The Cost to Buy vs Rent in Georgia

Georgia offers a surprisingly wide range of prices, from the low $100s in Albany to near $800,000 in Sandy Springs.

Most home prices in the state, though, weigh in well below the national median home price of $417,700 as of this writing.

And buying a single-family home isn’t astronomically more expensive than renting even with our conservative assumptions of 5% down plus estimated private mortgage insurance (PMI), property taxes, and homeowner’s insurance. See the full methodology at the end of this article.

If you’ve been putting off buying a home in The Peach State, it’s time to explore how affordable some areas can be.

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Monthly Cost Difference to Buy

1. Atlanta +$1,401
2. Savannah +$473
3. Columbus +$36
4. Augusta -$53
5. Macon +$75
6. Gainesville +$672
7. Athens +$366
8. Sandy Springs +1,589
9. Valdosta +393
10. Albany +114

1. Atlanta

Atlanta home prices are up over $100,000 since 2020, says Zillow. Homes were around $200,000 here in 2015. So is it still wise to buy here? With a great track record of appreciation, this city could be worth buying in despite its $1,400 monthly premium over renting.

2. Savanna

This coastal town about four hours from Atlanta offers more bang for your homebuying buck than does the bigger city. At around $300,000, the typical home is about $100,000 less than the U.S. national median of $417,700. While buying costs more than renting to the tune of almost $500 monthly, you could come out ahead as years pass and rents rise.

3. Columbus

This town just across the Chattahoochee River from Alabama offers affordable home prices near $150,000. Plus, you’ll only pay about $36 per month more to own a house than to rent one according to our methodology.

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4. Augusta

Augusta is the only Georgia town on our list where it’s cheaper to buy than rent. Thanks to low home prices and relatively high rents, Augusta residents should think twice before signing that lease. With a zero-down loan program, homebuyers might come out-of-pocket less for a home than paying first and last months' rent plus security deposit.

5. Macon

This town of around 150,000 offers ultra-affordable home prices considering robust employment opportunities in the area such as with Geico, Mercer University, and Morrison Healthcare.

6. Gainesville

Whether you call it the Queen City of the Mountains, Poultry Capital, or Hospitality Capital of the World, Gainesville, Georgia could be a great place to set down roots. Water lovers will enjoy Lake Sidney Lanier, a 38,000-acre lake that hosted Olympic rowing events in 1996, says Explore Georgia. The high quality of life is reflected in the area’s home prices, where it will cost nearly $700 more per month to own a single-family home than to rent one.

7. Athens

The home of the University of Georgia, Athens offers ample employment opportunities, night life, restaurants, and more. Home prices are reasonable. According to our estimates, it will cost just $366 more per month to own than rent.

8. Sandy Springs

This posh suburb 30 minutes north of Atlanta comes with the highest price tag on our list. A single-family home will run nearly $800,000, about 80% higher than in the city. But think twice before escaping high home prices by renting: the typical rental home will set you back $4,500 per month.

9. Valdosta

Lowndes County Courthouse, Valdosta Georgia

About three and a half hours south of Atlanta near the Florida border is Valdosta. Home prices here are about half of those of other cities on our list. Rent is reasonable, too, if you're not quite ready to buy.

10. Albany

Fun fact: Albany, Georgia was named after the more famous New York city according to Britannica. Buying a home here requires about ⅓ the monthly budget of Atlanta.

Get Pre-Approved for Your Georgia Home

Homes in Georgia are in a range of prices affordable to just about any budget. See what home price you qualify for by requesting your pre-approval from a reputable lender.

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Methodology

To compare the costs of buying versus renting in 10 Georgia cities, we started with typical home prices as reported on the Zillow Home Value Index (ZHVI) Single-Family Home Time Series for November 2023. We assumed a 5% down payment, the typical requirement for first-time buyers. We then calculated the monthly payment on a 30-year fixed mortgage using a 6.845% rate, the average rate at the time of data collection as published on Optimal Blue Mortgage Market Indices for a buyer with less than 20% down and a 700 FICO score. We added PMI costs per rates from mortgage insurance provider MGIC. Then we added annual homeowner’s insurance premiums as reported by Policygenius and property tax data from Roofstock and the U.S. Census Bureau. We assumed zero HOA dues. We compared this total housing payment with rent data from the Zillow Observed Rent Index (ZORI) Smoothed Single Family Residence Time Series except when no data was available, in which case we searched for current rent statistics on Zillow’s site. City selection was based on the highest population except where it made sense to bypass a suburb of a major city to highlight one in a different area.