IRVINE, CA—Is owning a home more affordable than renting one? The answer is not so cut and dried, according to ATTOM Data Solutions' analysis. In 240 of the 447 US counties with sufficient home sales data—or 54% of these counties—buying a median-priced home is more affordable than renting a three-bedroom property.

On that basis, then, it's cheaper to buy than to rent. However, renting is more affordable than buying in the nation's 14 most populated counties, and in 30 of 39 counties with a population of one million or more. These markets include Los Angeles and San Diego counties in California, Cook County (Chicago) in Illinois, Harris County (Houston) in Texas and Maricopa (Phoenix) County in Arizona.

“Although buying is still more affordable than renting in the majority of US housing markets, that majority is shrinking as home price appreciation continues to outpace rental growth in most areas,” says Daren Blomquist, VP at ATTOM. “Renting has clearly become the lesser of two housing affordability evils in many major population centers, with renting more affordable than buying in 76% of counties that have a population of one million or more.” When broken down by population rather than number of markets, the data show that “the majority of the US population—64%—live in markets that are more affordable to rent than to buy.”