Rent Affordability Calculator

How much rent you can afford is one of the most important numbers in your budget, because housing is usually the single largest expense and it's a fixed commitment for the length of your lease. Spend too much and every other goal — saving, paying off debt, handling emergencies — gets squeezed. The most common guideline is the 30% rule: aim to keep rent at or below 30% of your gross (pre-tax) income.

For someone earning $60,000 a year, that's $1,500 a month. Landlords use a closely related benchmark from the other direction, often requiring that your annual income be at least 40 times the monthly rent — which works out to almost exactly the same 30% figure. Some renters in expensive cities stretch to 35–40% of income, while more cautious budgeters or those with other goals aim for 25% or less to leave more breathing room.

Income alone doesn't tell the whole story, though. Your existing debts matter, because rent and debt payments compete for the same paycheck. A useful ceiling is to keep rent plus all debt payments within about 36% of your gross income — the same back-end ratio lenders use for mortgages. That's why this calculator subtracts your other monthly debts when recommending a rent figure: two people with identical incomes can afford very different rents if one is carrying a large car loan or student-loan payment.

Remember that the headline rent isn't your only housing cost. Utilities, renters insurance, parking, internet and commuting all add up, and many leases require a deposit and the first month upfront. It's wise to land below your theoretical maximum so these extras — and the occasional surprise — don't derail your budget. Treat the recommended figure as an upper bound for comfortable living, not a target to hit, and you'll keep your largest expense from crowding out everything else.