Rent vs buy in Wellington, FL

For Florida, typical rent in Wellington, Florida is $3,808 a month, and the typical home price is $661,404.

Buy

Over 7 years, buying comes out ahead by $60k.

Using Wellington's typical rent and home value, 20% down and today's mortgage rate. The break-even point is year 5.

Clearly labeled opinion, with the math shown. These figures are estimates, not quotes. The stamp changes whenever you change a number.

Amount ahead for owners: $60k
When it breaks even: Year 5
Full cost of owning: $5,951 per month

Change my numbers

Wellington's typical rent and home value drive the stamp's calculation. Your rent, purchase price and time period can reverse the result.

Do your numbers differ from the city's?

Provide your own figures for rent, purchase price and down payment. Those figures change the stamp.

In Wellington, is it cheaper to rent or buy?

Across 7 years, buying costs $59,571 less, including money returned when you sell. In year 5, the net cost of owning falls below that of renting and remains lower.

The renting option. The owning option. Net cost to date, organized by year.

Wellington: average rent compared with mortgage payments

At Wellington's typical price, this list covers every monthly cost in year 1, not just rent and the mortgage.

Each month, year 1	Amount	What it is
Rent	$3,808	All of it, every month
Mortgage payment	$3,606	$3,178 of it is interest in year 1
Property tax	$546	0.99% of the value a year
Insurance	$325	Census median for the city
Upkeep	$551	1% of the value a year
Owning, cash out	$5,028	$428 of it builds equity
Lost return on the down payment	$1,075	How much the cash would earn each year at 8.3%
Buying costs, spread out	$276	3.5% of the price over 7 years
True cost of owning	$5,951	Cash paid, minus equity, plus the two lines above

Wellington's verdict explained by the figures

Typical home valueZillow ZHVI, September 2026: $661,404
Typical rentZillow ZORI, September 2026: $3,808 /mo
Down payment20% avoids private mortgage insurance, which the engine does not model: 20%
Mortgage rateFreddie Mac Primary Mortgage Market Survey (FRED MORTGAGE30US): 7.24%
Home price growthFHFA house price index, Florida, 1995 to 2025: 5.4% a year
Rent growthCPI rent of primary residence, yearly growth 2006 to 2026: 3.5% a year
Return on savings60% S&P 500 with dividends and 40% 10-year Treasuries, rebalanced yearly, 1928 to 2025: 8.3% a year
Property taxCensus ACS 2020-2024, Wellington: 0.99% of value
Home insuranceCensus ACS 2020-2024, Wellington: $325 /mo
MaintenanceFannie Mae, low end of 1% to 4%: 1% of value a year
Buying costsFreddie Mac, middle of 2% to 5%: 3.5% of price
Selling costsAgent commission plus closing costs: 6% of price

What would reverse the verdict in Wellington?

With everything else unchanged, each line shows where Wellington's 7-year verdict switches.

When renting wins

Annual home price growth stays below 4.3%. Our comparison uses 5.4%, the long-run rate for Florida's market.
The mortgage rate remains above 8.83%.
For a home like this, rent is under $3,170 each month (typical here: $3,808).
Your move comes before year 5.

When buying wins

Home prices rise by more than 4.3% each year.
A mortgage rate below 8.83% is one you lock in. Today's rate is 7.24%.
The same home would cost more than $3,170 a month to rent.
You remain for 5 years or longer.

Wellington compared with the other 812 cities

Measure	Wellington	Median city
Typical home value	$661,404	$422,451
Typical rent	$3,808 /mo	$1,837 /mo
Price-to-rent ratio	14.5 (#655 of 813)	18.5
Home prices, last 10 years	6.2% a year	6.2% a year
Rents, last 5 years	5.1% a year	4% a year
Property tax	0.99%	0.87%
Households that rent	24%	42%

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

More cities in Florida

Buy. In Jacksonville, FL, buying leads by $27k.
Buy. In Fort Lauderdale, FL, buying leads by $25k.
Buy. In Pembroke Pines, FL, buying leads by $22k.

Florida rent vs buy numbers