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Philadelphia housing costs

Rent vs. buy calculator

See whether renting or buying costs less over your stay in Philadelphia, using local ownership costs and your own numbers. An educational estimate.

Your purchase scenario

Starts at Philadelphia’s median home value with 20% down. Change it to match the home you’re considering.

Home and loan
Local ownership costs in Philadelphia

Add mortgage insurance or other recurring costs under “Other monthly property costs”; they continue for the whole comparison. Philadelphia’s figures come from Editable planning scenario, not a market quote: replace tax, insurance, maintenance, HOA and loan inputs for your property. HOA starts at zero, not a claim of no fees., as of 2026-09-27; change any of them to match your home. Nothing on this page is saved. Open the monthly cost estimator

Use your purchase scenario

Rent vs. buy

Compare renting with buying a $243,100 home, then selling at the end of your stay. Personal debt payments are left out of both options.

Owning starts at$1,838a month

Your rent and stay

A rental that meets similar needs.

Added to rent each month.

The same period for both options, 1–40.

Market and cost assumptionsIllustrative defaults, not local forecasts

Applied each year; negative means falling rent.

Property tax follows the home's value.

Insurance, HOA, maintenance and other property costs.

After-tax yearly return on money not spent; 0 ignores it.

One-time, on top of the down payment.

Taken from the sale proceeds.

How this comparison works

The mortgage payment comes from your purchase scenario and stops when the loan is repaid. Rent and expenses change annually. Property tax follows the home-value assumption; actual assessments and exemptions may differ. Home value and the return on savings compound over the selected period. Both options apply the same return to money spent, assuming cash could otherwise remain invested.

The model excludes tax deductions, capital-gains taxes, refundable deposits, moving costs, utilities and differences in housing quality. Mortgage insurance is included only if you add it to “Other monthly property costs”; those costs continue throughout the period. Comparison assumptions stay on this page and are not saved. This is an educational estimate.