What Renting Really Costs You (It's Not the Rent)
Rent doesn't feel expensive in the moment. You pay it, you have a place to live, life goes on. It's only when you zoom out — way out, to the scale of a whole life — that the real number comes into focus. And it's a big one.
The Federal Reserve puts it in stark terms. The typical homeowner has a net worth of about $396,500. The typical renter? $10,410. That's a 38-to-1 gap between two people who might earn nearly the same paycheck and live on the same street.It's not that homeowners are richer to begin with. It's what happens to their money every month.
The Difference Is Where The Money Goes
When you make a mortgage payment, part of it buys you a place to live — and part of it buys you a little more of the house. Over time, that stake grows, the home tends to gain value, and you end up owning something worth real money.
When you pay rent, it buys you a place to live — and that matters. The check clears, the month passes, and unlike a mortgage, none of it turns into something you own. You're just building someone else's equity instead of your own.
Do that for a few decades, and the gap doesn't just add up. It compounds, which is why the Fed's numbers look the way they do.
"But I Can't Afford To Buy Right Now"
This is where most people stop themselves. And it's worth taking seriously, because owning does cost more month to month — we're not going to pretend it doesn't.
But the gap is usually smaller than people picture. Here's a real, honest comparison.
A decent two-bedroom apartment in the Sioux Falls area runs around $1,500 a month. A brand-new $275,000 Empire home — with $0 due at closing, made possible through South Dakota Housing assistance — comes out to about $1,841 a month.
So the difference is roughly $340 a month.
That's not nothing. $340 is real money, especially right now, and we'd never waive it off. But look at what it actually buys: not the same apartment for a little more, but an entire house. More space, a yard, a garage, a place that's genuinely yours. And every payment is building your equity instead of disappearing into a landlord's.
You're not paying $340 for nothing. You're paying it to switch sides of that 38-to-1 line.
Where Our 3% Comes In
Here's the part that shrinks that gap.
Every Empire home comes with 3% back. On a $280,000 home, that's $8,400 — real money, and it's flexible. You can put it toward buying your interest rate down, toward closing costs, or take it as cash back.
And here's one way that math can work: take that $8,400 as cash back, apply it to the monthly difference, and it could cover a $340 gap for more than two years. That's two-plus years to stop worrying about the gap and start enjoying the home.
(A quick, honest note: every number here is an example, meant to show how the pieces fit — not a quote. Real figures depend on the home, the rate, the program, and you. The best next step is talking to a lender and getting pre-approved so you know your actual numbers. We're happy to connect you with one — and the truth is, they may be able to make it work even better than this example does.)
It's Never Too Late, And The Sooner, The Better
One last thing the Fed's data makes clear, and it cuts two ways.
If you're young, time is the most valuable thing you've got. The sooner you start owning, the more decades that equity has to compound — which is exactly why homeowners under 35 already have a median net worth around $151,000 while renters the same age sit near $10,000. Waiting has a cost, even when it doesn't feel like it.And if you're further along? It genuinely is never too late. More than 8 in 10 people aged 75 and older own their home. The door doesn't close with age — it just opens sooner for the people who walk through it early.
Either way, the message is the same: the wealth gap between renting and owning isn't built on luck or a big salary. It's built one payment at a time, starting the day you decide to build your own instead of someone else's.
That first payment is the hardest part. Making it easier is kind of our whole thing.