While building up equity in a home can be a great long-term investment, in some neighborhoods it makes more economical sense to rent.
Realtytrac, a real estate information company, compiled data on 285 counties nationwide and analyzed the economics of renting instead of buying a home. They found the average cost to rent or own a 3-bedroom house and determined the percentage an average worker would have to spend from their weekly income.
In 66% of the counties Realtytrac found it was more cost effective to buy. But the potential savings in counties where renting was more cost-effective were higher. Most of the counties are in the red-hot California housing market.
We screened for the counties that had populations of more than 500,000 people and where a renter would save at least 10% more than homebuyers.
Check them out below in order from least to most savings.