Original data study · updated 2026-08-16

The cash you actually need to buy your first rental, in all 50 largest U.S. metros

Most answers to "how much money do I need" are a national range and a shrug. This study computes the real number for each of the 50 largest metros: down payment, closing costs, and the lender-required reserves nobody mentions, using current Zillow values, Census income and tax data, and this week's Freddie Mac rate.

By Adam Langley · Data as of 2026-06-30 · Rate: 6.67% (Freddie Mac)

Cheapest entry

$19,145

Pittsburgh, PA, FHA house hack on the typical $235,539 home

Median across 50 metros

$32,022

Total cash for the FHA house-hack path

Most expensive entry

$126,837

San Jose, CA, where the typical home runs $1,583,961

Metros under $25K

12 of 50

36 of 50 come in under $40,000

How much cash does a first rental take in 2026?

In the 50 largest U.S. metros, an FHA house hack (3.5% down, living in the property) takes $19,145 to $126,837 in total cash, with a median of about $32,022. Buying purely as an investor with 15% down takes roughly three to four times more. 12 of the 50 metros come in under $25,000 on the house-hack path.

Key takeaways

Pittsburgh, PA is the cheapest entry: $19,145 in total cash for an FHA house hack. The Midwest and South hold 13 of the 15 cheapest metros.
House hacking cuts the cash requirement by roughly 2.8× versus a 15%-down investment loan: median $32,022 against $89,596.
In New Orleans, the typical rent covers about 81% of the FHA monthly payment, the best coverage in the study.
A median-income household saving 10% of gross income is about 30 months from FHA-ready in Pittsburgh, and 97 months in the slowest metro.

Explore all 50 metros

Every metro, ranked. Search yours, sort by any measure, or filter by region. Tap a row for the full breakdown: all three financing doors, the monthly payment, taxes, income, and the months-to-save figure.

50 of 50 metros

View as a plain table

Cash needed to buy a first rental in the 50 largest U.S. metros, least to most
#	Metro	Typical home	Typical rent	Property tax	FHA house hack	15% investor	Months to save
1	Pittsburgh, PA	$235,539	$1,523	1.31%	$19,145	$53,622	30
2	Memphis, TN	$247,919	$1,435	0.76%	$19,912	$55,722	36
3	Oklahoma City, OK	$247,745	$1,393	0.94%	$19,973	$55,906	33
4	Cleveland, OH	$255,598	$1,474	1.67%	$20,909	$58,589	36
5	Birmingham, AL	$263,726	$1,462	0.48%	$21,044	$58,861	35
6	New Orleans, LA	$264,891	$1,617	0.60%	$21,189	$59,277	41
7	Detroit, MI	$271,675	$1,518	1.37%	$22,074	$61,823	35
8	St. Louis, MO	$280,016	$1,459	1.20%	$22,665	$63,462	34
9	Louisville, KY	$284,065	$1,385	0.80%	$22,803	$63,811	37
10	San Antonio, TX	$280,370	$1,416	1.59%	$22,876	$64,089	36
11	Indianapolis, IN	$297,385	$1,558	0.82%	$23,883	$66,833	36
12	Buffalo, NY	$294,992	$1,461	2.00%	$24,271	$68,036	40
13	Houston, TX	$308,933	$1,648	1.61%	$25,217	$70,649	37
14	Cincinnati, OH	$313,303	$1,583	1.18%	$25,349	$70,975	37
15	Kansas City, MO	$331,714	$1,545	1.09%	$26,789	$74,996	39
16	Columbus, OH	$335,357	$1,528	1.32%	$27,212	$76,205	40
17	Jacksonville, FL	$353,742	$1,708	0.74%	$28,362	$79,357	43
18	Tampa, FL	$361,156	$2,020	0.74%	$28,956	$81,020	47
19	Chicago, IL	$359,888	$2,275	1.98%	$29,598	$82,967	39
20	Dallas, TX	$366,701	$1,673	1.60%	$29,926	$83,841	40
21	Virginia Beach, VA	$376,711	$1,878	0.81%	$30,247	$84,642	44
22	Atlanta, GA	$383,050	$1,854	0.79%	$30,743	$86,028	41
23	Orlando, FL	$387,301	$1,972	0.74%	$31,052	$86,886	47
24	Charlotte, NC	$390,942	$1,750	0.65%	$31,285	$87,527	45
25	Minneapolis, MN	$395,726	$1,727	1.06%	$31,939	$89,409	38
26	Richmond, VA	$399,562	$1,772	0.72%	$32,022	$89,596	44
27	Milwaukee, WI	$394,038	$1,552	1.44%	$32,052	$89,776	49
28	Philadelphia, PA	$394,762	$1,928	1.44%	$32,111	$89,941	42
29	Baltimore, MD	$407,614	$1,936	1.00%	$32,857	$91,972	40
30	Hartford, CT	$406,788	$2,013	1.93%	$33,421	$93,678	42
31	Las Vegas, NV	$430,436	$1,748	0.48%	$34,324	$96,003	54
32	Austin, TX	$426,944	$1,653	1.54%	$34,800	$97,487	42
33	Raleigh, NC	$438,138	$1,689	0.69%	$35,091	$98,181	42
34	Phoenix, AZ	$447,054	$1,733	0.44%	$35,619	$99,620	48
35	Nashville, TN	$457,809	$1,810	0.50%	$36,522	$102,154	51
36	Miami, FL	$476,598	$2,695	0.86%	$38,307	$107,204	60
37	Providence, RI	$532,191	$2,172	1.15%	$43,032	$120,481	59
38	Portland, OR	$553,092	$1,805	0.85%	$44,446	$124,382	55
39	Salt Lake City, UT	$567,346	$1,638	0.55%	$45,308	$126,737	55
40	Denver, CO	$572,682	$1,930	0.51%	$45,696	$127,814	52
41	Sacramento, CA	$584,122	$2,308	0.75%	$46,842	$131,069	58
42	Riverside, CA	$586,047	$2,539	0.74%	$46,987	$131,471	63
43	Washington, DC	$584,684	$2,448	0.91%	$47,043	$131,662	45
44	Seattle, WA	$745,263	$2,269	0.85%	$59,888	$167,599	62
45	New York, NY	$735,003	$3,573	1.63%	$60,020	$168,158	73
46	Boston, MA	$746,595	$3,210	1.06%	$60,257	$168,683	62
47	San Diego, CA	$940,998	$2,991	0.68%	$75,351	$210,817	85
48	Los Angeles, CA	$968,028	$2,927	0.67%	$77,499	$216,825	97
49	San Francisco, CA	$1,142,320	$3,301	0.75%	$91,605	$256,321	81
50	San Jose, CA	$1,583,961	$3,729	0.68%	$126,837	$354,864	94

Download the full dataset: first-rental-cash-50-metros.csv (every column, including 25% down and median household income). Free to reuse with attribution.

Where does the least cash get you in?

Ten metros open the door for less than $22,876. All ten sit in the Midwest and South, where the typical home costs $235,539 to $280,370 and still rents for $1,385 to $1,617 a month.

Total cash for an FHA house hack, 10 cheapest metros

PittsburghPA
$19,145
MemphisTN
$19,912
Oklahoma CityOK
$19,973
ClevelandOH
$20,909
BirminghamAL
$21,044
New OrleansLA
$21,189
DetroitMI
$22,074
St. LouisMO
$22,665
LouisvilleKY
$22,803
San AntonioTX
$22,876

3.5% down on the metro's typical home, 3% closing costs, two months of reserves. Orange marks the cheapest metro.

The regional split is stark. Median cash to start, by region:

Median FHA house-hack cash by region

Midwest10 metros
$26,789
South21 metros
$30,247
Northeast7 metros
$33,421
West12 metros
$46,987

Median of the metros in each Census region.

A West buyer needs roughly 1.8× the cash of a Midwest buyer for the same first step. If your city sits at the expensive end, that gap is the quantified case for investing out of state or for house hacking where you already live.

How much less cash does house hacking take?

Same house, same market, same week. The only variable is the loan, and the loan is set by whether you live in the property. Median across all 50 metros:

Median cash to start, by financing door

FHA house hack3.5% down, owner-occupied
$32,022
Conventional investor15% down
$89,596
Conventional investor25% down
$126,153

Down payment + 3% closing costs + required reserves (2 months owner-occupied, 6 months investor).

The gap is not subtle: the median investor path with 15% down needs 2.8× the cash of the house-hack path, and 25% down needs 3.9×. That is why house hacking is the realistic on-ramp for most first-time buyers under 30, and why the strategy gets a full week in the 28-day course. The trade is occupancy: FHA requires you to live in the property for at least a year, and FHA mortgage insurance stays on the loan until you refinance out.

Where does rent cover the biggest share of the payment?

Cash to close gets you in; the monthly math keeps you in. This ranking divides each metro's typical rent by the FHA monthly payment on its typical home. At 100%, one unit's rent would carry the whole payment.

Typical rent as a share of the FHA monthly payment, top 10

New OrleansLA
81%
PittsburghPA
79%
MemphisTN
76%
BirminghamAL
75%
TampaFL
74%
MiamiFL
74%
ChicagoIL
73%
Oklahoma CityOK
72%
DetroitMI
69%
ClevelandOH
69%

Bars are scaled to 100%, where rent would fully cover the payment.

Two honest caveats. First, this compares one unit's typical rent to a whole home's payment; a duplex house hack collects rent while you occupy the other unit, so your out-of-pocket cost lands between these numbers and zero. Second, covering the payment is not profit: vacancy, repairs, and capital expenses still exist, which is what the cashflow calculator is for. Coverage above 69% in a metro like New Orleans or Pittsburgh means the rent does most of the heavy lifting; coverage near 31% in San Jose means you are paying for appreciation hopes out of pocket every month.

How long does the saving actually take?

Cash needed is only half the story. A metro is genuinely accessible when its entry cost is low relative to what people there earn. This divides each metro's FHA cash requirement by 10% of its median household income: the months a typical household would need to save, starting from zero.

Months of saving to FHA-ready at 10% of median income, 10 fastest

PittsburghPA
30 mo
Oklahoma CityOK
33 mo
St. LouisMO
34 mo
BirminghamAL
35 mo
DetroitMI
35 mo
MemphisTN
36 mo
ClevelandOH
36 mo
San AntonioTX
36 mo
IndianapolisIN
36 mo
LouisvilleKY
37 mo

For scale: the slowest metro in the study takes 97 months on the same assumption.

Under three years of ordinary saving puts a median household into a first house hack in each of these metros. The practical next step is picking the right one, which is a data exercise, not a guess: how to pick a city for real estate investing.

Quick answers for every metro

One line per metro: the FHA house-hack cash requirement and the 15%-down investor requirement, from the same dataset. Figures are planning estimates for the metro's typical home, not quotes.

Midwest (10 metros)

Buying a first rental in Cleveland, OH takes about $20,909 in total cash as an FHA house hack, or $58,589 with a 15% down investment loan, on the typical $255,598 home.
Buying a first rental in Detroit, MI takes about $22,074 in total cash as an FHA house hack, or $61,823 with a 15% down investment loan, on the typical $271,675 home.
Buying a first rental in St. Louis, MO takes about $22,665 in total cash as an FHA house hack, or $63,462 with a 15% down investment loan, on the typical $280,016 home.
Buying a first rental in Indianapolis, IN takes about $23,883 in total cash as an FHA house hack, or $66,833 with a 15% down investment loan, on the typical $297,385 home.
Buying a first rental in Cincinnati, OH takes about $25,349 in total cash as an FHA house hack, or $70,975 with a 15% down investment loan, on the typical $313,303 home.
Buying a first rental in Kansas City, MO takes about $26,789 in total cash as an FHA house hack, or $74,996 with a 15% down investment loan, on the typical $331,714 home.
Buying a first rental in Columbus, OH takes about $27,212 in total cash as an FHA house hack, or $76,205 with a 15% down investment loan, on the typical $335,357 home.
Buying a first rental in Chicago, IL takes about $29,598 in total cash as an FHA house hack, or $82,967 with a 15% down investment loan, on the typical $359,888 home.
Buying a first rental in Minneapolis, MN takes about $31,939 in total cash as an FHA house hack, or $89,409 with a 15% down investment loan, on the typical $395,726 home.
Buying a first rental in Milwaukee, WI takes about $32,052 in total cash as an FHA house hack, or $89,776 with a 15% down investment loan, on the typical $394,038 home.

South (21 metros)

Buying a first rental in Memphis, TN takes about $19,912 in total cash as an FHA house hack, or $55,722 with a 15% down investment loan, on the typical $247,919 home.
Buying a first rental in Oklahoma City, OK takes about $19,973 in total cash as an FHA house hack, or $55,906 with a 15% down investment loan, on the typical $247,745 home.
Buying a first rental in Birmingham, AL takes about $21,044 in total cash as an FHA house hack, or $58,861 with a 15% down investment loan, on the typical $263,726 home.
Buying a first rental in New Orleans, LA takes about $21,189 in total cash as an FHA house hack, or $59,277 with a 15% down investment loan, on the typical $264,891 home.
Buying a first rental in Louisville, KY takes about $22,803 in total cash as an FHA house hack, or $63,811 with a 15% down investment loan, on the typical $284,065 home.
Buying a first rental in San Antonio, TX takes about $22,876 in total cash as an FHA house hack, or $64,089 with a 15% down investment loan, on the typical $280,370 home.
Buying a first rental in Houston, TX takes about $25,217 in total cash as an FHA house hack, or $70,649 with a 15% down investment loan, on the typical $308,933 home.
Buying a first rental in Jacksonville, FL takes about $28,362 in total cash as an FHA house hack, or $79,357 with a 15% down investment loan, on the typical $353,742 home.
Buying a first rental in Tampa, FL takes about $28,956 in total cash as an FHA house hack, or $81,020 with a 15% down investment loan, on the typical $361,156 home.
Buying a first rental in Dallas, TX takes about $29,926 in total cash as an FHA house hack, or $83,841 with a 15% down investment loan, on the typical $366,701 home.
Buying a first rental in Virginia Beach, VA takes about $30,247 in total cash as an FHA house hack, or $84,642 with a 15% down investment loan, on the typical $376,711 home.
Buying a first rental in Atlanta, GA takes about $30,743 in total cash as an FHA house hack, or $86,028 with a 15% down investment loan, on the typical $383,050 home.
Buying a first rental in Orlando, FL takes about $31,052 in total cash as an FHA house hack, or $86,886 with a 15% down investment loan, on the typical $387,301 home.
Buying a first rental in Charlotte, NC takes about $31,285 in total cash as an FHA house hack, or $87,527 with a 15% down investment loan, on the typical $390,942 home.
Buying a first rental in Richmond, VA takes about $32,022 in total cash as an FHA house hack, or $89,596 with a 15% down investment loan, on the typical $399,562 home.
Buying a first rental in Baltimore, MD takes about $32,857 in total cash as an FHA house hack, or $91,972 with a 15% down investment loan, on the typical $407,614 home.
Buying a first rental in Austin, TX takes about $34,800 in total cash as an FHA house hack, or $97,487 with a 15% down investment loan, on the typical $426,944 home.
Buying a first rental in Raleigh, NC takes about $35,091 in total cash as an FHA house hack, or $98,181 with a 15% down investment loan, on the typical $438,138 home.
Buying a first rental in Nashville, TN takes about $36,522 in total cash as an FHA house hack, or $102,154 with a 15% down investment loan, on the typical $457,809 home.
Buying a first rental in Miami, FL takes about $38,307 in total cash as an FHA house hack, or $107,204 with a 15% down investment loan, on the typical $476,598 home.
Buying a first rental in Washington, DC takes about $47,043 in total cash as an FHA house hack, or $131,662 with a 15% down investment loan, on the typical $584,684 home.

Northeast (7 metros)

Buying a first rental in Pittsburgh, PA takes about $19,145 in total cash as an FHA house hack, or $53,622 with a 15% down investment loan, on the typical $235,539 home.
Buying a first rental in Buffalo, NY takes about $24,271 in total cash as an FHA house hack, or $68,036 with a 15% down investment loan, on the typical $294,992 home.
Buying a first rental in Philadelphia, PA takes about $32,111 in total cash as an FHA house hack, or $89,941 with a 15% down investment loan, on the typical $394,762 home.
Buying a first rental in Hartford, CT takes about $33,421 in total cash as an FHA house hack, or $93,678 with a 15% down investment loan, on the typical $406,788 home.
Buying a first rental in Providence, RI takes about $43,032 in total cash as an FHA house hack, or $120,481 with a 15% down investment loan, on the typical $532,191 home.
Buying a first rental in New York, NY takes about $60,020 in total cash as an FHA house hack, or $168,158 with a 15% down investment loan, on the typical $735,003 home.
Buying a first rental in Boston, MA takes about $60,257 in total cash as an FHA house hack, or $168,683 with a 15% down investment loan, on the typical $746,595 home.

West (12 metros)

Buying a first rental in Las Vegas, NV takes about $34,324 in total cash as an FHA house hack, or $96,003 with a 15% down investment loan, on the typical $430,436 home.
Buying a first rental in Phoenix, AZ takes about $35,619 in total cash as an FHA house hack, or $99,620 with a 15% down investment loan, on the typical $447,054 home.
Buying a first rental in Portland, OR takes about $44,446 in total cash as an FHA house hack, or $124,382 with a 15% down investment loan, on the typical $553,092 home.
Buying a first rental in Salt Lake City, UT takes about $45,308 in total cash as an FHA house hack, or $126,737 with a 15% down investment loan, on the typical $567,346 home.
Buying a first rental in Denver, CO takes about $45,696 in total cash as an FHA house hack, or $127,814 with a 15% down investment loan, on the typical $572,682 home.
Buying a first rental in Sacramento, CA takes about $46,842 in total cash as an FHA house hack, or $131,069 with a 15% down investment loan, on the typical $584,122 home.
Buying a first rental in Riverside, CA takes about $46,987 in total cash as an FHA house hack, or $131,471 with a 15% down investment loan, on the typical $586,047 home.
Buying a first rental in Seattle, WA takes about $59,888 in total cash as an FHA house hack, or $167,599 with a 15% down investment loan, on the typical $745,263 home.
Buying a first rental in San Diego, CA takes about $75,351 in total cash as an FHA house hack, or $210,817 with a 15% down investment loan, on the typical $940,998 home.
Buying a first rental in Los Angeles, CA takes about $77,499 in total cash as an FHA house hack, or $216,825 with a 15% down investment loan, on the typical $968,028 home.
Buying a first rental in San Francisco, CA takes about $91,605 in total cash as an FHA house hack, or $256,321 with a 15% down investment loan, on the typical $1,142,320 home.
Buying a first rental in San Jose, CA takes about $126,837 in total cash as an FHA house hack, or $354,864 with a 15% down investment loan, on the typical $1,583,961 home.

How was this calculated?

Cash needed is defined the way a lender defines it, not the way a listing site does:

cash needed = down payment + closing costs + required reserves

Home values and rents are Zillow metro indexes (ZHVI mid-tier, ZORI) as of 2026-06-30, covering the 50 largest metros by size rank.
Property taxis each metro's own effective rate: median real estate taxes paid divided by median home value, both from the American Community Survey. It ranges from 0.44% to 2.00% across the 50 metros.
The mortgage rate is the Freddie Mac 30-year weekly average (6.67% for the week of 2026-08-13), with per-loan-type adjustments: FHA prices slightly below conventional, investor loans above it.
Insurance is modeled at 0.5% of home value per year with a $1,400 floor. Closing costs are 3% of price. Credit band 680-739.
Reserves follow standard underwriting: two months of the full payment for owner-occupied FHA, six months for investor loans.

Known limitations

ZHVI tracks the mid-tier typical home; first-time buyers often shop below it, so real entry numbers can run lower.
Insurance is modeled, not quoted. Coastal Florida, Texas, and Louisiana premiums run above the model.
ACS tax data lags by design (it is the most recent full release), so fast-moving reassessments are smoothed.
House-hack rent from a second unit is not subtracted from the cash requirement; it affects the monthly picture, not the cash to close.

The computation itself is the same code that runs our free calculators, where you can rerun any metro with your own numbers. Full source list at the bottom of the page. Figures are planning estimates, not loan quotes.

Cite or republish this data

Real Estate Explained, "The cash you actually need to buy your first rental in the 50 largest U.S. metros" (2026). https://realestate-explained.com/research/cash-needed-first-rental-50-metros

The table, charts, and CSV are free to republish, in full or in part, with attribution and a link back to this page.

Frequently asked questions

How much money do you need to buy your first rental property in 2026?

What is the cheapest large metro to buy a rental property?

Pittsburgh, PA has the lowest entry cost of the 50 largest metros: about $19,145 in total cash for an FHA house hack on the typical $235,539 home, or about $53,622 with a 15% down investment loan. Memphis, TN and Oklahoma City, OK are close behind.

What does the cash-needed figure include?

Down payment, closing costs at 3% of price, and the lender-required cash reserves left over after closing: two months of the full housing payment for an owner-occupied FHA loan, six months for investor loans. It is the amount a buyer actually has to show up with, not just the down payment.

Can you really buy a rental with 3.5% down?

Yes, through owner-occupancy. An FHA loan allows 3.5% down on a property of one to four units if you live in one unit for at least a year. Renting out the other units is the strategy known as house hacking. The pure-investor route requires 15% to 25% down, which is why those columns are three to five times larger.

Why do the numbers differ so much between metros?

Three inputs move together: the typical home value (Pittsburgh's is roughly one seventh of San Jose's), the effective property tax rate (which changes both closing escrows and required reserves), and insurance scaled to home value. Price dominates, which is why the ranking mostly tracks home values.

How current is this data and how often is it refreshed?

Home values and rents are Zillow metro indexes as of 2026-06-30. Income and property taxes are the latest American Community Survey release. The mortgage rate is the Freddie Mac weekly average of 6.67%. The dataset is rebuilt quarterly from the same sources, and the generation date is printed on the page.

Is the months-of-saving figure realistic?

It assumes a household saving 10% of the metro's median household income every month toward the FHA cash requirement, starting from zero. Households that earn more than the median, save harder, or receive a gift will be faster. It is a comparable benchmark across metros, not a prediction for any one buyer.

Sources

Zillow Home Value Index (ZHVI) and Observed Rent Index (ZORI), metro level, as of 2026-06-30 · Typical home values (mid-tier, smoothed, seasonally adjusted) and typical asking rents per metro
U.S. Census Bureau, ACS 2024 5-year (tables B19013, B25077, B25103), via Census Reporter · Median household income (B19013), median home value (B25077), and median real estate taxes paid (B25103) per metro; the last two produce each metro's effective property tax rate
Freddie Mac Primary Mortgage Market Survey via FRED, week of 2026-08-13 · 30-year fixed average of 6.67% used as the base rate
HUD, FHA single family programs · FHA 203(b) permits 3.5% down on 1-to-4-unit owner-occupied homes, which is what makes the house-hack entry numbers possible

The number is the easy part.

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