Research / Rent vs. buy / California / San Francisco

Rent or buy in San Francisco?
Renting is $5,089 a month cheaper.

Renting the typical home in San Francisco costs $5,089 less a month than owning it. Even counting equity and price growth, buying does not come out ahead of renting and investing the difference within 30 years under our baseline assumptions.

Updated September 26, 2026 · Zillow data for August 2026 · 7.03% mortgage rate (Freddie Mac, September 24, 2026) · Rank 280 of 340 (1 = owning closest to renting) · Part of our 2026 rent vs. buy study

Monthly cost to own$9,771typical home, 20% down
Typical monthly rent$4,682Zillow, August 2026
Buying breaks even30+ years3.5% price growth
Cash needed to buy$327,696$1,424,767 home · 20% down + 3% closing
Income needed to own$390,843vs. $187,280 to rent · 30% rule

Where the monthly money goes.

The first-month cost of owning the typical San Francisco home, split into its parts, against the typical rent. About $929 of the first mortgage payment is principal, which you keep as equity.

The median household income in San Francisco is $140,970 (Census ACS 2020–2024). Owning the typical home would take 83% of it; renting would take 40%.

As a check with a larger rental, HUD's FY2027 Fair Market Rent for a three-bedroom home in the San Francisco, CA HUD Metro FMR Area area is $4,832 a month, still $4,939 below the cost of owning.

  • Mortgage principal & interest $7,606
  • Property tax $840
  • Home insurance $138
  • Maintenance $1,187

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 San Francisco, by years in the home
StayResult
3 yearsRenting ahead by $205,763
5 yearsRenting ahead by $265,217
7 yearsRenting ahead by $331,698
10 yearsRenting ahead by $446,332
15 yearsRenting ahead by $684,829
20 yearsRenting ahead by $997,598
30 yearsRenting ahead by $1,936,961

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 cheaperFresnoRenting $833/mo cheaperSacramentoRenting $1,306/mo cheaperLong BeachRenting $3,421/mo cheaperOaklandRenting $2,321/mo cheaperBakersfieldRenting $991/mo cheaper

More on San Francisco

See the full San Francisco 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 San Francisco. The cost of owning includes principal and interest at 7.03% with 20% down, property tax at the city's 0.71% 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.