $16,206 ($1,350 per month)

An aerial view of Trenton at sunset.

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#43. Trenton, New Jersey

- Price-to-rent ratio: 11.85
- Median sale price: $274,061
- Median annual rent: $23,129 ($1,927 per month)

Red brick buildings on the river in Aurora.

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#42. Aurora, Illinois

- Price-to-rent ratio: 11.81
- Median sale price: $269,858
- Median annual rent: $22,853 ($1,904 per month)

A row of two-story homes.

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#40. Kansas City, Kansas

- Price-to-rent ratio: 11.67
- Median sale price: $179,430
- Median annual rent: $15,377 ($1,281 per month)

Downtown Lansing.

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#39. Lansing, Michigan

- Price-to-rent ratio: 11.66
- Median sale price: $142,079
- Median annual rent: $12,189 ($1,016 per month)

An aerial view of Sunrise.

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#38. Sunrise, Florida

- Price-to-rent ratio: 11.63
- Median sale price: $358,388
- Median annual rent: $30,815 ($2,568 per month)

An aerial view of a waterway going through Tuscaloosa.

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#37. Tuscaloosa, Alabama

- Price-to-rent ratio: 11.61
- Median sale price: $208,246
- Median annual rent: $17,939 ($1,495 per month)

An aerial view of El Paso in the foothills.

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#35. El Paso, Texas

- Price-to-rent ratio: 11.46
- Median sale price: $207,594
- Median annual rent: $18,109 ($1,509 per month)

A row of old homes.

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#34. Chicago, Illinois

- Price-to-rent ratio: 11.44
- Median sale price: $284,648
- Median annual rent: $24,886 ($2,074 per month)

Buttercup flowers in a field with Wichita Falls in the background.

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#33. Wichita Falls, Texas

- Price-to-rent ratio: 11.37
- Median sale price: $160,241
- Median annual rent: $14,099 ($1,175 per month)

An aerial view of High Point.

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#32. High Point, North Carolina

- Price-to-rent ratio: 11.23
- Median sale price: $224,055
- Median annual rent: $19,951 ($1,663 per month)

Downtown Amarillo.

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#30. Amarillo, Texas

- Price-to-rent ratio: 10.95
- Median sale price: $196,598
- Median annual rent: $17,961 ($1,497 per month)

An aerial view of New Haven.

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#29. New Haven, Connecticut

- Price-to-rent ratio: 10.87
- Median sale price: $278,151
- Median annual rent: $25,599 ($2,133 per month)

Looking over the tops of buildings in Springfield.

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#28. Springfield, Illinois

- Price-to-rent ratio: 10.74
- Median sale price: $143,236
- Median annual rent: $13,341 ($1,112 per month)

An aerial view of South Bend.

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#27. South Bend, Indiana

- Price-to-rent ratio: 10.68
- Median sale price: $167,834
- Median annual rent: $15,713 ($1,309 per month)

An aerial view of homes surrounded by trees.

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#25. Lehigh Acres, Florida

- Price-to-rent ratio: 10.67
- Median sale price: $264,914
- Median annual rent: $24,837 ($2,070 per month)

Saginaw on the water.

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#24. Saginaw, Michigan

- Price-to-rent ratio: 10.66
- Median sale price: $113,316
- Median annual rent: $10,626 ($885 per month)

An aerial view of historic buildings in Macon.

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#23. Macon, Georgia

- Price-to-rent ratio: 10.58
- Median sale price: $152,303
- Median annual rent: $14,395 ($1,200 per month)

Saint Louis on the water.

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#22. Saint Louis, Missouri

- Price-to-rent ratio: 10.36
- Median sale price: $163,341
- Median annual rent: $15,761 ($1,313 per month)

An aerial view of Syracuse.

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#20. Syracuse, New York

- Price-to-rent ratio: 10.18
- Median sale price: $166,788
- Median annual rent: $16,378 ($1,365 per month)

An aerial view of Delray Beach.

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#19. Delray Beach, Florida

- Price-to-rent ratio: 10.18
- Median sale price: $343,930
- Median annual rent: $33,788 ($2,816 per month)

Downtown Akron.

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#18. Akron, Ohio

- Price-to-rent ratio: 10.03
- Median sale price: $116,181
- Median annual rent: $11,587 ($966 per month)

Downtown Brownsville.

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#17. Brownsville, Texas

- Price-to-rent ratio: 9.94
- Median sale price: $160,700
- Median annual rent: $16,167 ($1,347 per month)

Lawton on the water.

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#16. Lawton, Oklahoma

- Price-to-rent ratio: 9.87
- Median sale price: $121,269
- Median annual rent: $12,284 ($1,024 per month)

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An aerial view of Beaumont.

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#15. Beaumont, Texas

- Price-to-rent ratio: 9.47
- Median sale price: $142,484
- Median annual rent: $15,043 ($1,254 per month)

An aerial view of Memphis on the water.

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#14. Memphis, Tennessee

- Price-to-rent ratio: 9.43
- Median sale price: $150,509
- Median annual rent: $15,959 ($1,330 per month)

An aerial view of Montgomery.

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#13. Montgomery, Alabama

- Price-to-rent ratio: 9.34
- Median sale price: $135,527
- Median annual rent: $14,511 ($1,209 per month)

Downtown Scranton.

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#12. Scranton, Pennsylvania

- Price-to-rent ratio: 9.33
- Median sale price: $143,237
- Median annual rent: $15,357 ($1,280 per month)

Red brick row homes.

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#10. Baltimore, Maryland

- Price-to-rent ratio: 8.95
- Median sale price: $178,338
- Median annual rent: $19,933 ($1,661 per month)

The downtown Shreveport skyline.

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#9. Shreveport, Louisiana

- Price-to-rent ratio: 8.67
- Median sale price: $124,429
- Median annual rent: $14,354 ($1,196 per month)

An aerial view of downtown Toledo.

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#8. Toledo, Ohio

- Price-to-rent ratio: 8.65
- Median sale price: $111,810
- Median annual rent: $12,922 ($1,077 per month)

The Peoria riverfront.

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#7. Peoria, Illinois

- Price-to-rent ratio: 8.21
- Median sale price: $118,204
- Median annual rent: $14,404 ($1,200 per month)

An aerial view of homes and downtown Birmingham.

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#5. Birmingham, Alabama

- Price-to-rent ratio: 6.68
- Median sale price: $105,727
- Median annual rent: $15,838 ($1,320 per month)

Homes with the Cleveland skyline in the background.

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#4. Cleveland, Ohio

- Price-to-rent ratio: 6.28
- Median sale price: $103,380
- Median annual rent: $16,453 ($1,371 per month)

An aerial view of Flint.

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#3. Flint, Michigan

- Price-to-rent ratio: 5.19
- Median sale price: $48,244
- Median annual rent: $9,303 ($775 per month)

Downtown Jackson.

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#2. Jackson, Mississippi

- Price-to-rent ratio: 5.06
- Median sale price: $68,496
- Median annual rent: $13,545 ($1,129 per month)

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