Research / Rent vs. buy / Florida / Tampa

Rent or buy in Tampa?
Renting is $849 a month cheaper.

Renting the typical home in Tampa costs $849 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 16.

Updated September 26, 2026 · Zillow data for August 2026 · 7.03% mortgage rate (Freddie Mac, September 24, 2026) · Rank 107 of 340 (1 = owning closest to renting) · Part of our 2026 rent vs. buy study

Monthly cost to own$2,806typical home, 20% down
Typical monthly rent$1,957Zillow, August 2026
Buying breaks evenYear 163.5% price growth
Cash needed to buy$86,840$377,566 home · 20% down + 3% closing
Income needed to own$112,246vs. $78,280 to rent · 30% rule

Where the monthly money goes.

The first-month cost of owning the typical Tampa home, split into its parts, against the typical rent. About $246 of the first mortgage payment is principal, which you keep as equity.

The median household income in Tampa is $75,475 (Census ACS 2020–2024). Owning the typical home would take 45% of it; renting would take 31%.

As a check with a larger rental, HUD's FY2027 Fair Market Rent for a three-bedroom home in the Tampa-St. Petersburg-Clearwater, FL MSA area is $2,448 a month, still $358 below the cost of owning.

  • Mortgage principal & interest $2,016
  • Property tax $244
  • Home insurance $232
  • Maintenance $315

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 Tampa, by years in the home
StayResult
3 yearsRenting ahead by $34,275
5 yearsRenting ahead by $33,236
7 yearsRenting ahead by $30,967
10 yearsRenting ahead by $24,703
15 yearsRenting ahead by $3,997
20 yearsBuying ahead by $35,214
30 yearsBuying ahead by $209,399

Rent or buy elsewhere in Florida.

Other large Florida cities in the study.

All cities
JacksonvilleRenting $566/mo cheaperMiamiRenting $1,237/mo cheaperOrlandoRenting $878/mo cheaperSt. PetersburgRenting $555/mo cheaperPort St. LucieRenting $520/mo cheaperHialeahRenting $818/mo cheaperCape CoralRenting $593/mo cheaperTallahasseeRenting $791/mo cheaper

More on Tampa

See the full Tampa 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 Tampa. The cost of owning includes principal and interest at 7.03% with 20% down, property tax at the city's 0.78% effective rate (Census ACS), the Florida 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.