Best Cities to Buy a Home (2026)

All 50 major US metros ranked by buyer-friendliness using the price-to-rent ratio. Lower ratio = buying is more favorable compared to renting.

Data as of Jan 2026

Download CSV dataset Open JSON dataset

How Rankings Work

The price-to-rent ratio divides the median home price by annual rent. A ratio under 15 generally favors buying; over 20 favors renting. The national average is 19.7x.

Rankings are a starting point, not a decision. Cities with strong job growth or limited housing supply may still favor buying even if ratios are higher. Use the calculator on each city page to test your rate, down payment, and time horizon.

For analysts and writers, a downloadable rankings dataset is available above (CSV/JSON) so you can cite the numbers directly and link back to the city calculators.

State Benchmark Check

State snapshots add context before you drill into metro-level pages.

Florida

Florida is mixed at 15.8x, so neighborhood-level math often decides the answer.

Avg price-to-rent: 15.8x
Avg home price: $385,692
Avg rent: $2,052/mo

View Florida metros Lowest ratio: Miami

Georgia

Georgia is mixed at 17.2x, so neighborhood-level math often decides the answer.

Avg price-to-rent: 17.2x
Avg home price: $373,625
Avg rent: $1,812/mo

View Georgia metros Lowest ratio: Atlanta

New York

New York is mixed at 17.3x, so neighborhood-level math often decides the answer.

Avg price-to-rent: 17.3x
Avg home price: $485,988
Avg rent: $2,299/mo

View New York metros Lowest ratio: Buffalo

Texas

Texas is mixed at 18.2x, so neighborhood-level math often decides the answer.

Avg price-to-rent: 18.2x
Avg home price: $342,234
Avg rent: $1,564/mo

View Texas metros Lowest ratio: Houston

North Carolina

North Carolina trends rent-leaning at 20.1x; negotiation and time horizon matter more.

Avg price-to-rent: 20.1x
Avg home price: $404,106
Avg rent: $1,680/mo

View North Carolina metros Lowest ratio: Charlotte

Arizona

Arizona trends rent-leaning at 20.3x; negotiation and time horizon matter more.

Avg price-to-rent: 20.3x
Avg home price: $390,328
Avg rent: $1,592/mo

View Arizona metros Lowest ratio: Tucson

Washington

Washington trends rent-leaning at 27.9x; negotiation and time horizon matter more.

Avg price-to-rent: 27.9x
Avg home price: $729,789
Avg rent: $2,183/mo

View Washington metros Lowest ratio: Seattle

California

California trends rent-leaning at 28.6x; negotiation and time horizon matter more.

Avg price-to-rent: 28.6x
Avg home price: $1,014,379
Avg rent: $2,885/mo

View California metros Lowest ratio: Sacramento

Rank	City	Price-to-Rent	Home Price	Rent	Verdict
1	Jackson Mississippi	11.4x	$205,126	$1,505/mo	Favors Buy	Calculate →
2	Pittsburgh Pennsylvania	12.5x	$217,855	$1,449/mo	Favors Buy	Calculate →
3	Chicago Illinois	13.3x	$333,939	$2,091/mo	Favors Buy	Calculate →
4	New Orleans Louisiana	13.4x	$252,746	$1,568/mo	Favors Buy	Calculate →
5	Memphis Tennessee	14.0x	$237,926	$1,415/mo	Favors Buy	Calculate →

Rank	City	Price-to-Rent	Home Price	Rent	Verdict
6	Cleveland Ohio	14.2x	$236,080	$1,390/mo	Favors Buy	Calculate →
7	Detroit Michigan	14.6x	$254,400	$1,455/mo	Favors Buy	Calculate →
8	Miami Florida	14.7x	$466,841	$2,645/mo	Favors Buy	Calculate →
9	Tampa Florida	14.8x	$351,847	$1,986/mo	Favors Buy	Calculate →
10	Oklahoma City Oklahoma	14.8x	$239,204	$1,347/mo	Favors Buy	Calculate →

Rank	City	Price-to-Rent	Home Price	Rent	Verdict
11	Trenton New Jersey	14.8x	$433,523	$2,439/mo	Favors Buy	Calculate →
12	Birmingham Alabama	15.2x	$251,892	$1,385/mo	Neutral	Calculate →
13	Little Rock Arkansas	15.3x	$222,292	$1,210/mo	Neutral	Calculate →
14	Wichita Kansas	15.4x	$212,890	$1,155/mo	Neutral	Calculate →
15	St. Louis Missouri	15.5x	$261,627	$1,409/mo	Neutral	Calculate →

Rank	City	Price-to-Rent	Home Price	Rent	Verdict
16	Houston Texas	15.6x	$302,329	$1,612/mo	Neutral	Calculate →
17	Indianapolis Indiana	15.7x	$283,408	$1,508/mo	Neutral	Calculate →
18	Cincinnati Ohio	16.2x	$295,717	$1,522/mo	Neutral	Calculate →
19	Buffalo New York	16.4x	$268,849	$1,365/mo	Neutral	Calculate →
20	Orlando Florida	16.5x	$380,501	$1,917/mo	Neutral	Calculate →

Rank	City	Price-to-Rent	Home Price	Rent	Verdict
21	San Antonio Texas	16.5x	$274,023	$1,380/mo	Neutral	Calculate →
22	Louisville Kentucky	16.6x	$269,643	$1,352/mo	Neutral	Calculate →
23	Virginia Beach Virginia	16.7x	$360,158	$1,795/mo	Neutral	Calculate →
24	Hartford Connecticut	16.8x	$376,562	$1,864/mo	Neutral	Calculate →
25	Philadelphia Pennsylvania	16.9x	$374,293	$1,849/mo	Neutral	Calculate →

Rank	City	Price-to-Rent	Home Price	Rent	Verdict
26	Atlanta Georgia	17.2x	$373,625	$1,812/mo	Neutral	Calculate →
27	Jacksonville Florida	17.3x	$343,577	$1,659/mo	Neutral	Calculate →
28	Dover Delaware	17.5x	$361,866	$1,725/mo	Neutral	Calculate →
29	Baltimore Maryland	17.5x	$390,541	$1,855/mo	Neutral	Calculate →
30	Omaha Nebraska	17.7x	$295,169	$1,389/mo	Neutral	Calculate →

Rank	City	Price-to-Rent	Home Price	Rent	Verdict
31	Kansas City Missouri	17.9x	$311,990	$1,455/mo	Neutral	Calculate →
32	Charleston South Carolina	18.1x	$424,950	$1,957/mo	Neutral	Calculate →
33	New York City New York	18.1x	$703,126	$3,232/mo	Neutral	Calculate →
34	Columbus Ohio	18.2x	$317,223	$1,454/mo	Neutral	Calculate →
35	Dallas Texas	18.3x	$357,649	$1,633/mo	Neutral	Calculate →

Rank	City	Price-to-Rent	Home Price	Rent	Verdict
36	Fort Worth Texas	18.3x	$357,649	$1,633/mo	Neutral	Calculate →
37	Charlotte North Carolina	18.6x	$380,002	$1,704/mo	Neutral	Calculate →
38	Albuquerque New Mexico	18.6x	$339,931	$1,523/mo	Neutral	Calculate →
39	Minneapolis Minnesota	18.7x	$373,919	$1,665/mo	Neutral	Calculate →
40	Des Moines Iowa	19.0x	$284,525	$1,245/mo	Neutral	Calculate →

Rank	City	Price-to-Rent	Home Price	Rent	Verdict
41	Tucson Arizona	19.2x	$338,249	$1,465/mo	Neutral	Calculate →
42	Boston Massachusetts	19.4x	$709,008	$3,049/mo	Neutral	Calculate →
43	Anchorage Alaska	19.8x	$403,045	$1,695/mo	Neutral	Calculate →
44	Manchester New Hampshire	20.1x	$502,848	$2,088/mo	Favors Rent	Calculate →
45	Providence Rhode Island	20.1x	$501,113	$2,078/mo	Favors Rent	Calculate →

Rank	City	Price-to-Rent	Home Price	Rent	Verdict
46	Las Vegas Nevada	20.7x	$425,615	$1,716/mo	Favors Rent	Calculate →
47	Milwaukee Wisconsin	20.8x	$363,139	$1,458/mo	Favors Rent	Calculate →
48	Nashville Tennessee	20.9x	$444,193	$1,770/mo	Favors Rent	Calculate →
49	Sacramento California	21.5x	$565,572	$2,197/mo	Favors Rent	Calculate →
50	Phoenix Arizona	21.5x	$442,406	$1,718/mo	Favors Rent	Calculate →

Rank	City	Price-to-Rent	Home Price	Rent	Verdict
51	Raleigh North Carolina	21.6x	$428,209	$1,655/mo	Favors Rent	Calculate →
52	Austin Texas	22.4x	$419,518	$1,561/mo	Favors Rent	Calculate →
53	Boise Idaho	22.9x	$479,484	$1,742/mo	Favors Rent	Calculate →
54	Portland Oregon	25.1x	$535,732	$1,778/mo	Favors Rent	Calculate →
55	Honolulu Hawaii	25.2x	$839,548	$2,773/mo	Favors Rent	Calculate →

Rank	City	Price-to-Rent	Home Price	Rent	Verdict
56	Denver Colorado	25.3x	$558,785	$1,838/mo	Favors Rent	Calculate →
57	San Diego California	26.2x	$904,313	$2,871/mo	Favors Rent	Calculate →
58	Los Angeles California	27.3x	$943,674	$2,885/mo	Favors Rent	Calculate →
59	Seattle Washington	27.9x	$729,789	$2,183/mo	Favors Rent	Calculate →
60	Salt Lake City Utah	29.2x	$554,407	$1,581/mo	Favors Rent	Calculate →

Rank	City	Price-to-Rent	Home Price	Rent	Verdict
61	San Francisco California	29.6x	$1,089,769	$3,064/mo	Favors Rent	Calculate →
62	San Jose California	38.4x	$1,568,567	$3,406/mo	Favors Rent	Calculate →

Under 15x — Generally favors buying

15-20x — Could go either way

Over 20x — Generally favors renting

Ranking Workflow Tools

Use rankings as a screen, then validate affordability and rate sensitivity.

Calculators

Guides

Data: Zillow Research (ZHVI, ZORI). Rankings are based on price-to-rent ratio only — your personal situation (income, savings, time horizon) matters more. View all data sources