That's according to a recent SmartAsset report, which calculated the "breakeven point" — the point at which the total costs of renting become greater than the total costs of buying — for 29 major cities.
Everyone's situation is different, and there is no universal answer to the rent versus buy question. In this analysis, the cities with the shortest time to break even are the best places to buy.
Here, we rounded up the 10 cities with the shortest breakeven points. We also included the average monthly mortgage payment, monthly rent, and home price, from SmartAsset's report:
Tampa, Florida
Average monthly rent: $1,349
Average monthly mortgage payment: $776
Average home price: $191,536
Breakeven year: 4.1
Charlotte, North Carolina
Average monthly rent: $1,168
Average monthly mortgage payment: $757
Average home price: $186,693
Breakeven year: 4.1
Atlanta, Georgia
Average monthly rent: $1,263
Average monthly mortgage payment: $823
Average home price: $202,969
Breakeven year: 4.1
Miami, Florida
Average monthly rent: $1,722
Average monthly mortgage payment: $1,013
Average home price: $249,952
Breakeven year: 4.0
Baltimore, Maryland
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Average monthly rent: $1,599
Average monthly mortgage payment: $995
Average home price: $245,453
Breakeven year: 3.8
Austin, Texas
Average monthly rent: $1,454
Average monthly mortgage payment: $742
Average home price: $183,134
Breakeven year: 3.7
St. Louis, Missouri
Average monthly rent: $1,131
Average monthly mortgage payment: $667
Average home price: $164,493
Breakeven year: 3.6
Dallas, Texas
Average monthly rent: $1,302
Average monthly mortgage payment: $594
Average home price: $146,616
Breakeven year: 3.2
Philadelphia, Pennsylvania
Average monthly rent: $1,414
Average monthly mortgage payment: $640
Average home price: $157,802
Breakeven year: 2.9
Detroit, Michigan
Average monthly rent: $1,206
Average monthly mortgage payment: $432
Average home price: $106,456
Breakeven year: 2.6
