Cost to Buy Vs. Rent in All 50 States

According to Census data, homeowners with mortgages in all 50 states spend more on housing costs annually than do renters. A new visual data map shows just how much more per state.

The narrowest difference in dollar terms between the cost of renting and homeownership was in the $300 range, while the greatest dollar gaps were in the $900 range. In CNBC's ranking, Arizona, Arkansas, Florida, Indiana, Mississippi, South Carolina, Tennessee, and West Virginia are in the $300 range (West Virginia with the smallest gap, $316), while Connecticut and Massachusetts were in the $900 gap range ($942 and $929, respectively).

Though the Census Bureau doesn't offer a reason why, other analyses have shown that owning is more expensive than renting because owners need to cover related costs such as maintenance, property taxes, repairs and insurance, in addition to handling their monthly mortgage payments, and those keep rising.

"The monthly costs of buying and owning a home that you occupy are up 14 percent over the past year, more than three times the annual increase in rent rates nationally, according to realtor.com. Rents are up just 4 percent," CNBC's Diana Olick reported in 2018.

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