Zillow Data Shows U.S. Renters Need a $14,408 Annual Raise to Afford Buying a Home as Mortgage Rates Rebound

A household that can comfortably afford to rent a typical U.S. single-family home now needs a $14,408 annual pay raise to afford the monthly costs of buying one—the widest affordability gap since early 2025 and more than double the $6,463 raise required in February 2026 when mortgage rates briefly dipped below 6%, according to new Zillow research.
Nationally, typical single-family rent reached $2,243 per month in October, up 3.2% year-over-year, while typical multifamily rent rose 2.5% to $1,744. By comparison, owning a typical single-family home with a 20% down payment costs $2,603 per month—a $360 monthly premium over renting. Based on the 30% housing-cost rule of thumb, households need $89,724 in annual income to comfortably rent a single-family home versus $104,132 to buy, with a national break-even timeline of 7.8 years.
The widening gap comes amid renewed mortgage rate volatility. Although Freddie Mac reported on Nov. 12 that the average 30-year fixed mortgage rate edged down to 7.11%, Mortgage News Daily data showed top-tier 30-year fixed rates jumping 32 basis points to 7.50% by Nov. 13, erasing five weeks of declines.
As ownership costs remain elevated, overall rental demand climbed 22.1% year-over-year nationwide on the Zillow Observed Renter Demand Index, led by a 24.3% surge in single-family rental demand. The annual income gap between buying and renting is steepest in San Jose ($214,364), San Francisco ($139,353), San Diego ($84,101), New York ($78,208), and Los Angeles ($78,003), while Pittsburgh ($2,554), Houston ($4,500), and Cincinnati ($4,774) saw the smallest spreads, and Buffalo remained the only major metro where buying does not require higher income than renting.