Owning a median-priced, three-bedroom home is more affordable than renting a three-bedroom property in 53 percent of U.S. counties, according to ATTOM Data Solutions’ 2020 Rental Affordability Report.
In general, ATTOM found ownership more affordable mainly in lightly populated counties and renting more affordable in more populous suburban or urban areas.
“Home ownership is a better deal than renting for the average wage earner in a slim majority of U.S. housing markets. However, there are distinct differences between different places, depending on the size and location from core metro areas,” ATTOM Chief Product Officer Todd Teta said in a release.
“For sure, either buying or renting is a financial stretch or out of reach for individual wage earners throughout most of the country in the current climate,” Teta said. “But with interest rates falling, owning a home can still be the more affordable option, even as prices keep rising.”
The report said counties with a population of at least 1 million where buying a home is more affordable than renting included Miami-Dade County, Fla; Broward County, Fla.; Wayne County (Detroit); Philadelphia County, Pa.; Hillsborough County (Tampa), Fla; Cuyahoga County (Cleveland), Ohio; and Allegheny County (Pittsburgh), Pa.
According to the report, renting is more affordable than buying a home in 94 (69 percent) of the 136 counties in the report with a population of at least 500,000. ATTOM found renting is the more affordable option in 36 of the 43 counties with a population of at least 1 million (84 percent), including Los Angeles County; Cook County (Chicago); Harris County (Houston); Maricopa County (Phoenix); and San Diego County.
Other markets with a population of more than 1 million where it is more affordable to rent than buy include counties that surround or are inside of New York City; Dallas; Seattle; Las Vegas; San Jose, Calif.; San Francisco; San Antonio, Texas; and Boston.
ATTOM found the least affordable markets for renting are Santa Cruz County, Calif. (82.1 percent of average wages needed to rent); Marin County, Calif. (outside San Francisco) (75.3 percent); Park County, Colo. (southwest of Denver) (74.3 percent); Honolulu County, Hawaii (74.2 percent) and Kauai County, Hawaii (73.7 percent).
The report identified the most affordable rental markets as Roane County, Tenn. (20.1 percent of average wages needed to rent); Steuben County, N.Y. (22.2 percent); Madison County, Ala. (22.4 percent); Greene County, Ohio (23 percent) and Sangamon County, Ill. (23.2 percent).