The 10 best big cities in the US to buy a home instead of rent

In a lot of big cities, buying a home only makes financial sense if you're staying put for a while. In New York City, where the housing market is notoriously competitive, it may not be worth your money to buy a home unless you live there for 18 years.

That's according to a recent SmartAsset report, which calculated the "breakeven point"— the point at which the total costs of renting become greater than the total costs of buying — for 29 major cities.

Read the full methodology.

Everyone's situation is different, and there is no universal answer to the rent versus buy question. In this analysis, the cities with the shortest time to break even are the best places to buy.

Here, we rounded up the 10 cities with the shortest breakeven points. We also included the average monthly mortgage payment, monthly rent, and home price, from SmartAsset's report:

SEE ALSO: How long you have to live in 15 major US cities to make buying a home worth your money

Tampa, Florida

Average monthly rent: $1,349

Average monthly mortgage payment: $776

Average home price: $191,536

Breakeven year: 4.1

Charlotte, North Carolina

Average monthly rent: $1,168

Average monthly mortgage payment: $757

Average home price: $186,693

Breakeven year: 4.1

Atlanta, Georgia

Average monthly rent: $1,263

Average monthly mortgage payment: $823

Average home price: $202,969

Breakeven year: 4.1