The 10 best US cities to buy a home — and 10 where you should rent

Should you buy or should you rent? The old advice that the best time to buy a home is the best time for you still holds true — but where you're buying plays an important role, too.Real estate site Zumper analyzed the cost of owning a home and the cost of renting across 83 of the largest US cities and calculated a price-to-rent ratio to determine where the housing market favors buyers versus renters.Not surprisingly, cities where the housing market is constantly in the news for being unaffordable, like San Francisco, make more sense to rent in. However, Zumper market expert Crystal Chen said rents sometimes outpace mortgages in expensive cities like New York City."Expensive and buy-favorable aren't necessarily the same thing," Chen told Business Insider. "Even though New York has a high sticker price for homes, it's still more relatively buy-favorable. The rents are just so much higher."Some cities have become unaffordable for buyers due to recent migration trends. Boise, Idaho, which became a refuge for movers escaping coastal cities during the pandemic, has a widening gap between the price of renting and buying."The home prices got really high because it was a pandemic hotspot," Chen said. "A lot of people moved there to buy and that drove the prices up. Renting is significantly cheaper there."If you're in a position to buy a home, and maybe feeling pressure to do so, see if that's the right call in your city — or move somewhere where it is. Below, 10 cities where it's better to buy a home, and 10 cities where it's better to rent, according to Zumper. Cities where it's better to rent San Jose, California. JasonDoiy/Getty Images 10. Boise, ID Boise, Idaho. Seibel Photography LLC/Getty Images Price-to-rent ratio: 27.816NAR median house price: $484,000Monthly homeowner cost (PITI): $2,868Zumper monthly all-bed rent: $1,450 9. San Francisco, CA San Francisco. karandaev/Getty Images Price-to-rent ratio: 28.655NAR median house price: $1,350,000Monthly homeowner cost (PITI): $7,758Zumper monthly all-bed rent: $3,926 8. Reno, NV Reno, Nevada. Jacob Boomsma/Getty Images Price-to-rent ratio: 28.958NAR median house price: $602,900Monthly homeowner cost (PITI): $3,397Zumper monthly all-bed rent: $1,735 7. San Diego, CA San Diego. halbergman/Getty Images Price-to-rent ratio: 31.05NAR median house price: $1,050,000Monthly homeowner cost (PITI): $6,026Zumper monthly all-bed rent: $2,818 6. Portland, OR Portland, Oregon. Nicholas Klein/Getty Images Price-to-rent ratio: 32.415NAR median house price: $585,800Monthly homeowner cost (PITI): $3,583Zumper monthly all-bed rent: $1,506 5. Seattle, WA Seattle. @ Didier Marti/Getty Images Price-to-rent ratio: 32.649NAR median house price: $772,600Monthly homeowner cost (PITI): $4,547Zumper monthly all-bed rent: $1,972 4. Salt Lake City, UT Salt Lake City. Sean Pavone/Getty Images Price-to-rent ratio: 34.863NAR median house price: $576,500Monthly homeowner cost (PITI): $3,306Zumper monthly all-bed rent: $1,378 3. Urban Honolulu, HI Honolulu. ehabaref/Getty Images Price-to-rent ratio: 36.717NAR median house price: $1,175,100Monthly homeowner cost (PITI): $6,300Zumper monthly all-bed rent: $2,667 2. Anaheim, CA Anaheim, California. NANCY PAUWELS/Getty Images Price-to-rent ratio: 47.829NAR median house price: $1,442,900Monthly homeowner cost (PITI): $8,216Zumper monthly all-bed rent: $2,514 1. San Jose, CA San Jose, California. Jacob Boomsma/Getty Images Price-to-rent ratio: 55.049NAR median house price: $2,030,000Monthly homeowner cost (PITI): $11,666Zumper monthly all-bed rent: $3,073 Cities where it's better to buy Syracuse, New York. DenisTangneyJr/Getty Images 10. Buffalo, NY Buffalo, New York. rruntsch/Getty Images Price-to-rent ratio: 15.631NAR median house price: $262,600Monthly homeowner cost (PITI): $1,686Zumper monthly all-bed rent: $1,400 9. El Paso, TX El Paso, Texas. Sean Pavone/Getty Images Price-to-rent ratio: 14.912NAR median house price: $272,000Monthly homeowner cost (PITI): $2,246Zumper monthly all-bed rent: $1,520 8. Virginia Beach, VA Virginia Beach, Virginia. Kyle Little/Getty Images Price-to-rent ratio: 14.898NAR median house price: $362,200Monthly homeowner cost (PITI): $2,260Zumper monthly all-bed rent: $2,026 7. New Orleans, LA New Orleans. Kruck20/Getty Images Price-to-rent ratio: 14.838NAR median house price: $293,800Monthly homeowner cost (PITI): $1,854Zumper monthly all-bed rent: $1,650 6. Rochester, NY Rochester, New York. Sean Pavone/Getty Images Price-to-rent ratio: 14.836NAR median house price: $252,800Monthly homeowner cost (PITI): $1,896Zumper monthly all-bed rent: $1,420 5. Charleston, SC Charleston, South Carolina. Susanne Neumann/Getty Images Price-to-rent ratio: 14.787NAR median house price: $459,500Monthly homeowner cost (PITI): $2,754Zumper monthly all-bed rent: $2,590 4. Chicago, IL Chicago. Iryna Olkhova/Getty Images Price-to-rent ratio: 14.549NAR median house price: $384,100Monthly homeowner cost (PITI): $2,726Zumper monthly all-bed rent: $2,200 3. New York, NY New York. Vadym Terelyuk/Getty Images Price-to-rent ratio: 14.205NAR median house price: $750,000Monthly homeowner cost (PITI): $4,594Zumper monthly all-bed rent: $4,400 2. Pittsburgh, PA Pittsburgh. halbergman/Getty Images Price-to-rent ratio: 13.033NAR median house price: $234,600Monthly homeowner cost (PITI): $1,501Zumper monthly all-bed rent: $1,500 1. Syracuse, NY Syracuse, New York. Sean Pavone/Getty Images Price-to-rent ratio: 12.611NAR median house price: $249,700Monthly homeowner cost (PITI): $1,887Zumper monthly all-bed rent: $1,650