I can provide another data point as an example where renting can come out ahead.
We rent a studio, $847/month including utilities. And this is by far the most expensive place we've ever rented - we previously had places much cheaper, but moved to our current building for the lifestyle upgrade. That's for a 100% walkable/bikeable area where we don't even need transit passes, let alone any sort of vehicle. Properties in my area start at about 300K for an old, shitty condo with $300/month strata fees, on top of all the other expenses (property tax, utilities, maintenance, water/sewage/garbage, legal fees, mortgage interest, special levies). You can't even get around it by moving further out, because the additional transportation costs would more than cover any savings. Do the math on that and see what you find.
So basically, in our city if you are comparing to rent at the lower end of the rental price spectrum, it is virtually impossible to come out ahead by buying, as there is literally nothing on the market that comes anywhere close. You have to be paying a LOT of rent before the two options even break even financially.