College housing: Renting vs. buying costs over four years

A financial analysis by Lower comparing the costs of renting versus buying homes near major U.S. university campuses suggests that while renting is more affordable on a monthly basis, homeownership may offer better long-term value due to equity building.

Using data from the real estate platform Movoto, the study examined housing markets tied to 54 universities ranked in the top 50 of the 2027 U.S. News Top Public Schools list. The analysis focused on two-bedroom homes and compared average asking rents against the monthly cost of ownership using a Federal Housing Administration (FHA) loan with a 5% down payment.

While renting was more affordable monthly in nearly 90% of the analyzed markets, the financial outcome shifts when factoring in a four-year period. The study found that in 85.4% of markets, buying resulted in lower overall costs once modeled equity and home appreciation were included.