Rent calculator: how much rent can I afford?
Put in what you earn and what you already owe. You get a comfortable rent, the most a landlord is likely to approve, and how each rule gets there.
Comfortable rent
$1,000
per month, plus $180 utilities
Most landlords would approve up to $1,500. The comfortable figure is the lowest of the three budgeting rules, minus utilities. Take-home is estimated; enter yours for a sharper 50/30/20 figure.
Three rules, one paycheck
Budget advice and landlord screening use different yardsticks, and they drift apart as income changes. Drag the salary and watch where each rule puts the rent line.
- 30% of gross · The classic rule$1,375
- 3x rent (landlord) · Gross ÷ 3$1,528
- 40x rent (landlord) · Annual ÷ 40$1,375
- 50/30/20: whole needs slice · Before groceries, bills, debts$1,788
- 50/30/20: after $900 other needs · What rent really gets$888
What to notice: 30%, 3x and 40x sit almost on top of each other, because they are the same idea (3x ≈ 33%, 40x ≈ 30%). The 50/30/20 bar is the odd one out. It starts from take-home pay and has to cover every need, so at lower salaries the money left for rent shrinks much faster than the gross-income rules suggest.
How the calculator decides
30% rule. Rent should be no more than 30% of gross monthly income. It's quick and it's what most articles quote, but it ignores debts and taxes.
36% total debt. Mortgage lenders have long used a "back-end" ratio, with housing plus all debt payments kept under about 36% of gross income. We apply the same check to rent, so a $400 car payment really does reduce what you can spend on an apartment.
50/30/20. Elizabeth Warren and Amelia Warren Tyagi popularised this take-home-pay split in All Your Worth (2005). Half of net pay covers needs, and rent competes with groceries, transport and minimum debt payments for that half.
Landlord ceiling. The comfortable number is the lowest of those three. The approval figure is what a typical 40x-income screen allows, capped by your debt load. The gap between the two is the zone where you would qualify on paper but feel squeezed every month.
Gross pay isn't what you live on
Every rule here except 50/30/20 is measured against pre-tax pay, but rent leaves your account after federal and state income tax, Social Security and Medicare have been withheld. Two people on the same salary in different states can take home noticeably different amounts. If withholding feels like a black box, the free explainers on ahaboo include one that pours a salary into each federal bracket so you can see where it goes.
Rent by salary
Quick answers for common incomes, worked through with the same rules:
Questions people ask
How much rent can I afford?
The common starting point is 30% of your gross (pre-tax) monthly income. On $60,000 a year that is $1,500 a month. If you carry car, student-loan or card payments, keep rent plus those minimum payments under about 36% of gross income, which lowers the number.
Is the 30% rule based on gross or net income?
Gross. The rule dates back to US federal housing policy (the Brooke Amendment of 1969 capped public-housing rent at 25% of income, later raised to 30%), and it has always been measured against pre-tax income. If you budget from take-home pay, 50/30/20 is the better fit.
What is the 50/30/20 rule for rent?
It splits take-home pay into 50% needs, 30% wants and 20% savings or extra debt payments. Rent comes out of the 50% "needs" slice, together with utilities, groceries, transport, insurance and minimum debt payments, so the rent you can afford is whatever is left of that half.
What income do landlords want to see?
Most ask for gross monthly income of about 3 times the rent, and many NYC buildings ask for an annual income of 40 times the monthly rent. Both work out to rent of roughly 30 to 33% of gross income. See the rent-to-income calculator for the exact figures.
Should utilities count toward my rent budget?
Yes, if you pay them separately. A $1,500 apartment with $200 of electricity, gas and internet costs you $1,700 a month. Include renter's insurance and any parking or pet rent, too.
Does this calculator save what I type?
Only in your own browser (localStorage), so the numbers are there when you come back. Nothing is sent to a server. You can clear it with the reset button or on the privacy page.