Research / Rent vs. buy / Texas / Houston

Rent or buy in Houston?
Renting is $642 a month cheaper.

Renting the typical home in Houston costs $642 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 23.

Updated September 26, 2026 · Zillow data for August 2026 · 7.03% mortgage rate (Freddie Mac, September 24, 2026) · Rank 97 of 340 (1 = owning closest to renting) · Part of our 2026 rent vs. buy study

Monthly cost to own$2,184typical home, 20% down
Typical monthly rent$1,542Zillow, August 2026
Buying breaks evenYear 233.5% price growth
Cash needed to buy$60,200$261,740 home · 20% down + 3% closing
Income needed to own$87,348vs. $61,680 to rent · 30% rule

Where the monthly money goes.

The first-month cost of owning the typical Houston 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 Houston is $64,813 (Census ACS 2020–2024). Owning the typical home would take 40% of it; renting would take 29%.

As a check with a larger rental, HUD's FY2027 Fair Market Rent for a three-bedroom home in the Houston-The Woodlands-Sugar Land, TX HUD Metro FMR Area area is $2,017 a month, still $167 below the cost of owning.

  • Mortgage principal & interest $1,397
  • Property tax $330
  • Home insurance $239
  • Maintenance $218

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 Houston, by years in the home
StayResult
3 yearsRenting ahead by $26,015
5 yearsRenting ahead by $27,165
7 yearsRenting ahead by $27,805
10 yearsRenting ahead by $27,542
15 yearsRenting ahead by $22,530
20 yearsRenting ahead by $8,941
30 yearsBuying ahead by $64,703

Rent or buy elsewhere in Texas.

Other large Texas cities in the study.

All cities
San AntonioRenting $741/mo cheaperDallasRenting $938/mo cheaperAustinRenting $2,322/mo cheaperFort WorthRenting $872/mo cheaperEl PasoRenting $597/mo cheaperArlingtonRenting $1,089/mo cheaperCorpus ChristiRenting $491/mo cheaperPlanoRenting $2,131/mo cheaper

More on Houston

See the full Houston 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 Houston. The cost of owning includes principal and interest at 7.03% with 20% down, property tax at the city's 1.51% effective rate (Census ACS), the Texas 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.