Research / Rent vs. buy / Texas / Lubbock

Rent or buy in Lubbock?
Renting is $492 a month cheaper.

Renting the typical home in Lubbock costs $492 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 18.

Updated September 26, 2026 · Zillow data for August 2026 · 7.03% mortgage rate (Freddie Mac, September 24, 2026) · Rank 82 of 340 (1 = owning closest to renting) · Part of our 2026 rent vs. buy study

Monthly cost to own$1,825typical home, 20% down
Typical monthly rent$1,333Zillow, August 2026
Buying breaks evenYear 183.5% price growth
Cash needed to buy$48,769$212,039 home · 20% down + 3% closing
Income needed to own$72,985vs. $53,320 to rent · 30% rule

Where the monthly money goes.

The first-month cost of owning the typical Lubbock home, split into its parts, against the typical rent. About $138 of the first mortgage payment is principal, which you keep as equity.

The median household income in Lubbock is $60,895 (Census ACS 2020–2024). Owning the typical home would take 36% of it; renting would take 26%.

As a check with a larger rental, HUD's FY2027 Fair Market Rent for a three-bedroom home in the Lubbock, TX HUD Metro FMR Area area is $1,718 a month, still $107 below the cost of owning.

  • Mortgage principal & interest $1,132
  • Property tax $277
  • Home insurance $239
  • Maintenance $177

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 Lubbock, by years in the home
StayResult
3 yearsRenting ahead by $19,936
5 yearsRenting ahead by $19,923
7 yearsRenting ahead by $19,324
10 yearsRenting ahead by $17,050
15 yearsRenting ahead by $8,271
20 yearsBuying ahead by $9,603
30 yearsBuying ahead by $93,057

Rent or buy elsewhere in Texas.

Other large Texas cities in the study.

All cities
HoustonRenting $642/mo cheaperSan 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 cheaper

More on Lubbock

See the full Lubbock 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 Lubbock. The cost of owning includes principal and interest at 7.03% with 20% down, property tax at the city's 1.57% 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.