Rent Affordability Calculator

The 30% guideline, the conservative line, and the landlord screen, on your income.

The thirty percent guideline comes from US housing policy, where a household spending more than thirty percent of income on housing is counted as cost-burdened. It is a measure for describing populations, not a personal limit, and plenty of households live above it because the local market leaves no alternative.

Landlords often apply their own screen, commonly gross monthly income of around three times the rent, sometimes more in tight markets. That test is applied to gross pay while your budget runs on take-home, which is why a flat you can technically qualify for can still be uncomfortable.

Results

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Example figures

Gross (pre-tax) monthly income$4,300

Example results

30% guideline ceiling$1,290 on $4,300 gross monthly income

More conservative 25%$1,075 leaves room for saving in expensive months

Common landlord screen$1,433 many applications require rent ≤ 1/3 of gross income

Federal housing agencies call paying over 30% of income 'cost-burdened' and over 50% 'severely cost-burdened': descriptions, not verdicts. In expensive metros many careful people run higher and budget wants deliberately around it.

Count the full cost of an address: utilities, renter's insurance, parking, and the commute it creates.

Keep going How much should you spend on rent?Housing help