Research / Rent vs. buy / North Carolina / Winston-Salem

Rent or buy in Winston-Salem?
Renting is $461 a month cheaper.

Renting the typical home in Winston-Salem costs $461 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 9.

Updated September 26, 2026 · Zillow data for August 2026 · 7.03% mortgage rate (Freddie Mac, September 24, 2026) · Rank 56 of 340 (1 = owning closest to renting) · Part of our 2026 rent vs. buy study

Monthly cost to own$1,968typical home, 20% down
Typical monthly rent$1,507Zillow, August 2026
Buying breaks evenYear 93.5% price growth
Cash needed to buy$60,503$263,057 home · 20% down + 3% closing
Income needed to own$78,710vs. $60,280 to rent · 30% rule

Where the monthly money goes.

The first-month cost of owning the typical Winston-Salem home, split into its parts, against the typical rent. About $171 of the first mortgage payment is principal, which you keep as equity.

The median household income in Winston-Salem is $59,268 (Census ACS 2020–2024). Owning the typical home would take 40% of it; renting would take 31%.

As a check with a larger rental, HUD's FY2027 Fair Market Rent for a three-bedroom home in the Winston-Salem, NC HUD Metro FMR Area area is $1,754 a month, still $214 below the cost of owning.

  • Mortgage principal & interest $1,404
  • Property tax $190
  • Home insurance $154
  • Maintenance $219

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 Winston-Salem, by years in the home
StayResult
3 yearsRenting ahead by $18,582
5 yearsRenting ahead by $13,466
7 yearsRenting ahead by $6,683
10 yearsBuying ahead by $7,267
15 yearsBuying ahead by $43,641
20 yearsBuying ahead by $102,898
30 yearsBuying ahead by $334,937

Rent or buy elsewhere in North Carolina.

Other large North Carolina cities in the study.

All cities
CharlotteRenting $1,071/mo cheaperRaleighRenting $1,485/mo cheaperGreensboroRenting $592/mo cheaperDurhamRenting $1,170/mo cheaperFayettevilleRenting $360/mo cheaperCaryRenting $2,573/mo cheaperWilmingtonRenting $1,267/mo cheaperHigh PointRenting $525/mo cheaper

More on Winston-Salem

See the full Winston-Salem 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 Winston-Salem. The cost of owning includes principal and interest at 7.03% with 20% down, property tax at the city's 0.87% effective rate (Census ACS), the North Carolina 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.