Rent vs buy in Santa Maria, CA
In Santa Maria, California, the typical rent is $2,509 /mo, and the typical home is $665,485.
Renting comes out ahead by $30k over 7 years.
Inputs include Santa Maria's typical rent, its typical home value, a 20% down payment and today's mortgage rate. You reach the break-even point in year 10.
Clearly labelled opinion, with the math shown. These are estimates, not quotes. When you change a number, the stamp updates.
- Renting leads by
- $30k after 7 years
- Break-even point
- year 10 when owning catches up
- Actual cost of owning
- $5,553 /mo year 1, against $2,509 rent
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Santa Maria's typical rent and its home value are what the stamp uses. Changing your rent, price or years can reverse the result.
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Is it cheaper to rent or buy in Santa Maria?
Across 7 years, renting saves $29,919 after counting the money you receive when you sell. For the first 9 years, renting costs less. By year 10, owning catches up.
Renting. Owning. Net cost to date, organized by year.
In Santa Maria: average rent vs the mortgage payment
Neither the rent nor the mortgage payment tells the whole story. At Santa Maria's typical price, here are all monthly costs in year 1.
| Each month, year 1 | Amount | What it is |
|---|---|---|
| Rent | $2,509 | All of it, every month |
| Mortgage payment | $3,628 | $3,198 of it is interest in year 1 |
| Property tax | $360 | 0.65% of the value a year |
| Insurance | $81 | Census median for the city |
| Upkeep | $555 | 1% of the value a year |
| Owning, cash out | $4,624 | $430 of it builds equity |
| Lost return on the down payment | $1,082 | Annual earnings the cash could generate at 8.3% |
| Buying costs, spread out | $277 | 3.5% of the price over 7 years |
| True cost of owning | $5,553 | Cash paid, minus equity, plus the two amounts listed above |
Numbers behind the Santa Maria result
- Typical home value: Zillow ZHVI, September 2026
- $665,485
- Typical rent: Zillow ZORI, September 2026
- $2,509 a month
- With a 20% down payment, you avoid private mortgage insurance, but the engine does not model it
- 20%
- Mortgage rate: Freddie Mac Primary Mortgage Market Survey (FRED MORTGAGE30US)
- 7.24%
- Growth in home prices: FHFA house price index for California, 1995 to 2025
- Each year: 5.3%
- Rent growth: CPI for primary residence rent, yearly growth 2006 to 2026
- Each year: 3.5%
- 60% S&P 500 with dividends, plus 40% 10-year Treasuries, rebalanced yearly from 1928 to 2025 for return on savings
- Each year: 8.3%
- Property tax: Census ACS 2020-2024, Santa Maria
- 0.65% of the value
- Home insurance: Census ACS 2020-2024, Santa Maria
- $81 a month
- Maintenance: Fannie Mae, low end of 1% to 4%
- Each year, 1% of value
- Costs of buyingFreddie Mac, 2% to 5% midpoint
- Applied to the price: 3.5%
- Selling costs: Agent commission plus closing costs
- The price times 6%
What would make the result flip in Santa Maria?
Each line identifies the threshold that changes Santa Maria's 7-year verdict, while all other factors remain the same.
When renting comes out ahead
- Home prices rise by less than 5.8% a year; the figure used is 5.3%, California's rate over many years.
- Your mortgage rate remains above 6.44%.
- Rent for a similar home is under $2,830 each month, compared with $2,509 typically.
- Your move takes place before year 10.
When buying comes out ahead
- Home prices increase by more than 5.8% a year.
- You secure a mortgage rate under 6.44% (today's is 7.24%).
- The same home would cost more than $2,830 a month to rent.
- You remain for 10 years or longer.
Santa Maria compared with the other 812 cities
| Measure | Santa Maria | Median city |
|---|---|---|
| Typical home value | $665,485 | $422,451 |
| Typical rent | $2,509 /mo | $1,837 /mo |
| Price-to-rent ratio | 22.1 (#240 of 813) | 18.5 |
| Home prices, last 10 years | 6.3% a year | 6.2% a year |
| Rents, last 5 years | 1.3% a year | 4% a year |
| Property tax | 0.65% | 0.87% |
| Households that rent | 50% | 42% |
Sources used: Zillow ZHVI and ZORI, Census ACS 2020-2024.
More cities in California
- Renting has the edge by $111k in Los Angeles, CA.
- Renting has the edge by $108k in San Diego, CA.
- Renting has the edge by $210k in San Jose, CA.
- Renting has the edge by $128k in San Francisco, CA.
- Buying has the edge by $22k in Fresno, CA.
- The result is a toss-up, with renting ahead by $3k in Sacramento, CA.
- Renting has the edge by $111k in Long Beach, CA.
- Renting has the edge by $44k in Oakland, CA.
- Buying has the edge by $11k in Bakersfield, CA.
- Renting has the edge by $115k in Anaheim, CA.
- Buying has the edge by $16k in Stockton, CA.
- Renting has the edge by $27k in Riverside, CA.