Pittsburgh is only metro in U.S. where buying a home is cheaper than renting

If you’re looking to buy a home in the United States, Pittsburgh may be a good place to start, according to a new report from Realtor.com. 

According to June 2025 data from the real estate listings website, Pittsburgh was the only metropolitan area in the country where buying a starter home is cheaper than renting one. 

According to the report, the median cost to rent a home with 0-2 bedrooms was $1,473 a month in Pittsburgh last month, while the median cost to buy a home with 0-2 bedrooms was $1,362. As a result, Realtor.com concluded that Pittsburgh residents who bought rather than rented saved approximately $111 a month.

“Pittsburgh remains one of the most affordable places in the U.S. to live and to buy a home,” Realtor.com senior economic research analyst Hannah Jones said about the Steel City’s affordability. 

“It's the only major market where buying a home is cheaper than renting, and one of just three large metros where a median-income household can afford a median-priced home,” Jones added.

The data assumed homebuyers made a 9% down payment and used a 30-year fixed mortgage rate to calculate a monthly mortgage payment.

The Realtor.com report also included data for the Philadelphia-Camden-Wilmington metro area, a location where it was $625 cheaper a month to rent rather than own. The median cost of rent was $1,770, compared to $2,395 for homebuyers.

Of the 50 metro areas included in the report, Realtor.com determined that it was cheaper to rent than own in 49 of them, with Pittsburgh being the sole exception.

For the 49 other metro areas, buying a starting home cost on average $908 more than renting one, per the analysis.