Rent Affordability Calculator
Two rules of thumb, one answer. Enter your gross annual income and see the maximum monthly rent you can afford under the 30% rule and the 40× rule — plus how any rent you are considering stacks up.
Maximum Affordable Monthly Rent
How It Works
Two rules of thumb dominate rent affordability, and they turn out to be the same rule in different clothes. The 30% rule says your rent should be no more than 30% of your gross monthly income. It has official roots: the 1969 Brooke Amendment capped public-housing rent at 25% of a tenant's income, the cap was raised to 30% in 1981, and the US Department of Housing and Urban Development (HUD) still uses 30% as the line that defines a cost-burdened household — above 50%, HUD calls it severely cost-burdened. The 40× rule, the standard landlords in New York and other expensive cities apply, says your gross annual income must be at least 40 times the monthly rent.
The two rules always give the same answer, and the arithmetic shows why: 30% of gross monthly income is 0.30 × (annual income ÷ 12), which equals annual income ÷ 40. So a salary of $72,000 supports $1,800 a month under either rule. That is not a coincidence to worry about — it is a useful cross-check, because a landlord screening you with the 40× rule is applying exactly the same ceiling HUD uses to define affordability.
The ceiling can feel tighter than it looks on paper, because both rules are built on gross income — the figure before tax, retirement contributions and health insurance come out. Your take-home pay is smaller, so 30% of gross is a larger share of the money that actually reaches your bank account. Treat the result as a ceiling for planning, not a spending target, and check it against your real monthly budget, where rent competes with groceries, transport, debt payments and savings.
Maximum Rent by Income
The table below shows the maximum affordable monthly rent at different gross incomes, under both rules (they agree at every income):
| Gross annual income | Gross monthly income | Max rent (30% rule) | Max rent (40× rule) |
|---|---|---|---|
| $40,000 | $3,333 | $1,000 | $1,000 |
| $50,000 | $4,167 | $1,250 | $1,250 |
| $60,000 | $5,000 | $1,500 | $1,500 |
| $72,000 | $6,000 | $1,800 | $1,800 |
| $80,000 | $6,667 | $2,000 | $2,000 |
| $100,000 | $8,333 | $2,500 | $2,500 |
| $120,000 | $10,000 | $3,000 | $3,000 |
Every $10,000 of gross annual income adds about $250 a month to the rent you can afford. The relationship is linear, so a raise of $6,000 a year buys roughly $150 a month of extra rent room.
HUD draws a second line at 50% of gross income: above it, a household is severely cost-burdened. On a $72,000 salary that line sits at $3,000 a month; on $50,000 it sits at $2,083 a month. Between the two lines the budget still works on paper, but there is little slack for an unexpected bill, a car repair or a gap between jobs.
Worked Example
Take a gross annual income of $72,000. Gross monthly income is $72,000 ÷ 12 = $6,000. The 30% rule gives a maximum rent of 0.30 × $6,000 = $1,800 a month, and the 40× rule gives $72,000 ÷ 40 = $1,800 a month — the same figure, as expected. Now suppose the apartment you like costs $1,500 a month. That is $1,500 ÷ $6,000 = 25% of gross monthly income, comfortably inside the 30% line, leaving $300 a month of headroom under the ceiling. A $2,100 apartment, by contrast, would be 35% of gross income — past the line, and HUD would call that household cost-burdened.
Now take a tighter case. On a $50,000 gross salary, monthly income is $4,166.67 and the ceiling is $1,250 a month under either rule. A $1,400 apartment takes $1,400 ÷ $4,166.67 = 33.6% of gross monthly income — $150 a month over the ceiling — and the calculator’s verdict is cost-burdened by HUD’s definition. That does not make the apartment impossible: it means $150 a month has to come out of something else in the budget, every month, for as long as the lease runs.
Assumptions — and What This Calculator Leaves Out
- Gross income, not take-home pay. Both rules use pre-tax income, which is the figure landlords screen against — but your take-home pay is smaller, so the ceiling can feel tighter in practice than on paper.
- HUD's definition of housing cost includes utilities. Strictly, the 30% covers rent plus electricity, gas, water and similar essentials — so if utilities are not included in your rent, subtract them from the ceiling first.
- No debts are counted. Student loans, car payments and credit-card minimums all compete with rent for the same paycheque. If your debt payments are heavy, a lower rent target is the honest answer.
- No local costs. The rules ignore how expensive your city is for everything else — transport, food, childcare — and they ignore renters insurance, parking and pet fees.
- One income or household income. If you share the rent, enter the household income that will actually pay it, and agree in writing how it is split.
Sources: US Department of Housing and Urban Development — Affordable Housing (cost-burdened over 30% of income, severely cost-burdened over 50%); Harvard Joint Center for Housing Studies — The State of the Nation’s Housing 2025. Last reviewed: 13 November 2026.
How to Use This Calculator
Enter your gross annual income — the figure before tax — and, if you have a specific apartment in mind, its monthly rent. The result shows your gross monthly income, the maximum rent under each rule, and, for the apartment you entered, what share of your gross income it takes plus a verdict against HUD's cost-burden lines. The result updates live as you type. Reset restores the example income of $72,000 and a $1,500 rent.
The verdict is the most useful part of the result. "Within the 30% guideline" means the rent sits at or under the ceiling; "cost-burdened" means it takes more than 30% of your gross income; "severely cost-burdened" means more than 50%. Try the rent you are considering, then try a figure $100 or $200 lower, to see how much breathing room a cheaper place actually buys.
Tips and Practical Advice
Treat the 30% figure as a ceiling, not a target: renting below it is what leaves room for savings, debt payments and the unexpected bill. If every apartment in your city breaks the rule, you are not alone — roughly half of US renter households now spend more than 30% of income on housing, according to Harvard's Joint Center for Housing Studies — so look for the levers you can actually pull: a roommate, a neighbourhood one stop further out, or a smaller place for a year while you build income. Before signing, add up the full monthly cost — rent, utilities, renters insurance, parking and any pet fee — and run that total through the calculator, not just the headline rent. And remember that landlords often screen at 3× monthly rent in gross income (about 33%), slightly looser than the 30% rule, so passing a landlord's screen does not by itself mean the rent is comfortable for you.
If the apartment you want sits just over the ceiling, the levers are more specific than they first look. A roommate changes the math completely: splitting a $1,800 apartment two ways is $900 each, which is inside the ceiling for a $36,000 income. A longer lease is worth asking about — landlords sometimes accept a lower monthly rent for a two-year term rather than risk a vacancy. Ask what is included before you compare listings: an apartment at $1,700 with utilities included can be cheaper than one at $1,500 where you pay electricity, gas and internet on top.
Frequently Asked Questions
Is the 30% rule based on gross or net income?
Gross income — your pay before tax and deductions. That is the figure HUD uses and the one landlords screen against. Because take-home pay is smaller, the ceiling can feel tighter in practice, so check the result against your actual monthly budget too.
What is the 40 times rent rule?
It is the landlord's version of the 30% rule, common in New York and other expensive cities: your gross annual income must be at least 40 times the monthly rent. It gives exactly the same ceiling as the 30% rule, because 30% of monthly income equals annual income divided by 40.
What if rent in my city is over 30% of my income?
You are not alone — about half of US renter households are cost-burdened by HUD's definition. The practical responses are a roommate, a cheaper neighbourhood, a smaller place, or raising income; stretching past 30% is sometimes unavoidable, but going past 50% leaves almost no room for anything else.
Do utilities count toward the 30%?
Yes, under HUD's definition: housing cost means rent plus essential utilities such as electricity, gas and water. If your rent does not include utilities, subtract a realistic utility estimate from the calculator's ceiling to get the rent you can actually afford.
How much rent can I afford on $50,000 a year?
On $50,000 gross, monthly income is $4,167, so the 30% rule gives a maximum rent of $1,250 a month — and the 40× rule gives the same $1,250 ($50,000 ÷ 40).
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