Rent Calculator
Enter your gross monthly income to see how much rent you can afford using the standard 30% rule, plus a 25%-30% range.
Calculator verified • Last updated: August 2026
Your Income
—
—
Rent vs. Remaining Income
As the rent percentage rises, less of your income is left over for savings, food, and everything else. The dashed lines mark your chosen percentage and the standard 30% rule side by side, so you can see exactly how your choice compares.
—
How Much Rent Can I Afford?
The most common shorthand for rent affordability is the 30% rule: spend no more than 30% of your gross (before-tax) monthly income on rent. It's a rough starting point, not a guarantee that a given rent is actually comfortable for your specific budget, but it's the number most landlords, lenders, and rental listing sites use as a quick reference.
Recommended Rent = Income x 30%
Why a Range, Not Just One Number
This calculator shows both 25% and 30% of your income, since "affordable" isn't always the same as "the maximum you could technically pay." Someone with heavy student loan payments, a car loan, or dependents may want to stay closer to the 25% end, while someone with few other monthly obligations and healthy savings might comfortably stretch to 30% or slightly above it.
Worked Example
On a monthly gross income of 5,000 dollars, the 30% rule points to a recommended rent of 1,500 dollars per month. The more conservative 25% figure works out to 1,250 dollars, giving a practical range of 1,250 to 1,500 dollars to compare against listings in your area.
Where the 30% Rule Comes From
The 30% figure traces back to U.S. federal housing policy from the 1980s, when it became the threshold used to define "cost-burdened" households for public housing assistance programs. It was adopted informally by the broader rental market afterward as a simple, easy-to-remember guideline, not because it was ever proven to be the ideal spending level for every renter's budget.
Rent Terms You Should Know
Gross Income — your total pay before taxes and other deductions are taken out, the figure this calculator and most rent guidelines use.
Cost-Burdened — a household spending more than 30% of gross income on housing, a term used in U.S. housing policy and research.
Rent-to-Income Ratio — the percentage of your income a given rent represents; many landlords set their own maximum ratio (often around 30%-33%) as a screening criterion for applicants.
This calculator provides a general guideline for educational and planning purposes only. Your actual comfortable rent depends on other debts, savings goals, and cost of living in your area — consult a financial advisor for guidance specific to your situation.
Frequently Asked Questions
What is the 30% rule for rent?
It's a widely used budgeting guideline suggesting you spend no more than 30% of your gross (before-tax) monthly income on rent. It comes from U.S. housing policy history, not a hard law of personal finance, so treat it as a starting reference point rather than a strict ceiling.
Should I use gross or net income for this calculator?
Gross monthly income — your pay before taxes and deductions. Most landlords and rental listings quote affordability guidelines against gross income too, so this keeps the calculator's number comparable to what you'll see when apartment hunting.
What if I live in a high cost-of-living area?
In expensive metro areas, spending well above 30% on rent is common and sometimes unavoidable. The 30% rule is a general guideline, not a rule that fits every market — use the range this calculator shows as a reference point, then weigh it against your actual local rental prices and other expenses.
Will I have enough left over for savings and other expenses at this rent level?
The note under the chart breaks your income down using the popular 50/30/20 budgeting rule — 50% for needs (including rent), 30% for wants, and 20% for savings and debt repayment — and shows what share of your "needs" bucket your chosen rent actually uses, so you can see if there's realistic room left for everything else.
Does my income meet the common 3x rent landlord screening rule?
Many landlords require gross monthly income to be at least 3 times the rent. The "Min. Income to Qualify (3x Rule)" figure shows exactly what income that standard requires for your chosen rent amount, so you can check it against your actual income before applying.
How does existing debt change what I should spend on rent?
Enter your other monthly debt payments (student loans, a car payment, credit cards) in the optional field to see a debt-adjusted recommended rent, based on the common lending guideline that total debt plus housing shouldn't exceed about 36% of gross income — the more debt you carry, the less room that leaves for rent specifically.