About Cost to Own
Every mortgage calculator in America answers the wrong question. It tells you the principal and interest on a loan, then stops. The property tax, the insurance, the electricity, the water, and the roof that will eventually need replacing are all left for you to discover later.
Those omitted costs run 30 to 50% on top of the payment you were quoted, and they vary enormously by where you buy. This site exists to put the honest number next to the quoted one, for every county and city in the United States.
What is published here
Editorial standards
- Every figure is sourced. Each page names the dataset, the table, and the vintage behind every number it shows.
- Estimates are labelled as estimates. Where no county-level public data exists, we say so on the page rather than presenting a model as a measurement.
- Nothing is scraped from listings. All housing figures come from the US Census Bureau's American Community Survey.
- Assumptions are editable. If you disagree with our maintenance or insurance figure, change it and the page recalculates.
- Corrections are welcome. If a number here is wrong, tell us and we will fix it and say what changed.
Where the data comes from
- US Census Bureau: American Community Survey 5-year estimates: median home values, real estate taxes paid, gross rent, occupied units, population.
- US Energy Information Administration: residential electricity prices by state, Electric Power Monthly.
- NOAA: 1991 to 2020 climate normals, including heating and cooling degree days.
- Freddie Mac: Primary Mortgage Market Survey, refreshed weekly.
- NAIC: average homeowners insurance premium by state.
Read the full methodology, including every model assumption and its known limitations.
How this site pays for itself
Two ways, both stated plainly. Display advertising on the pages you read. And if you use the optional agent introduction form and go on to work with the agent we introduce, that agent pays a standard referral fee , never you. Nothing else is monetised: we do not sell your information, we take no cut of any transaction, and no lender, insurer, builder or agent can pay to change a number on this site or to appear anywhere on it.
That independence is the point. The figures here are computed from public federal data by a published formula, so there is nothing for an advertiser to buy.
What this site is not
It is not financial advice, and it is not a substitute for a quote. Property tax varies by municipality and school district within a county, insurance depends on your roof and claims history, and utility bills depend on the house. Confirm any figure that matters with the county assessor and a licensed insurance agent before you rely on it.
Contact
Corrections, questions and data requests go through the contact form. We read everything.