Want to rent a single-family home? Here’s where it’s most affordable.

With the cost of buying a home financially out of reach for most Americans, a growing number of people are choosing to rent a single-family home. 

Nearly 2.5 million U.S. households have rented a single-family home in the past 12 months alone, according to an October estimate from the National Rental Home Council.

“It is generally less expensive to rent a home than to buy one, so for most Americans the path to homeownership starts with renting while saving for a down payment,” Yanling Mayer, an economist with real estate research firm CoreLogic, said in a report this week. “However, homeownership is becoming more elusive than ever for many people, as surging rents over the last few years have put an increasing financial burden on budgets.”

The…