Rent vs buy in Union City, CA
Typical rent $2,913 /mo; typical home $1,195,668. Both numbers are for Union City, California.
Renting comes out ahead by $208k over 7 years
With today's mortgage rate and 20% down, the calculation relies on typical home value and rent for Union City's market. The break-even point falls in year 24.
Clearly labeled opinion, with the math shown. These are estimates, not quotes. The stamp updates whenever a number changes.
- Ahead by renting
- $208k after 7 years
- Break-even point
- year 24 when owning catches up
- Full cost of owning
- $10,023 /mo year 1, against $2,913 rent
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Is renting or buying cheaper in Union City?
Over 7 years, renting costs $207,828 less when you include the money returned after you sell. For the first 23 years, renting costs less. In year 24, owning reaches the same cost.
Rent. Home ownership. Net cost by year so far.
In Union City: average rent vs mortgage payment
Rent and the mortgage don't tell the whole story. At Union City's typical price, here are all monthly costs for year 1.
| Each month, year 1 | Amount | What it is |
|---|---|---|
| Rent | $2,913 | All of it, every month |
| Mortgage payment | $6,519 | $5,746 of it is interest in year 1 |
| Property tax | $737 | 0.74% of the value a year |
| Insurance | $102 | Census median for the city |
| Upkeep | $996 | 1% of the value a year |
| Owning, cash out | $8,354 | $773 of it builds equity |
| Lost return on the down payment | $1,943 | Annual earnings the cash could generate at 8.3% |
| Buying costs, spread out | $498 | 3.5% of the price over 7 years |
| True cost of owning | $10,023 | Cash paid out after removing the equity portion and including both amounts listed above |
Union City verdict explained by the numbers
- Typical home value, per Zillow ZHVI, September 2026
- $1,195,668
- Typical rent, per Zillow ZORI, September 2026
- $2,913 each month
- Down payment: a 20% amount avoids private mortgage insurance, and the engine does not model it.
- 20%
- Mortgage rate from Freddie Mac Primary Mortgage Market Survey (FRED MORTGAGE30US)
- 7.24%
- Growth in home pricesFHFA house price index, California, 1995 to 2025
- Each year: 5.3%
- Rent growth, from the CPI for rent of a primary residence: yearly growth from 2006 to 2026
- Each year: 3.5%
- Savings return: 60% S&P 500, dividends included, and 40% 10-year Treasuries, rebalanced each year, 1928 to 2025
- Each year: 8.3%
- Property tax dataCensus ACS 2020-2024, Union City
- 0.74% of the value
- Home insurance dataCensus ACS 2020-2024, Union City
- $102 /mo
- Upkeep costsFannie Mae, low end of 1% to 4%
- Each year: 1% of value
- Buying costs: middle of 2% to 5%, per Freddie Mac
- 3.5% of the price
- Selling costs: agent commission plus closing costs
- 6% of the price
What would reverse the result in Union City?
Each line marks the point at which the 7-year verdict for Union City changes, while everything else remains unchanged.
When renting wins
- With home price growth below 7.2% a year, we use California's long-run rate of 5.3%.
- A mortgage rate above 4.12% remains in place.
- Renting a home like this costs less than $5,140 each month, while the local typical rent is $2,913.
- You move before reaching year 24.
When buying wins
- Home prices grow at a rate above 7.2% a year.
- A mortgage rate below 4.12% gets locked in (today's is 7.24%).
- Renting that same home would come to more than $5,140 each month.
- You remain for 24 years or longer.
How Union City compares with the other 812 cities
| Measure | Union City | Median city |
|---|---|---|
| Typical home value | $1,195,668 | $422,451 |
| Typical rent | $2,913 /mo | $1,837 /mo |
| Price-to-rent ratio | 34.2 (#36 of 813) | 18.5 |
| Home prices, last 10 years | 5.4% a year | 6.2% a year |
| Rents, last 5 years | 4% a year | 4% a year |
| Property tax | 0.74% | 0.87% |
| Households that rent | 35% | 42% |
Sources: Zillow data, ZHVI and ZORI, Census ACS 2020-2024.
More cities in California
- Renting wins by $111k. Rent. Los Angeles, CA.
- Renting wins by $108k. Rent. San Diego, CA.
- Renting wins by $210k. Rent. San Jose, CA.
- Renting wins by $128k. Rent. San Francisco, CA.
- Buying wins by $22k. Buy. Fresno, CA.
- Toss-up, with renting ahead by $3k. Toss-up. Sacramento, CA.
- Rent. Long Beach, CA results. Renting wins by $111k.
- Rent. Oakland, CA results. Renting wins by $44k.
- Buy. In Bakersfield, CA, buying is ahead by $11k.
- Rent. In Anaheim, CA, renting is ahead by $115k.
- Buy. In Stockton, CA, buying is ahead by $16k.
- Rent. In Riverside, CA, renting is ahead by $27k.