Key Takeaways
- Price-to-rent ratio = median home price ÷ median annual rent. 1–15 favors buying, 16–20 is a toss-up, 21+ favors renting.
- The national ratio has been sitting near a record high — roughly 30% above its long-run average.
- This guide covers 100 major U.S. markets, sorted from most buy-favorable to most rent-favorable.
- In Florida, falling home prices and falling rents can leave the ratio looking stable even as real DSCR cash flow shifts underneath it — insurance cost is often the deciding factor.
- The ratio ignores taxes, insurance, HOA fees, and your actual financing — treat it as a first screen, not a final answer.
The price-to-rent ratio tells you whether it’s cheaper to own or rent in a given market. Divide the median home price by the median annual rent. A result of 15 or below usually favors buying, 16 to 20 is close to a toss-up, and 21 or above usually favors renting. Nationally, the ratio has been sitting near its highest level on record — roughly 30% above its long-run average — which is a big part of why renting has looked more attractive than buying across much of the country in recent years.
Table of Contents
What the Price-to-Rent Ratio Actually Tells You
The price-to-rent ratio compares what it costs to buy a home against what it costs to rent a comparable one in the same market. It’s calculated as:
Median Home Price ÷ Median Annual Rent = Price-to-Rent Ratio
The number on its own doesn’t mean much until you know how to read it. Here’s the general framework, which traces back to Trulia’s original Rent vs. Buy Index and has since been repeated by most major real estate publishers:
- 1 to 15 — Buying is typically the better financial move. Monthly ownership costs tend to run lower than rent for a similar home.
- 16 to 20 — Close to a toss-up. Whether buying or renting wins depends more on how long you plan to stay and your specific mortgage rate than on the ratio itself.
- 21 and above — Renting typically wins. Ownership costs run well above what the same home would cost to rent.
Two things worth knowing before you lean on this too hard. First, these bands were set in an era of lower mortgage rates – at today’s financing costs, a “15” doesn’t stretch quite as far toward favoring buying as it once did. Second, the ratio says nothing about whether a market is affordable overall. A market can technically favor buying while still being out of reach for most residents, simply because rent there is also expensive.
Here’s a quick visual on how to read your number:
Price-to-Rent Ratio by City
Before you scan the table, three things make city comparisons easier to read correctly. Lower ratios generally favor buyers; higher ratios generally favor renters. City-level rankings are relative, not absolute — a “high” ratio in one region might be middling in another. And nearby markets, even within the same metro, can differ meaningfully once you get down to the neighborhood level, so treat these as a starting point rather than a final answer for any one property.
The table below covers 100 major U.S. markets, sorted from the most buy-favorable ratio to the most rent-favorable.
| City | Ratio | Median home price | Median monthly rent | Read |
|---|---|---|---|---|
| Hartford, CT | 8.7 | $173,276 | $1,650 | Buy |
| Daytona Beach, FL | 12.0 | $259,418 | $1,800 | Buy |
| Syracuse, NY | 12.6 | $249,700 | $1,650 | Buy |
| Pensacola, FL | 12.8 | $264,116 | $1,714 | Buy |
| Ocala, FL | 12.9 | $271,737 | $1,750 | Buy |
| Pittsburgh, PA | 13.0 | $234,600 | $1,500 | Buy |
| Lakeland, FL | 13.1 | $292,907 | $1,860 | Buy |
| Port Charlotte, FL | 13.4 | $322,347 | $2,000 | Buy |
| Gainesville, FL | 13.5 | $300,239 | $1,854 | Buy |
| West Palm Beach, FL | 13.7 | $405,069 | $2,469 | Buy |
| Kissimmee, FL | 14.0 | $368,842 | $2,200 | Buy |
| Cape Coral, FL | 14.1 | $337,346 | $2,000 | Buy |
| New York, NY | 14.2 | $750,000 | $4,400 | Buy |
| Fort Lauderdale, FL | 14.5 | $520,973 | $3,000 | Buy |
| Chicago, IL | 14.5 | $384,100 | $2,200 | Buy |
| Bradenton, FL | 14.7 | $389,334 | $2,200 | Buy |
| Charleston, SC | 14.8 | $459,500 | $2,590 | Buy |
| Rochester, NY | 14.8 | $252,800 | $1,420 | Buy |
| New Orleans, LA | 14.8 | $293,800 | $1,650 | Buy |
| Melbourne, FL | 14.9 | $376,047 | $2,100 | Buy |
| Virginia Beach, VA | 14.9 | $362,200 | $2,026 | Buy |
| El Paso, TX | 14.9 | $272,000 | $1,520 | Buy |
| Buffalo, NY | 15.6 | $262,600 | $1,400 | Toss-up |
| Sarasota, FL | 15.7 | $462,158 | $2,450 | Toss-up |
| Cleveland, OH | 15.8 | $226,900 | $1,200 | Toss-up |
| Naples, FL | 15.8 | $548,905 | $2,900 | Toss-up |
| Fort Myers, FL | 16.2 | $373,713 | $1,919 | Toss-up |
| Atlanta, GA | 16.3 | $370,200 | $1,895 | Toss-up |
| New Haven, CT | 16.5 | $407,500 | $2,064 | Toss-up |
| Dallas, TX | 16.6 | $369,000 | $1,858 | Toss-up |
| San Antonio, TX | 16.8 | $302,200 | $1,497 | Toss-up |
| Lexington, KY | 16.9 | $284,700 | $1,400 | Toss-up |
| Tampa, FL | 17.1 | $400,000 | $1,947 | Toss-up |
| Portland, ME | 17.3 | $576,229 | $2,780 | Toss-up |
| Houston, TX | 17.4 | $331,500 | $1,590 | Toss-up |
| Oklahoma City, OK | 17.8 | $264,600 | $1,238 | Toss-up |
| Greensboro, NC | 17.9 | $297,400 | $1,382 | Toss-up |
| Knoxville, TN | 17.9 | $363,100 | $1,687 | Toss-up |
| Nashville, TN | 18.0 | $405,100 | $1,881 | Toss-up |
| St. Louis, MO | 18.1 | $281,600 | $1,300 | Toss-up |
| Akron, OH | 18.1 | $217,600 | $1,002 | Toss-up |
| Boston, MA | 18.1 | $747,900 | $3,439 | Toss-up |
| Detroit, MI | 18.1 | $260,900 | $1,200 | Toss-up |
| Cincinnati, OH | 18.2 | $310,200 | $1,417 | Toss-up |
| Shreveport, LA | 18.5 | $227,800 | $1,025 | Toss-up |
| Tallahassee, FL | 19.1 | $330,000 | $1,442 | Toss-up |
| Charlotte, NC | 19.1 | $417,000 | $1,816 | Toss-up |
| Wichita, KS | 19.2 | $229,500 | $995 | Toss-up |
| Indianapolis, IN | 19.3 | $322,300 | $1,395 | Toss-up |
| Orlando, FL | 19.3 | $440,000 | $1,900 | Toss-up |
| Miami, FL | 19.3 | $650,000 | $2,800 | Toss-up |
| Louisville, KY | 19.4 | $283,400 | $1,217 | Toss-up |
| Philadelphia, PA | 19.6 | $381,100 | $1,621 | Toss-up |
| Columbus, OH | 19.7 | $341,700 | $1,449 | Toss-up |
| Memphis, TN | 19.8 | $290,600 | $1,225 | Toss-up |
| Bakersfield, CA | 19.8 | $397,300 | $1,674 | Toss-up |
| Baton Rouge, LA | 19.9 | $274,500 | $1,150 | Toss-up |
| Durham, NC | 19.9 | $418,500 | $1,750 | Toss-up |
| Tulsa, OK | 19.9 | $275,100 | $1,150 | Toss-up |
| Chattanooga, TN | 20.0 | $336,700 | $1,400 | Toss-up |
| Asheville, NC | 20.3 | $447,100 | $1,838 | Rent |
| Omaha, NE | 20.4 | $308,700 | $1,261 | Rent |
| Winston-Salem, NC | 20.6 | $321,700 | $1,300 | Rent |
| Providence, RI | 20.8 | $524,700 | $2,100 | Rent |
| Austin, TX | 21.0 | $460,200 | $1,830 | Rent |
| Raleigh, NC | 21.0 | $440,200 | $1,744 | Rent |
| Jacksonville, FL | 21.3 | $390,000 | $1,523 | Rent |
| Kansas City, MO | 21.4 | $346,900 | $1,350 | Rent |
| Baltimore, MD | 21.5 | $412,100 | $1,600 | Rent |
| Minneapolis, MN | 21.7 | $388,600 | $1,496 | Rent |
| Washington, DC | 21.7 | $637,100 | $2,450 | Rent |
| Lincoln, NE | 21.8 | $295,600 | $1,129 | Rent |
| Las Vegas, NV | 22.3 | $481,700 | $1,801 | Rent |
| Jersey City, NJ | 22.3 | $750,000 | $2,800 | Rent |
| Anchorage, AK | 22.4 | $484,000 | $1,800 | Rent |
| Fresno, CA | 22.5 | $430,000 | $1,595 | Rent |
| Albuquerque, NM | 22.6 | $359,500 | $1,325 | Rent |
| Colorado Springs, CO | 23.5 | $459,500 | $1,627 | Rent |
| Richmond, VA | 23.7 | $450,800 | $1,585 | Rent |
| Madison, WI | 23.7 | $468,700 | $1,647 | Rent |
| Augusta, GA | 24.3 | $379,700 | $1,300 | Rent |
| Phoenix, AZ | 24.9 | $479,600 | $1,607 | Rent |
| Sacramento, CA | 25.2 | $545,000 | $1,800 | Rent |
| Newark, NJ | 25.9 | $683,100 | $2,200 | Rent |
| Des Moines, IA | 26.1 | $311,200 | $995 | Rent |
| Tucson, AZ | 26.3 | $391,400 | $1,239 | Rent |
| Spokane, WA | 26.4 | $412,000 | $1,300 | Rent |
| Los Angeles, CA | 26.8 | $858,500 | $2,670 | Rent |
| Milwaukee, WI | 26.8 | $417,900 | $1,299 | Rent |
| Denver, CO | 27.4 | $641,300 | $1,948 | Rent |
| Boise, ID | 27.8 | $484,000 | $1,450 | Rent |
| San Francisco, CA | 28.7 | $1,350,000 | $3,926 | Rent |
| Reno, NV | 29.0 | $602,900 | $1,735 | Rent |
| San Diego, CA | 31.1 | $1,050,000 | $2,818 | Rent |
| Portland, OR | 32.4 | $585,800 | $1,506 | Rent |
| Seattle, WA | 32.6 | $772,600 | $1,972 | Rent |
| Salt Lake City, UT | 34.9 | $576,500 | $1,378 | Rent |
| Urban Honolulu, HI | 36.7 | $1,175,100 | $2,667 | Rent |
| Anaheim, CA | 47.8 | $1,442,900 | $2,514 | Rent |
| San Jose, CA | 55.0 | $2,030,000 | $3,073 | Rent |
Data as of July 2026, sourced from Zumper’s rent-vs-buy analysis, SFR Analytics and Zillow.
How to Calculate Price-to-Rent Ratio Yourself
If your target city or neighborhood isn’t listed, or you want to check a specific property, the calculation only takes four steps:
1. Find the median home value for the area. Zillow’s home value estimates are a solid, freely available starting point for most U.S. cities.
2. Find the median annual rent for a comparable property (multiply monthly rent by 12 if you only have a monthly figure).
3. Divide home value by annual rent.
4. Interpret the result using the buy/toss-up/rent bands above.
Worked example: a home with a median value of $400,000 in a market where comparable rent runs $2,200 a month ($26,400 a year) gives you $400,000 ÷ $26,400 = 15.2 — right at the edge of buy-favorable and toss-up territory. If you’re weighing a purchase like this as a rental, our rental loan calculator can help you see how that ratio translates into actual monthly cash flow once financing is factored in.
Using the Ratio in a Real Buy-vs-Rent Decision
The ratio is a useful first screen, not the whole decision. Once you know roughly where a market sits, layer in your timeline, your down payment and mortgage rate, your monthly budget, and what the ratio leaves out entirely.
Before you decide, check
| Timeline | Longer stays favor buying, even at a middling ratio. |
| Rate & down payment | A lower rate or bigger down payment can flip a toss-up to buy-favorable. |
| Budget fit | The ratio says nothing about whether either option fits your income. |
| Hidden costs | Taxes, insurance, HOA, and maintenance aren't in the formula at all. |
A simple way to use it: treat the ratio as a first filter to decide whether a market is worth a closer look, then run the real numbers – actual mortgage quote, actual insurance quote, actual property taxes – before deciding.
What the Price-to-Rent Ratio Doesn't Tell You
This is the part most city-ranking articles skip, and it matters for the same reason overusing any single number can mislead you.
Watch out: the ratio doesn't account for taxes, insurance, HOA fees, or maintenance — and it isn't an affordability measure. A market can be firmly "buy-favorable" and still be unaffordable in absolute terms, since expensive cities often have favorable ratios simply because rent is also expensive there.
Beyond that: it can be distorted by unusually high- or low-rent markets, or by one-off events – research from the University of Georgia and the Brookings Institution found that environmental disasters alone can push local rents up as much as 12% over the following five years, which temporarily skews the ratio without changing anything about the underlying market fundamentals. It also doesn’t factor in your financing – mortgage rate and loan terms aren’t part of the equation at all, even though they’re often the single biggest driver of your actual monthly cost. And it’s a citywide median, not your property, always run the specific numbers before committing.
Florida Focus: What the Ratio Misses for DSCR Investors
If you’re evaluating a Florida rental purchase, the price-to-rent ratio alone can be misleading in either direction, because both sides of the equation move independently. As of recent data, Florida shifted into a clear buyer’s market, with statewide home prices down modestly year over year and roughly five months of single-family inventory on the market. At the same time, a wave of new apartment supply pushed rents down across much of the state – Cape Coral posted the steepest rent cuts of any major U.S. market in one recent reading, down roughly 11% year over year for the 33rd straight month of declines, driven by a construction pipeline expected to finish absorbing within a year or two.
That combination of falling prices and falling rents means the ratio itself can look artificially stable even as the actual investment picture shifts underneath it.
insurance / year
YoY, recent reading
housing supply
A few things worth knowing before running DSCR numbers on a Florida property:
- Insurance is the real swing factor. Florida’s average homeowners premium runs around $2,625 a year statewide, but coastal counties can run several times that on comparable coverage. Always underwrite with an actual quote, not a rule-of-thumb estimate – our Florida DSCR loan page walks through how we factor insurance into qualifying debt service coverage.
- Rent softness varies sharply by submarket. Southwest Florida (Cape Coral, Fort Myers, North Port) tends to see the deepest cuts, while Tallahassee and Port St. Lucie have recently been among the few Florida metros still posting rent growth. A citywide or statewide ratio can mask that spread entirely.
- Falling prices can mean better entry points, even with softer rent. Lower acquisition cost partially offsets lower rent for buy-and-hold investors – worth running the DSCR math both ways before ruling a market in or out.
Florida figures cited above reflect data through early-to-mid 2026; check current listings and rent comps before underwriting, since this market has been moving quickly.
If you’re weighing whether a specific Florida market currently favors buy-and-hold cash flow or a shorter-term appreciation play, our team can run the numbers against current rates and an actual insurance quote – request an instant loan quote.
How This Compares to Other Housing Metrics
The price-to-rent ratio is one of several tools people use interchangeably, but they answer different questions.
| Metric | What it actually measures |
|---|---|
| Price-to-rent ratio | Whether owning or renting costs less in a given market |
| Price-to-income ratio | Whether a market is affordable to buy in relative to local income |
| Rent-to-income ratio | Whether rent itself is affordable for a renter (the "30% rule") |
| Gross rental yield | Annual rent as a share of price — the investor's quick return screen |
Harvard’s Joint Center for Housing Studies found the price-to-income ratio sitting at roughly 5 times income nationally, a record high and well above the historically “normal” range of 3 to 4 times – a useful reminder that “buy-favorable” on the price-to-rent ratio and “affordable” are two different questions entirely. None of these metrics replace a full underwriting pass, but knowing which question each one actually answers keeps you from over-reading any single number.
The Bottom Line
The price-to-rent ratio is a fast, useful starting point for the buy-vs-rent question, and a reasonable first filter for comparing rental markets. But it’s a citywide median built from two other medians, so treat it as step one, not the final answer:
1. Use the ratio to get oriented on whether a market generally favors buying, renting, or sits in the middle.
2. Compare that against your own budget, timeline, and how long you plan to hold the property.
3. Look past the headline number at local factors the ratio doesn’t capture – insurance, taxes, HOA fees, and submarket-level rent trends.
4. Run the real numbers on a specific property before deciding – a quick rental loan quote will show you what actual financing and cash flow look like, which the ratio alone never can.
For more on evaluating a market before you buy, see our guides on real estate investing for beginners and tips for buyers.
Sources
1. Zumper, “Rent vs. Buy in 2026: Where the Numbers Favor Each,” July 2026 — NAR median metro prices + Zumper rent data, 83 cities.
2. Zillow, Home Value Index (ZHVI) by city — used for 17 supplemental Florida/Northeast markets.
3. SFR Analytics — rental market data for 17 supplemental Florida/Northeast markets.
4. Trulia Newsroom, “Trulia’s Rent vs. Buy Index Reveals Top 10 Cities for Renting, Owning Homes,” 2010 — origin of the 1–15 / 16–20 / 21+ interpretation bands.
5. Trading Economics, “United States Price to Rent Ratio,” OECD data series.
6.Florida Atlantic University, “BH&J National Price-to-Rent Ratios Monthly Report.”
7. RealPage, “Cape Coral Sees Nation’s Worst Rent Cuts in March,” March 2026.
8. Longyield (Substack), “Florida Housing in 2026: Bubble, Normalization, or Structural Repricing?”
9. Bay Management Group, “What Is the Price-to-Rent Ratio and How It Works.”
10. Florida Office of Insurance Regulation, Property Insurance Stability Report, January 2025.
11. Harvard Joint Center for Housing Studies, “Home Prices Surge to Five Times Median Income, Nearing Historic Highs,” 2025.
