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Renting a home continues to be more affordable than buying in nearly every major U.S. metro—and those opting to lease in Texas’ bustling state capital are seeing the biggest savings of all.
A vibrant hub of technology and higher education, Austin topped the list of housing markets that favor renting over buying, according to the Realtor.com® June 2025 Rental Report released on Thursday.
The median rent in Austin in June stood at $1,467, while the monthly costs associated with buying a home were more than double that amount, clocking in at $3,150, or more than 114% of the rent.
In other words, an Austin resident choosing to rent rather than buy would pocket $1,683 in monthly savings.
For context, the average monthly cost of renting was $908 lower than buying across the 50 largest U.S. metros—that is 85% less than the savings renters enjoy in Austin.
“Austin’s rent-favoring status is the result of a divergence between home prices and rents, driven by surging housing demand and a rapid expansion of multifamily construction,” explains Realtor.com economist Jiayi Xu.
(Realtor.com)
During the COVID-19 pandemic, Austin emerged as a rising tech and innovation hub, attracting not only thousands of new residents and remote workers, but also entire companies (including the headquarters of Realtor.com).
This influx of newcomers fueled strong demand for housing and put upward pressure on home prices.
At the same time, Austin led the nation in multifamily construction per capita, with a steady stream of new rental units flooding the market.
“As a result, while home prices climbed, rents have remained stable—or even declined—due to abundant inventory, making renting a far more affordable option,” says Xu.
In addition to climbing home prices, elevated mortgage rates stuck in the high 6% range and ballooning insurance premiums have pushed higher the overall cost of homeownership, widening the gap between buying and renting.
“Together, these factors have made renting the far more economical choice for many Austin residents today,” notes Xu.
Rent costs in Austin edged down 4.7% from a year ago, while buy costs decreased by just over 10%.
(Realtor.com)
Other top rent-favoring metros included Los Angeles, where the difference between buying and renting was $2,623 (96.5%) in June, followed by San Francisco, where the median rent was more than $2,500 (91.6%) lower than monthly costs associated with buying a starter home.
Seattle ranked fourth, with a buy-rent difference of $1,787 (89.5%) per month, and Phoneix closed out the top five, with renters enjoying $1,247 monthly (83.6%) in savings.
Markets tilted the most toward renting share a few key traits, including a high concentration of tech workers and high-income earners.
Diminishing rent advantage
But even Austin was not immune to the national trend affecting 37 of the nation’s top 50 markets, which saw a shrinking rent advantage over the past year.
Specifically, the benefit of renting a starter home vs. buying in Austin diminished by $292 in June 2024 compared with a year earlier.
However, it was still a far cry from San Jose, CA, where the upside of renting decreased the most year over year, dropping from $2,614 in June 2024 to $2,265 last month—a decrease of $349.
Southern city sees soaring savings
In June, the savings from renting as opposed to buying grew the most on an annual basis in Birmingham, AL, at $189.
Last month, buying costs in the city amounted to $1,399 per month, while the median rent was $1,205, resulting in a difference of $194.
However, a year ago, the cost to buy was only $5 higher than the cost to rent in Birmingham.
In Milwaukee, renting a home could save $842 compared with buying in June 2025. A year earlier, the savings stood at a more modest $706.
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Memphis, TN, which saw the third-highest increase in savings from renting year over year at $124, stood out for being the only metro that shifted from favoring buying to favoring renting over the past 12 months.
As of last month, renting a home in Memphis could save tenants $90 per month compared with purchasing—a reversal from June 2024, when renting cost $34 more.
Notably, Memphis also has the highest share of homebuying from investors, which might contribute to this dramatic shift by boosting buying demand and prices, while at the same time adding more rental units to the market.