Buy or rent? Study shows renting is more affordable in the 50 largest metros
Nationwide, the typical home costs nearly 37 percent more to buy than to rent on a monthly basis.
About the author
As a data reporter and analyst at Bankrate, Alex Gailey writes data-driven stories that break down complex financial topics and help consumers make better money decisions. When she’s not crunching numbers together for broader money stories on the economy, real estate or consumer spending, she’s covering consumer finance from the perspective of financially vulnerable groups, including women, people of color and low-income families. As part of her beat, she analyzes how these groups navigate financial challenges, the workplace, building wealth and other emerging trends related to money. She’s covered personal finance for seven years and before that, she reported on economic development in Atlanta.
Alex has interviewed hundreds of personal finance experts, from certified financial planners and economists to career advisors and financial therapists. She believes in thorough reporting and interviewing experts to have a pulse on consumer finance trends and news. She also spends a lot of her time talking to everyday people to better understand their money experiences.
Before joining Bankrate, Alex worked for NextAdvisor in partnership with TIME Magazine, The Boston Globe, Atlanta Business Chronicle and Charlotte Business Journal. Her work has been cited by the Washington Post, the New York Times, CNBC, Bloomberg, CBS News and more. She’s a member of the Society for Advancing Business Editing and Writing (SABEW), Investigative Reporters and Editors (IRE) and was selected as a Goldschmidt data fellow in 2024.
I want to meet people of different backgrounds and income brackets where they are and give them the information they need to achieve financial success.
— Alex Gailey
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