Pair of cities in region score high in buy vs. rent game

Two cities in the region made it into a top 20 list of where it makes the most financial sense to buy a home rather than rent: North Port in south Sarasota County at No. 7 and Lakeland in Polk County at No. 16.  

In a study from SmartAsset, an online platform that provides consumer-focused financial information, monthly mortgage and rental costs collected by the U.S. Bureau of Labor Statistics were examined across 591 cities in the U.S.

North Port’s average monthly mortgage is $1,293, only $2 more than the average rental price. It’s the only city on the list where the mortgage and rental costs are that close together.