Rent vs buy calculator
Most rent-versus-buy calculators compare a mortgage payment with a rent cheque, which flatters buying. This one nets out the equity you build and the return a renter earns on the down payment, and it starts from the real medians for your metro.
Quick answer
Owning wins on cash flow when rent is high relative to home prices and the local property tax rate is low. A 1% swing in the effective property tax rate on a $500,000 home is $417 a month — bigger than most people assume, and the main reason two cities with identical prices behave differently.
Rent or buy, month by month
A $142,080 down payment is the hidden half of this comparison: left invested at 4% it offsets $474 of rent every month. The buying figure also excludes closing costs and any mortgage-interest deduction, which depend on your filing situation rather than the city.
What this includes and what it leaves out
Stated plainly, so you can check it.
Included on the owning side: mortgage principal and interest, property tax at the local effective rate, homeowners insurance at 0.5% of value a year, and maintenance at 1% a year. Included on the renting side: rent, renters insurance, and the investment return on the down payment that never leaves your account.
Left out on purpose: closing costs, the mortgage-interest deduction, HOA dues, home-price appreciation and rent growth. Those depend on your filing situation and on forecasts, not on published city data, so putting them in would make the answer look more precise than it is.