Research / Rent vs. buy / California / Fontana

Rent or buy in Fontana?
Renting is $1,291 a month cheaper.

Renting the typical home in Fontana costs $1,291 less a month than owning it. Counting equity, price growth and what a renter could earn by investing the difference, buying comes out ahead in year 12.

Updated September 26, 2026 · Zillow data for August 2026 · 7.03% mortgage rate (Freddie Mac, September 24, 2026) · Rank 92 of 340 (1 = owning closest to renting) · Part of our 2026 rent vs. buy study

Monthly cost to own$4,481typical home, 20% down
Typical monthly rent$3,190Zillow, August 2026
Buying breaks evenYear 123.5% price growth
Cash needed to buy$145,747$633,683 home · 20% down + 3% closing
Income needed to own$179,239vs. $127,600 to rent · 30% rule

Where the monthly money goes.

The first-month cost of owning the typical Fontana home, split into its parts, against the typical rent. About $413 of the first mortgage payment is principal, which you keep as equity.

The median household income in Fontana is $102,821 (Census ACS 2020–2024). Owning the typical home would take 52% of it; renting would take 37%.

As a check with a larger rental, HUD's FY2027 Fair Market Rent for a three-bedroom home in the Riverside-San Bernardino-Ontario, CA MSA area is $2,771 a month, still $1,710 below the cost of owning.

  • Mortgage principal & interest $3,383
  • Property tax $432
  • Home insurance $138
  • Maintenance $528

How long you would need to stay.

Net worth of a buyer compared with a renter who invests the down payment, closing costs and any monthly savings at 6% a year. Home values and rents grow 3.5% a year; selling costs 6%.

Change the assumptions

Buying vs. renting in Fontana, by years in the home
StayResult
3 yearsRenting ahead by $52,093
5 yearsRenting ahead by $45,846
7 yearsRenting ahead by $36,704
10 yearsRenting ahead by $16,363
15 yearsBuying ahead by $40,890
20 yearsBuying ahead by $139,443
30 yearsBuying ahead by $545,258

Rent or buy elsewhere in California.

Other large California cities in the study.

All cities
Los AngelesRenting $3,606/mo cheaperSan DiegoRenting $3,720/mo cheaperSan JoseRenting $5,851/mo cheaperSan FranciscoRenting $5,089/mo cheaperFresnoRenting $833/mo cheaperSacramentoRenting $1,306/mo cheaperLong BeachRenting $3,421/mo cheaperOaklandRenting $2,321/mo cheaper

More on Fontana

See the full Fontana rental market profile with Census medians, or check how a typical rental performs for an investor in our cash-flow ranking.

How we calculated this

Price is the Zillow Home Value Index and rent the Zillow Observed Rent Index for Fontana. The cost of owning includes principal and interest at 7.03% with 20% down, property tax at the city's 0.82% effective rate (Census ACS), the California average homeowners premium (NAIC 2023) and 1% yearly maintenance. It leaves out income-tax effects, HOA dues and utilities. The typical rental may be smaller than the typical home for sale. Full methodology. This is a citywide estimate, not advice about a specific home.