Research / Rent vs. buy / Massachusetts / Cambridge

Rent or buy in Cambridge?
Renting is $3,448 a month cheaper.

Renting the typical home in Cambridge costs $3,448 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 260 of 340 (1 = owning closest to renting) · Part of our 2026 rent vs. buy study

Monthly cost to own$6,924typical home, 20% down
Typical monthly rent$3,476Zillow, August 2026
Buying breaks even30+ years3.5% price growth
Cash needed to buy$237,300$1,031,739 home · 20% down + 3% closing
Income needed to own$276,946vs. $139,040 to rent · 30% rule

Where the monthly money goes.

The first-month cost of owning the typical Cambridge home, split into its parts, against the typical rent. About $673 of the first mortgage payment is principal, which you keep as equity.

The median household income in Cambridge is $130,748 (Census ACS 2020–2024). Owning the typical home would take 64% of it; renting would take 32%.

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 $3,340 below the cost of owning.

  • Mortgage principal & interest $5,508
  • Property tax $378
  • Home insurance $178
  • Maintenance $860

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 Cambridge, by years in the home
StayResult
3 yearsRenting ahead by $139,215
5 yearsRenting ahead by $174,151
7 yearsRenting ahead by $212,682
10 yearsRenting ahead by $277,986
15 yearsRenting ahead by $410,141
20 yearsRenting ahead by $577,625
30 yearsRenting ahead by $1,053,375

Rent or buy elsewhere in Massachusetts.

Other large Massachusetts cities in the study.

All cities
BostonRenting $2,014/mo cheaperWorcesterRenting $1,198/mo cheaperSpringfieldRenting $591/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 Cambridge

See the full Cambridge 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 Cambridge. The cost of owning includes principal and interest at 7.03% with 20% down, property tax at the city's 0.44% 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.