Report: Owning a home more affordable than renting

ATTOM Data Services has released its 2025 Rental Affordability Report, which shows that owning a home in the United States is more affordable than renting a three-bedroom property in more than half of county-level markets around the nation.

The report shows that both owning and renting remain difficult for average U.S. workers, commonly consuming 25 to 60% of average wages.

Owning is the more affordable choice – for those who can manage a down payment – despite median home prices generally rising faster over the past year than average rents around the country.

The analysis for the report incorporated data compiled by ATTOM on average rents, as well as median home prices from public-record sales deeds in counties with sufficient single-family home sales data. Those two data sources were combined with average wage figures from the Bureau of Labor Statistics.

“Buying or renting a home in the U.S. these days can be like searching for a diamond in a pile of marbles, and it’s only getting worse in most markets as the cost of both goes up,” said Rob Barber, CEO at ATTOM, in a news release. “However, in most parts of the country, homeownership is somewhat more attainable for those who can gather the necessary resources to cover down payments that often surpass $200,000.”

He added that “the current situation is tenuous, especially if mortgage rates keep going back up like they have in the past couple of months. But for now, homeownership is the more viable choice.”

Changes in home prices outpacing rental trends in majority of U.S. 

Median prices for single-family homes have increased more over the past year, or declined less than average three-bedroom rents in 225, or 66%, of the 341 counties analyzed in the report. Counties were included in the report if they had a population of 100,000 or more, and sufficient single-family home sales in 2025 along with sufficient data showing changes in three-bedroom rents from 2024 to 2025.

The most populous counties where median home prices have risen faster or declined less than the average three-bedroom rent over the past year are: Los Angeles County, California; Cook County, Chicago; Maricopa County, Phoenix; and San Diego County and Orange County, California.

The largest among the 116 counties in the report (34%) where changes in average three-bedroom rents have outpaced shifts in median prices are Harris County, Houston; Tarrant County, Fort Worth; Bexar County, San Antonio; Suffolk County, (outside New York City); and Franklin County, Columbus), Ohio.

Home ownership generally more affordable amid regional disparities 

Significant differences in the affordability of owning versus renting exist among various regions of the country, with buying a residence most favorable in the Midwest and South, followed by the Northeast.

In about 80% of counties analyzed across the Midwest and 60% in the South, owning requires smaller portions of average wages. The same is true in about half in the Northeast.

The West, meanwhile, stands out as the one region that bucks the trend. In that part of the U.S., rentals are the financially easier choice. Renting is the better option in about 80% of western markets.

Ownership stresses household budgets but remains far more affordable in the Midwest 

The report shows that major home ownership expenses require more than one-third of the average local wage in 231 of the 341 counties analyzed for the report (68%). But that pattern also varies widely around the nation. Only about a quarter of midwestern counties, which have some of the lowest home prices in the U.S., fall into that category. In other regions, more than one-third of average wages are needed in 66 to 98% of county-level markets.