Residents of roughly two-thirds of U.S. counties with populations of more than 100,000 would find it less expensive to buy a home than to rent one, according to research compiled by real estate data firm RealtyTrac.

The Irvine, Calif.-based firm examined data from 285 counties with populations of more than 100,000 and enough real estate purchase and rental data to analyze, according to an announcement accompanying the study results.

The company found that counties where it has become more affordable to buy a home than to rent one included Miami-Dade County, Fla.; San Bernardino County, Calif; Clark County, Nev.; Broward County, Fla. and Wayne County, Mich.

RealtyTrac also identified 13 major counties where, it said, it had been more affordable to rent than buy in 2014, but had since become more affordable to buy than rent. Those include counties located near Seattle, Wash.; Reading, Penn.; Indianapolis, Ind.; Olympia, Wash. and Cincinnati, Ohio.

Conversely, the firm found it is more affordable to rent than buy in the remaining one-third of counties surveyed. Many of these counties are in California and include Los Angeles, San Diego, Orange and Riverside.

King County, Wash. in the Seattle area and Denver County, Colo. were two non-Californian counties where it was still less expensive to rent than buy a home, according to the firm.

Instant Insights /

Buying Beats Renting in 66% of Counties: Study

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