Research / Rent vs. buy / Massachusetts / Boston

Rent or buy in Boston?
Renting is $2,024 a month cheaper.

Renting the typical home in Boston costs $2,024 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 November 12, 2026 · Zillow data for September 2026 · 7.11% mortgage rate (Freddie Mac, November 12, 2026) · Rank 161 of 339 (1 = owning closest to renting) · Part of our 2026 rent vs. buy study

Monthly cost to own$5,295typical home, 20% down
Typical monthly rent$3,271Zillow, September 2026
Buying breaks even30+ years3.5% price growth
Cash needed to buy$175,084$761,236 home · 20% down + 3% closing
Income needed to own$211,809vs. $130,840 to rent · 30% rule

Where the monthly money goes.

The first-month cost of owning the typical Boston home, split into its parts, against the typical rent. About $488 of the first mortgage payment is principal, which you keep as equity.

The median household income in Boston is $97,344 (Census ACS 2020–2024). Owning the typical home would take 65% 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 Boston-Cambridge-Quincy, MA-NH HUD Metro FMR Area area is $3,584 a month, still $1,711 below the cost of owning.

  • Mortgage principal & interest $4,097
  • Property tax $386
  • Home insurance $178
  • Maintenance $634

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 Boston, by years in the home
StayResult
3 yearsRenting ahead by $81,947
5 yearsRenting ahead by $90,387
7 yearsRenting ahead by $98,190
10 yearsRenting ahead by $108,174
15 yearsRenting ahead by $117,608
20 yearsRenting ahead by $112,131
30 yearsRenting ahead by $11,873

Rent or buy elsewhere in Massachusetts.

Other large Massachusetts cities in the study.

All cities
WorcesterRenting $1,201/mo cheaperSpringfieldRenting $612/mo cheaperCambridgeRenting $3,448/mo cheaperLowellRenting $1,339/mo cheaperBrocktonRenting $1,489/mo cheaperQuincyRenting $2,235/mo cheaperLynnRenting $1,931/mo cheaperNew BedfordRenting $1,540/mo cheaper

More on Boston

See the full Boston 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 Boston. The cost of owning includes principal and interest at 7.11% with 20% down, property tax at the city's 0.61% effective rate (Census ACS), the Massachusetts 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.