Research / Rent vs. buy / Georgia / Savannah

Rent or buy in Savannah?
Renting is $604 a month cheaper.

Renting the typical home in Savannah costs $604 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 10.

Updated September 26, 2026 · Zillow data for August 2026 · 7.03% mortgage rate (Freddie Mac, September 24, 2026) · Rank 66 of 340 (1 = owning closest to renting) · Part of our 2026 rent vs. buy study

Monthly cost to own$2,361typical home, 20% down
Typical monthly rent$1,757Zillow, August 2026
Buying breaks evenYear 103.5% price growth
Cash needed to buy$74,115$322,239 home · 20% down + 3% closing
Income needed to own$94,450vs. $70,280 to rent · 30% rule

Where the monthly money goes.

The first-month cost of owning the typical Savannah home, split into its parts, against the typical rent. About $210 of the first mortgage payment is principal, which you keep as equity.

The median household income in Savannah is $57,137 (Census ACS 2020–2024). Owning the typical home would take 50% 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 Savannah, GA MSA area is $2,185 a month, still $176 below the cost of owning.

  • Mortgage principal & interest $1,720
  • Property tax $220
  • Home insurance $152
  • Maintenance $269

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 Savannah, by years in the home
StayResult
3 yearsRenting ahead by $24,370
5 yearsRenting ahead by $19,436
7 yearsRenting ahead by $12,706
10 yearsBuying ahead by $1,472
15 yearsBuying ahead by $39,368
20 yearsBuying ahead by $102,262
30 yearsBuying ahead by $352,909

Rent or buy elsewhere in Georgia.

Other large Georgia cities in the study.

All cities
AtlantaRenting $872/mo cheaperColumbusRenting $56/mo cheaperAugustaRenting $78/mo cheaperMaconRenting $131/mo cheaperAthensRenting $890/mo cheaperSandy SpringsRenting $3,237/mo cheaper

More on Savannah

See the full Savannah 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 Savannah. 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 Georgia 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.