How Much Cheaper It Is To Rent Than Buy A Home In Every U.S. State

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As reported by the U.S. Census Bureau, homeownership rates witnessed a decline in the first quarter of 2019, marking a departure from the consistent upward trend observed over the preceding two years. Various factors, including student loan debt, financial uncertainty, and soaring housing prices, are discouraging certain potential homeowners from pursuing property ownership.

HowMuch.net used data from the US Census Bureau to create a map that shows whether it’s more affordable to buy or rent a house based on location within the U.S. state.

The U.S. states colored turquoise on the map above show where it is reasonable to rent a residence than buy a home, with the darker tints of turquoise color representing a more significant percentage contrast between buying and renting. In the purple U.S. states, it is cheaper to buy than to rent. Florida is the only state where it is more affordable to buy than rent.

In most U.S. states cheaper to rent than own property. The Sunshine State is the lone exception, as the median monthly mortgage payment in Florida comes down to $947, slightly lower than the median monthly rent, which is $975.

Top 20 U.S. States where renting is cheaper than buying

1. Puerto Rico – 85% cheaper to rent than to buy
2. Montana – 42% cheaper to rent than buy
3. Wyoming – 40% cheaper to rent than buy
4. Alabama – 39% cheaper to rent than buy
5. Kentucky – 35% cheaper to rent than buy
6. Louisiana – 34% cheaper to rent than buy
7. North Dakota – 33% cheaper to rent than buy
8. South Dakota – 33% cheaper to rent than buy
9. Mississippi – 33% cheaper to rent than buy
10. Rhode Island – 31% cheaper to rent than buy
11. New Mexico – 30% cheaper to rent than buy
12. Oklahoma – 29% cheaper to rent than buy
13. California – 28% cheaper to rent than buy
14. West Virginia – 28% cheaper to rent than buy
15. Hawaii – 28% cheaper to rent than buy
16. South Carolina – 27% cheaper to rent than buy
17. Arkansas – 27% cheaper to rent than buy
18. Nebraska – 27% cheaper to rent than buy
19. Virginia – 26% cheaper to rent than buy
20. Missouri – 26% cheaper to rent than buy

Contrary to popular opinion about increasing home prices in major coastal hubs like NYC and San Francisco, requirements for real estate buyers are slightly friendlier on the West Coast and the East Coast compared to the South or Great Plains. In the South and Great Plains, it is still remarkably reasonable to rent than to purchase, often leading to savings of 33 percent or more on housing prices. The geographic exceptions are Puerto Rico ($688 mortgage vs. $371 rent) and Rhode Island ($1,089 mortgage vs. $832 rent). If you still have fantasies of buying property, regardless of where you reside, you may find it simpler to rent for several years to save up for a down payment.

Is it more common to own or rent in every U.S. state?

State	Number Owned Properties	Number Rented Properties	%Owned	%Rented	Median contract rent	Mortgage Cost	% Cheaper to rent than buy
Puerto Rico	802.024	389.281	67.32%	32.68%	$371	$688	85%
Montana	292.585	130.506	69.15%	30.85%	$667	$946	42%
Wyoming	159.792	66.004	70.77%	29.23%	$703	$987	40%
Alabama	1,253,199	588.466	68.05%	31.95%	$565	$786	39%
Kentucky	1,146,668	578.366	66.47%	33.53%	$571	$771	35%
Louisiana	1,132,229	604.894	65.18%	34.82%	$678	$907	34%
Mississippi	748.055	343.925	68.50%	31.50%	$574	$762	33%
North Dakota	200.554	115.752	63.41%	36.59%	$693	$922	33%
South Dakota	233.092	111.168	67.71%	32.29%	$621	$825	33%
Kansas	743.508	385.475	65.86%	34.14%	$636	$831	31%
Rhode Island	248.723	160.025	60.85%	39.15%	$832	$1,089	31%
New Mexico	521.45	246.255	67.92%	32.08%	$697	$904	30%
Oklahoma	962.483	507.881	65.46%	34.54%	$620	$801	29%
California	7,125,090	5,880,007	54.79%	45.21%	$1,320	$1,696	28%
West Virginia	518.882	196.426	72.54%	27.46%	$523	$672	28%
Hawaii	268.078	190	58.52%	41.48%	$1,434	$1,840	28%
South Carolina	1,309,670	595.43	68.75%	31.25%	$665	$844	27%
Arkansas	752.399	400.683	65.25%	34.75%	$548	$697	27%
Nebraska	500.086	254.404	66.28%	33.72%	$657	$835	27%
Virginia	2,077,417	1,043,463	66.57%	33.43%	$1,005	$1,271	26%
Missouri	1,596,870	788.265	66.95%	33.05%	$628	$789	26%
Pennsylvania	3,421,017	1,587,734	68.30%	31.70%	$743	$929	25%
North Carolina	2,586,616	1,368,453	65.40%	34.60%	$698	$869	24%
District of Columbia	118.805	162.67	42.21%	57.79%	$1,408	$1,749	24%
Massachusetts	1,623,515	981.439	62.32%	37.68%	$1,084	$1,338	23%
Tennessee	1,693,790	894.865	65.43%	34.57%	$666	$817	23%
Texas	5,964,183	3,659,691	61.97%	38.03%	$843	$1,029	22%
Ohio	3,070,181	1,597,011	65.78%	34.22%	$627	$764	22%
Utah	681.563	293.885	69.87%	30.13%	$865	$1,059	22%
Georgia	2,354,922	1,390,152	62.88%	37.12%	$782	$946	21%
Idaho	435.493	189.642	69.66%	30.34%	$698	$844	21%
Wisconsin	1,565,599	784.694	66.61%	33.39%	$699	$832	19%
Iowa	900.362	357.143	71.60%	28.40%	$628	$748	19%
Oregon	1,007,015	596.62	62.80%	37.20%	$935	$1,101	18%
Connecticut	898.234	458.528	66.20%	33.80%	$963	$1,133	18%
New York	3,930,033	3,374,299	53.80%	46.20%	$1,116	$1,310	17%
New Jersey	2,053,929	1,164,869	63.81%	36.19%	$1,151	$1,347	17%
Maine	395.809	145.15	73.17%	26.83%	$720	$844	17%
Illinois	3,182,232	1,626,440	66.18%	33.82%	$852	$986	16%
Minnesota	1,547,594	614.617	71.57%	28.43%	$859	$997	16%
New Hampshire	369.037	159.663	69.80%	30.20%	$953	$1,105	16%
Delaware	253.948	103.989	70.95%	29.05%	$935	$1,078	15%
Alaska	159.344	91.397	63.55%	36.45%	$1,085	$1,253	15%
Washington	1,783,549	1,056,828	62.79%	37.21%	$1,087	$1,237	14%
Nevada	619.309	475.304	56.58%	43.42%	$903	$1,031	14%
Arizona	1,652,321	900.651	64.72%	35.28%	$858	$967	13%
Indiana	1,765,500	791.799	69.04%	30.96%	$633	$706	12%
Maryland	1,472,500	734.843	66.71%	33.29%	$1,193	$1,319	11%
Michigan	2,803,372	1,126,645	71.33%	28.67%	$693	$765	10%
Colorado	1,394,824	744.383	65.20%	34.80%	$1,125	$1,227	9%
Vermont	178.405	78.224	69.52%	30.48%	$844	$882	5%
Florida	5,010,187	2,679,777	65.15%	34.85%	$975	$947	0.97%