Research / Rent vs. buy / Massachusetts / Boston

Rent or buy in Boston?
Renting is $2,014 a month cheaper.

Renting the typical home in Boston costs $2,014 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 29.

Updated September 26, 2026 · Zillow data for August 2026 · 7.03% mortgage rate (Freddie Mac, September 24, 2026) · Rank 161 of 340 (1 = owning closest to renting) · Part of our 2026 rent vs. buy study

Monthly cost to own$5,352typical home, 20% down
Typical monthly rent$3,338Zillow, August 2026
Buying breaks evenYear 293.5% price growth
Cash needed to buy$178,187$774,723 home · 20% down + 3% closing
Income needed to own$214,100vs. $133,520 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 $505 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 66% of it; renting would take 41%.

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 $1,768 below the cost of owning.

  • Mortgage principal & interest $4,136
  • Property tax $393
  • Home insurance $178
  • Maintenance $646

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 $81,301
5 yearsRenting ahead by $88,269
7 yearsRenting ahead by $94,387
10 yearsRenting ahead by $101,386
15 yearsRenting ahead by $104,360
20 yearsRenting ahead by $90,053
30 yearsBuying ahead by $38,118

Rent or buy elsewhere in Massachusetts.

Other large Massachusetts cities in the study.

All cities
WorcesterRenting $1,198/mo cheaperSpringfieldRenting $591/mo cheaperCambridgeRenting $3,448/mo cheaperLowellRenting $1,294/mo cheaperBrocktonRenting $1,443/mo cheaperQuincyRenting $2,186/mo cheaperLynnRenting $1,957/mo cheaperNew BedfordRenting $1,517/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 7.03% 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.