Research / Rent vs. buy / New York / Syracuse

Rent or buy in Syracuse?
Renting is $403 a month cheaper.

Renting the typical home in Syracuse costs $403 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 November 12, 2026 · Zillow data for September 2026 · 7.11% mortgage rate (Freddie Mac, November 12, 2026) · Rank 41 of 339 (1 = owning closest to renting) · Part of our 2026 rent vs. buy study

Monthly cost to own$1,969typical home, 20% down
Typical monthly rent$1,566Zillow, September 2026
Buying breaks evenYear 103.5% price growth
Cash needed to buy$51,336$223,201 home · 20% down + 3% closing
Income needed to own$78,747vs. $62,640 to rent · 30% rule

Where the monthly money goes.

The first-month cost of owning the typical Syracuse home, split into its parts, against the typical rent. About $143 of the first mortgage payment is principal, which you keep as equity.

The median household income in Syracuse is $47,819 (Census ACS 2020–2024). Owning the typical home would take 49% of it; renting would take 39%.

As a check with a larger rental, HUD's FY2027 Fair Market Rent for a three-bedroom home in the Syracuse, NY MSA area is $1,808 a month, still $161 below the cost of owning.

  • Mortgage principal & interest $1,201
  • Property tax $431
  • Home insurance $150
  • Maintenance $186

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 Syracuse, by years in the home
StayResult
3 yearsRenting ahead by $16,487
5 yearsRenting ahead by $12,709
7 yearsRenting ahead by $7,593
10 yearsBuying ahead by $3,122
15 yearsBuying ahead by $31,596
20 yearsBuying ahead by $78,659
30 yearsBuying ahead by $265,588

Rent or buy elsewhere in New York.

Other large New York cities in the study.

All cities
New YorkRenting $1,773/mo cheaperBuffaloRenting $447/mo cheaperYonkersRenting $2,875/mo cheaperRochesterRenting $641/mo cheaperAlbanyRenting $1,146/mo cheaper

More on Syracuse

See the full Syracuse 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 Syracuse. The cost of owning includes principal and interest at 7.11% with 20% down, property tax at the city's 2.32% effective rate (Census ACS), the New York 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.