For the first year after a move, renting usually leaves more cash than buying. A couple earning $120,000 in Austin keeps $54,419 a year renting a two-bedroom at HUD Fiscal Year 2027 Fair Market Rent, and $37,016 buying the Census median-value home ($465,000) with 20% down at 6.5% for 30 years — $17,403 less. Ownership costs $3,096 a month before utilities: $2,351 principal and interest, $595 property tax and $150 insurance. Part of that payment builds equity, about $4,158 in the first year.
How MoveMath prices owning
The relocation budget planner and the county-level cost of owning a home calculator use:
- Home price: the Census ACS 2020–2024 median home value (table B25077) unless you enter a price.
- Principal and interest: a fixed-rate loan on the price minus your down payment, at your rate and term.
- Property tax: the effective rate, ACS median real estate taxes paid (B25103) ÷ median home value.
- Insurance: your input; $1,800 a year is a placeholder because no official source publishes premiums.
- Utilities (owners only): the state’s average monthly residential electricity bill for 2025 from EIA. Natural gas is added only if you enter your use.
Renters see no utility line, because Fair Market Rent is a gross rent that already includes tenant-paid utilities.
Rent vs buy in five metros
Two adults, $120,000 combined (60/40), no children, two cars, 2026 taxes. Renting: a two-bedroom at Fair Market Rent. Buying: the metro’s median-value home, 20% down, 6.5%, 30 years, $1,800 insurance.
| Metro | Median home value | Effective tax rate | Principal + interest | 2-BR Fair Market Rent | Left over renting | Left over owning |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| Austin, TX | $465,000 | 1.54% | $2,351/mo | $1,817/mo | $54,419 | $37,016 |
| Nashville, TN | $409,600 | 0.50% | $2,071/mo | $1,798/mo | $53,671 | $44,661 |
| Dallas, TX | $359,500 | 1.60% | $1,818/mo | $1,807/mo | $52,874 | $43,156 |
| Denver, CO | $603,800 | 0.51% | $3,053/mo | $2,169/mo | $44,379 | $27,644 |
| Phoenix, AZ | $440,900 | 0.44% | $2,229/mo | $1,734/mo | $51,377 | $39,799 |
Sources: Census ACS 2020–2024 (B25077, B25103); HUD FY2027 Fair Market Rents (91 FR 56156); EIA average residential electricity bills, 2025; 2026 taxes and mortgage arithmetic from the MoveMath engine. “Left over” also subtracts food, gasoline, other spending and sales tax, which are the same either way.
Renting leaves more in all five, by $9,010 a year in Nashville up to $17,403 in Austin. The comparison is not like for like: a median-value home is often larger than a two-bedroom rental. It shows what the typical home costs to carry against a modest rental.
Why Austin’s gap is the widest
Austin combines a high median home value with one of the higher effective property-tax rates: 1.54%, or $7,140 a year ($595 a month) on $465,000. Nashville’s rate is 0.50%, $2,060 a year on a $409,600 home. Texas pairs no income tax on wages with property-tax rates about three times Nashville’s.
Dallas is a useful contrast. Its principal and interest ($1,818) almost equals the two-bedroom Fair Market Rent ($1,807), but property tax at 1.60% adds $478 a month, insurance $150 and Texas’s average electricity bill $171, so owning still costs about $800 a month more.
The county calculator gives a slightly different Austin answer because it uses county medians: Travis County’s median value is $523,000 and its effective rate 1.48%, for $3,438 a month with the same loan terms.
What the cash-flow view leaves out
Equity. Part of each mortgage payment repays principal. On the Austin loan ($372,000 at 6.5%), principal repaid in year one is $4,158 of the $28,216 paid. That is savings, not a cost, so the true first-year gap is closer to $13,245 than $17,403.
Appreciation or decline. Home values can rise or fall; MoveMath does not forecast them.
Selling and buying costs. Agent commissions, closing costs and transfer taxes vary by state and deal. Get quotes before you buy, because they are what make short stays expensive.
Rent increases and fixed payments. A fixed-rate mortgage payment stays the same; rent can rise at each renewal.
The first-year case for renting in a new city
After a move you may not yet know which neighborhood, or even which metro, you want to stay in. Renting for the first year keeps the higher year-one cash flow shown above and avoids paying purchase costs on a home you might sell soon. Track your real spending in the relocation budget planner, then revisit buying once the location is settled.
Each metro page shows the cost of owning the median home next to its rents, for example Austin, Nashville and Dallas.