RENT OR BUY

Rent or buy in Philadelphia, PA?

Typical rent against typical home prices across Philadelphia, and where each is heading.

Renting in Philadelphia costs about $1,475 a month, and the typical home is listed at $189,000. That puts the price-to-rent ratio at 10.7: a typical home costs as much as 10.7 years of rent.

Philadelphia now and in 2031

Philadelphia, PA: typical rent and list price, now and projected for 2031
Now2031 (projected)
Typical asking rent$1,475/mo$1,405/mo
Typical list price$189,000$195,000
Price-to-rent ratio10.7—

Rent is projected at -1.0% a year, the trend in RentCast's median rents for these ZIP codes since mid-2024. For home values: The first 2 years follow this year's change in list prices (-8.1%); later years use the Federal Housing Finance Agency's house price index average for these ZIP codes from 2020 to 2025 (+6.8% a year). These are trends carried forward, not predictions of the next market turn.

The short-term and long-term signals disagree. List prices in Philadelphia moved -8.1% over the past year, while the FHFA index rose +6.8% a year from 2020 to 2025. The projection follows today's direction for 2 years before returning to the long-run average, and nobody knows when, or whether, that turn comes. Treat years 3 to 5 as the less certain part.

How to read the price-to-rent ratio

The ratio divides the typical list price by a year of typical rent. A higher ratio means buying is expensive relative to renting; a lower one means monthly rent is high compared with what a home costs. It's a quick way to compare cities, not a verdict for your situation.

By ZIP code

Philadelphia, PA: RentCast medians for the ZIP codes in this sample
ZIPMedian rentRental listingsMedian list priceSale listings
19124$1,150/mo187$189,900344
19120$1,349/mo89$215,000227
19111$1,375/mo171$325,000192
19143$1,500/mo455$199,000503
19149$1,450/mo56$257,000214
19134$1,450/mo389$115,000704
19104$1,581/mo1,045$189,000298
19140$1,350/mo255$115,000443
19148$1,800/mo156$295,000343
19144$1,365/mo439$180,000305

What this doesn't account for

Mortgage rates, your down payment, property taxes, insurance, HOA fees, maintenance, and how long you'll stay decide more than any city-wide figure. These are area numbers built from active listings; they don't know the specific home or your finances.

Source: RentCast market data for 10 of Philadelphia's 47 ZIP codes (the most populous, home to 37% of residents in the city's ZIP codes, per the Census Bureau's ACS 2023). A ZIP counts only with at least 20 active listings. Retrieved October 14, 2026. Figures are listing-weighted averages of ZIP medians, not an appraisal. How Predictye calculates this.

Frequently asked questions

How much is rent in Philadelphia, PA?

Typical asking rent is $1,475 a month, across 3,242 active rental listings in 10 ZIP codes.

How much do homes cost in Philadelphia, PA?

The typical list price is $189,000, across 3,573 active sale listings in 10 ZIP codes. List prices are asking prices, not final sale prices.

What is the price-to-rent ratio in Philadelphia, PA?

About 10.7: the typical list price equals 10.7 years of typical rent. The higher the ratio, the more buying costs relative to renting.

Forecast a specific ZIP's home values