Skip to the content
rent vs buy .cityCheck your city

Rent vs buy in Dayton, OH

A typical home in Dayton, Ohio costs $137,939, and typical rent there is $1,241 /mo.

Rent vs buy Dayton verdict card: Buying comes out ahead by $25k across 7 years
Buy

Buying comes out ahead by $25k across 7 years

Based on Dayton's typical rent and home price, plus a 20% down payment and today's mortgage rate. Break-even happens in year 3.

Our take, clearly labelled, with the math shown. These figures are estimates, not quotes. Adjust any figure and the stamp updates.

Owning leads by
$25k
after 7 years
Break-even point
Year 3
when owning catches up
What owning really costs
$1,332 a month
year 1, against $1,241 rent

Change my numbers

The stamp is built on Dayton's typical rent, plus the typical home price. Change your rent, your price or your years, and the result can flip.

Do your numbers differ from the city's?

Fill in your rent, price and down payment. The stamp updates to match.

Is it cheaper to rent or buy in Dayton?

Count in the money that comes back to you when you sell, and buying comes out $24,619 cheaper over 7 years. Owning's net cost falls under renting's in year 3, and it stays lower.

Rent. Own. Net cost to date, by year.

$0$100k$200k$300kyr 1yr 3yr 5yr 7yr 9yr 11yr 13yr 15

Average rent compared with mortgage payment in Dayton

Rent and mortgage alone don't tell you everything. Here are all the monthly costs for year 1 at Dayton's typical price.

Each month, year 1AmountWhat it is
Rent$1,241All of it, every month
Mortgage payment$752$663 of it is interest in year 1
Property tax$1911.66% of the value a year
Insurance$82Census median for the city
Upkeep$1151% of the value a year
Owning, cash out$1,140$89 of it builds equity
Lost return on the down payment$224What the money would earn at 8.3% a year
Buying costs, spread out$573.5% of the price over 7 years
True cost of owning$1,332Cash out, take off the equity part, then add the two lines above

The numbers behind Dayton's verdict

Typical home value, from Zillow ZHVI, September 2026
$137,939
Typical rent, from Zillow ZORI, September 2026
$1,241 a month
Down payment: 20% avoids private mortgage insurance, and the engine doesn't model it.
20%
This mortgage rate comes from Freddie Mac Primary Mortgage Market Survey (FRED MORTGAGE30US)
7.24%
Price growthFHFA index of house prices, Ohio, 1995 to 2025
3.5% each year
Rent growth: CPI primary residence rent, yearly growth 2006 to 2026
3.5% each year
Return on savings: 60% S&P 500 with dividends, 40% 10-year Treasuries, rebalanced each year, 1928 to 2025
8.3% yearly
Property tax: Census ACS 2020-2024, Dayton
1.66% of the value
Home insurance: Census ACS 2020-2024, Dayton
$82 a month
MaintenanceFannie Mae, 1% to 4%, low end
1% of the value a year
Buying costsFreddie Mac, 2% to 5%, middle
3.5% of the price
Selling costsAgent commission and closing costs
6% of the price

What would change the verdict in Dayton?

Each line below marks the point where the 7-year verdict for Dayton changes. Everything else stays as it is.

Renting comes out ahead when

  • We apply Ohio's long-run rate of 3.5%, though home prices grow by less than 0.9% a year.
  • The mortgage rate remains above 10.37%.
  • Rent for a comparable home comes in under $980 a month, and the typical figure here is $1,241.
  • You move before year 3 comes around.

Buying comes out ahead when

  • Home prices grow by more than 0.9% a year.
  • You lock in a mortgage rate under 10.37% (today's is 7.24%).
  • You'd pay more than $980 a month to rent the same home.
  • You stay for 3 years or longer.

How Dayton compares with the other 812 cities

MeasureDaytonMedian city
Typical home value$137,939$422,451
Typical rent$1,241 /mo$1,837 /mo
Price-to-rent ratio9.3 (#800 of 813)18.5
Home prices, last 10 years9.5% a year6.2% a year
Rents, last 5 years5.7% a year4% a year
Property tax1.66%0.87%
Households that rent52%42%

Data from: Zillow ZHVI plus ZORI, Census ACS 2020-2024.

Other cities across Ohio

Rent vs buy in Ohio: numbers for the state