Money Why it pays to buy a house: Homeowners became 40 times wealthier than renters in the past decade April 18, 2023 Swapna Venugopal Ramaswamy, USA TODAY Comments Off on Why it pays to buy a house: Homeowners became 40 times wealthier than renters in the past decade In the top 10 areas with the highest homeownership rates for middle-income households, owners gained $110,000 in wealth on average in the last decade.