Rent vs. buy calculator
Pick a metro and CityLedger prefills its median home price, rent, and property-tax rate. Adjust the assumptions to see the true monthly cost of owning versus renting — and how many years until buying pays off.
Property tax 1.1% (from Abilene)
Monthly to own
$1,376
incl. tax, insurance, upkeep
Monthly to rent
$1,173
median for the metro
Net cost over 7 years
Buying (after equity & appreciation)$76,962
Renting$98,532
Buying pays off. It breaks even at about 4 years, and you plan to stay 7. Break-even ≈ 4 years.
Estimate, not advice. Assumes 3% closing and 6% selling costs, ~0.5%/yr insurance and ~1%/yr maintenance, flat rent, and the standard deduction (no mortgage-interest writeoff). It excludes the opportunity cost of investing your down payment instead. Property tax is the metro's effective rate.