Rent vs buy in Jacksonville, NC

In Jacksonville, North Carolina, typical rent is $1,421 /mo and a typical home is $261,539.

Toss-up

It's a toss-up: the two are $3,370 apart over 7 years

Working from Jacksonville's typical rent plus its typical home value, a 20% down payment and today's mortgage rate. Year 8 is when the two paths break even.

An opinion, clearly labelled, with the math shown. The figures are estimates rather than quotes. Swap one number and the stamp changes.

Gap: $3k
Break-even point: Year 8
What owning really costs: $2,325 /mo

Change my numbers

The stamp runs on Jacksonville's typical rent and typical home value. Your own rent, price and years can flip the result.

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In Jacksonville, is it cheaper to rent or buy?

Over 7 years the two paths finish within $3,370 of each other, and small changes tip the result. For the first 7 years, renting costs less. By year 8, owning catches up.

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

Average rent compared with mortgage payment in Jacksonville

Rent and mortgage payments don't tell the whole story. Here are all the monthly costs for year 1, at Jacksonville's typical price.

Each month, year 1	Amount	What it is
Rent	$1,421	All of it, every month
Mortgage payment	$1,426	$1,257 of it is interest in year 1
Property tax	$194	0.89% of the value a year
Insurance	$122	Census median for the city
Upkeep	$218	1% of the value a year
Owning, cash out	$1,960	$169 of it builds equity
Lost return on the down payment	$425	What the cash would earn each year at 8.3%
Buying costs, spread out	$109	3.5% of the price over 7 years
True cost of owning	$2,325	Cash paid out, minus the equity share, plus the two lines listed above

Jacksonville's verdict, by the numbers

Typical home value: Zillow ZHVI, September 2026: $261,539
Typical rent: Zillow ZORI, September 2026: $1,421 /mo
Down payment: 20% means no private mortgage insurance, and the engine does not model it.: 20%
Mortgage rate source: Freddie Mac Primary Mortgage Market Survey (FRED MORTGAGE30US): 7.24%
Growth in home pricesFHFA house price index, North Carolina, 1995 through 2025: 4.4% yearly
Rent growth: CPI primary residence rent, yearly growth 2006 to 2026: 3.5% yearly
Return on savings60% in S&P 500 with dividends and 40% in 10-year Treasuries, rebalanced yearly, 1928 through 2025: 8.3% yearly
Census ACS 2020-2024, Jacksonville for property tax: 0.89% of the value
Census ACS 2020-2024, Jacksonville for home insurance: $122 a month
Maintenance: Fannie Mae, low end of the 1% to 4% range: 1% of the value each year
Buying costs: Freddie Mac, middle of the 2% to 5% range: 3.5% of the price
Selling costs: Agent commission plus closing costs: 6% of the price

What would flip the verdict in Jacksonville?

Every line marks the point where Jacksonville's 7-year verdict changes, with everything else held as it is.

Renting comes out ahead when

Home prices grow more slowly than 4.6% a year; we assume 4.4%, North Carolina's pace over the long run.
The mortgage rate remains above 7.01%.
Homes like this one rent below $1,460 a month (the typical figure here is $1,421).
You move before year 8 arrives.

Buying comes out ahead when

Home prices climb at more than 4.6% a year.
Your mortgage rate gets locked below 7.01% (today's rate: 7.24%).
That home would rent for more than $1,460 a month.
You remain for 8 years or longer.

How Jacksonville compares with the other 812 cities

Measure	Jacksonville	Median city
Typical home value	$261,539	$422,451
Typical rent	$1,421 /mo	$1,837 /mo
Price-to-rent ratio	15.3 (#607 of 813)	18.5
Home prices, last 10 years	7.3% a year	6.2% a year
Rents, last 5 years	6.3% a year	4% a year
Property tax	0.89%	0.87%
Households that rent	61%	42%

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

More cities in North Carolina

Renting wins by $30k. Charlotte, NC.
Renting wins by $61k. Raleigh, NC.

Rent vs buy in North Carolina: the state's numbers