Rent Affordability Calculator

A common guideline is that rent should take no more than 30% of your gross income. At $60,000 a year, or $5,000 a month, that is $1,500 a month. At $4,000 a month it is $1,200, and at $100,000 a year it is $2,500. Enter your income above, or switch to "Income needed" to start from the rent you want. Debts, savings goals and local prices may call for a lower share.

Rent is the payment a tenant makes to a landlord for the use of a home, room or other property over a fixed period, under a rental agreement or lease. A rental agreement tends to mean a short-term arrangement and a lease a longer-term one. The monthly rent is the base amount in the agreement. Utilities, fees and renter’s insurance may be extra.

It says rent should be no more than 30% of your gross monthly income. HUD uses the same figure: in the Housing Choice Voucher program a family’s share is usually 30% of adjusted monthly income, and it may be as high as 40%. In public housing the tenant payment is the highest of 30% of adjusted monthly income, 10% of monthly income and some minimums. The rule is a guideline, not a legal limit.

Many landlords ask for a yearly income of at least 40 times the monthly rent, and a guarantor is often asked for more. It is the 30% rule in other words: yearly income / 40 equals 30% of the monthly income. $60,000 a year allows $1,500 of rent, and $2,000 of rent needs $80,000. Landlords set their own limits, which can differ by city and building.

Some landlords ask for a monthly income of at least 3 times the rent, which is a 33.3% share. On $5,000 a month the 3x rule allows $1,666.67 of rent, a little more than the 30% rule at $1,500. For $1,800 of rent you would need $5,400 a month before taxes. Choose "Income needed" to see both rules for your rent.

The 30% rule uses gross income, before taxes, and so do most landlords. If you only know your take-home pay, remember that the shares differ: when taxes and deductions take a fifth of your pay, 30% of your gross income is 37.5% of your take-home pay. Pick a share you are comfortable with and keep some room for savings.

At 30% of gross income, $50,000 a year allows $1,250 a month, $75,000 allows $1,875 and $100,000 allows $2,500. At 35% the amounts are $1,458.33, $2,187.50 and $2,916.67. The last table on this page lists the rent for incomes from $30,000 to $150,000 at the share you enter.

At the 30% rule you need $6,666.67 a month, or $80,000 a year, before taxes. The 40x rule asks for the same $80,000 a year, and the 3x rule asks for $6,000 a month, which is $72,000 a year. Choose "Income needed" and enter the rent to see the income at other shares in the table.

Multiply the hourly wage by 2,080, the hours in 52 weeks of 40 hours, to get the yearly income, then take 30% of it. At $20 an hour that is $41,600 a year and $1,040 of rent a month. At $30 an hour it is $62,400 a year and $1,560 a month. Overtime and unpaid weeks change the total. The hourly to salary calculator does the conversion.

In federal rental assistance they do: a voucher’s payment standard covers rent and utilities together, according to HUD. The rule is usually applied to the rent itself, so budget utilities, renter’s insurance and parking on top, or lower your share to leave room for them. Compare the total monthly housing cost with your income, not only the rent.

Your local housing agency sets your share of the rent, usually 30% of your adjusted monthly income, and it may be as high as 40%, according to HUD. The voucher covers the rest up to a payment standard that depends on local rents and unit size. Adjusted income is your annual income less allowed deductions, so it can be lower than your gross income.

Either evenly or in proportion to income. In proportion, each person pays their income divided by the combined income, times the rent. With incomes of $4,000 and $6,000 a month and $2,500 of rent, the shares are 40% and 60%, which is $1,000 and $1,500. A combined income of $10,000 a month would afford $3,000 of rent at 30%.

Often not. Where rents are high many renters pay more than 30% of their income, and HUD itself allows up to 40% for vouchers. If the rent you want does not fit, use "Income needed" to see the income gap, or read the table of shares to see what 35% or 40% would cost you each month.

Lower the share. Debt payments come out of the same income, so a 30% rent on top of large payments can leave little. As a check, add your rent and your monthly debt payments and compare the sum with your gross income: on $5,000 a month, $1,500 of rent plus $600 of debt payments is 42% together. The calculator does not subtract debts, so reduce the share yourself.