Rent vs buy in Bloomington, IL

In Bloomington, Illinois, the typical rent is $1,270 /mo and the typical home price is $268,640.

Rent

Over 7 years, renting comes out $68k ahead.

These figures use Bloomington's typical rent and home value, 20% down, and today's mortgage rate. There is no break-even within 30 years.

A clearly labelled opinion, with the math laid out. They are estimates, not quotes. If you change a number, the stamp changes.

Renting leads by: $68k
Point of break-even: 30 years or more
Owning's true cost: The monthly cost is $2,646

Change my numbers

The stamp is built on Bloomington's typical rent and home value. Changing your rent, price or years can reverse the result.

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In Bloomington, is renting or buying cheaper?

Over 7 years, renting costs $68,352 less when you include the money returned when you sell. In every year shown, the net cost of renting sits below that of owning, and owning never catches up in the first 30 years.

Rent. Ownership. A running total of net cost by year.

Average rent compared with the mortgage payment in Bloomington

Rent and the mortgage don't tell the whole story. Here are all the monthly costs in year 1, using Bloomington's typical price.

Each month, year 1	Amount	What it is
Rent	$1,270	All of it, every month
Mortgage payment	$1,465	$1,291 of it is interest in year 1
Property tax	$481	2.15% of the value a year
Insurance	$101	Census median for the city
Upkeep	$224	1% of the value a year
Owning, cash out	$2,271	$174 of it builds equity
Lost return on the down payment	$437	At 8.3% a year, what the cash would earn
Buying costs, spread out	$112	3.5% of the price over 7 years
True cost of owning	$2,646	Cash out, minus the equity portion, plus both lines above

Numbers behind the Bloomington verdict

Home value, typicalZillow ZHVI, September 2026: $268,640
The typical rentZillow ZORI, September 2026: $1,270 per month
Down payment: 20% means no private mortgage insurance, and the engine doesn't model it: 20%
The mortgage rate Freddie Mac Primary Mortgage Market Survey (FRED MORTGAGE30US): 7.24%
Price growth for homesFHFA index of house prices, Illinois, 1995 to 2025: 3.3% per year
Rent growth CPI rent of primary residence, growth each year 2006 to 2026: 3.5% per year
Savings return60% in S&P 500 with dividends plus 40% in 10-year Treasuries, rebalanced each year, 1928 to 2025: 8.3% per year
Taxes on the property Census ACS 2020-2024, Bloomington: 2.15% of the value.
Home insurance cost Census ACS 2020-2024, Bloomington: $101 a month
Maintenance Fannie Mae, 1% to 4%, low end: Each year, 1% of value
Buying costs Freddie Mac, 2% to 5%, middle: 3.5% of the purchase price
Selling costsAgent commission and closing costs: 6% of the price

In Bloomington, what would flip it?

Every line marks where the 7-year result in Bloomington changes, while all other figures stay as they are.

Renting wins if

Home prices grow by less than 6.5% a year; our figure, 3.3%, is Illinois's long-run rate.
Interest on a mortgage stays over 2.63%.
Monthly rent on a home like this: less than $2,000 (typical here: $1,270).
If you move at any point over the next 30 years, owning still doesn't catch up at these numbers.

Buying wins if

Home prices increase by more than 6.5% a year.
You lock in a rate under 2.63%; right now it's 7.24%.
You'd pay over $2,000 a month to rent that same home.

Bloomington compared with the other 812 cities

Measure	Bloomington	Median city
Typical home value	$268,640	$422,451
Typical rent	$1,270 /mo	$1,837 /mo
Price-to-rent ratio	17.6 (#455 of 813)	18.5
Home prices, last 10 years	4.8% a year	6.2% a year
Rents, last 5 years	7.7% a year	4% a year
Property tax	2.15%	0.87%
Households that rent	38%	42%

Sources: Zillow's ZHVI and ZORI, Census ACS 2020-2024.

Cities in Illinois besides Bloomington

Toss-up. Chicago, IL. It's close, but buying is ahead by $3k.

Illinois rent vs buy numbers