Rent Calculator
Estimate how much rent you can afford based on income and the 30% rule.
About Rent Calculator
The 30% rule — spending no more than 30% of gross income on housing — has been the standard US affordability benchmark since the 1981 Omnibus Budget Reconciliation Act defined 30% as the threshold above which a household is considered 'cost-burdened.' In practice, many households in high-cost cities spend more and still manage; others in lower-cost areas target 25–28% to save aggressively. The right number depends on your income, debts, savings rate and local costs.
Formulas
30% rule
Max Rent = Gross Monthly Income × 30%
With separate utilities
Net Rent Budget = Gross Monthly Income × 30% − Monthly Utilities
Worked example
With the default values below, Rent Calculator returns Recommended Max Rent (30%) of $1,725. Change any input above and every figure here is recalculated in your browser.
Inputs used
- Income Frequencyone of Annual salary, Monthly take-home, Hourly wage
- Annual salary
- Annual Gross Incomeaccepts 1–2,000,000 $
- 75,000 $
- Monthly Take-Home Incomeaccepts 1–200,000 $
- 4,500 $
- Hourly Wageaccepts 1–2,000 $/hr
- 25 $/hr
- Hours per Weekaccepts 1–80
- 40
- Other Monthly Debt Paymentsaccepts 0–20,000 $
- 0 $
- Does rent include utilities?
- No
- Estimated Monthly Utilitiesaccepts 0–2,000 $
- 150 $
Results
- Recommended Max Rent (30%)
- $1,725
- Conservative Max Rent (28%)
- $1,600
- Stretched Max Rent (35%)
- $2,038
- Annual Rent at 30% Rule
- $20,700
- Gross Monthly Income
- $6,250
- Total Housing + Debt RatioRent plus existing debts as a percentage of gross income.
- 27.6%
- Utilities Deducted
- $150
Step by step
- 1Gross monthly income= $6,250
- 230% housing budget= $1,875
- 3Subtract estimated utilities= $1,725Utilities reduce the remaining budget available for rent.
- 4Total housing + debt ratio= 27.6%
Assumptions and limits
- The result is derived only from the 8 inputs listed above. Anything not among them is not part of the calculation.
- In particular, this calculator does not take inflation, tax or fees or charges into account.
- Figures are rounded for display to 1 decimal place, so totals built from several rounded parts can differ slightly from the unrounded arithmetic.
- The 30% rule is a guideline. Actual affordability depends on your full financial picture including savings rate, local cost of living and career stability.
- This is an estimate for general information and not professional financial, tax or legal advice. See the full disclaimer for the limits that apply to this kind of calculator.
How these calculators are built and tested is described on the Methodology page. If a figure looks wrong, please report it.
The 30% rule is a guideline. Actual affordability depends on your full financial picture including savings rate, local cost of living and career stability.
Frequently Asked Questions
Should the 30% be based on gross or take-home pay?
The original rule and most lenders use gross income because it's consistent and harder to manipulate. In practice, applying it to take-home income is more conservative — especially in high-tax states where the difference between gross and net is large.
What if I live in a high-cost city where 30% is impossible?
Many residents of New York, San Francisco and similar cities spend 40–50% on housing. If you're in that situation, the key is to make sure your other spending (food, transport, debt) is lean enough to still cover savings. The 50/30/20 framework (50% needs, 30% wants, 20% savings) can be more useful than a single housing rule.
Does the 30% include utilities?
Traditionally, the benchmark covers total housing costs — rent plus utilities. Toggle the 'utilities included' option to account for this correctly. Many listings quote rent without utilities, so your true housing cost is higher than the rent alone.
What if I have high student loans or car payments?
The 30% rule applies only to housing. If your total debt load (housing + other debts) exceeds 36–43% of gross income, lenders will flag this in mortgage underwriting. For renters, high debt is a budget problem: less of the 70% left after housing is available for savings and discretionary spending.