Rent Affordability Calculator (How Much Rent Can I Afford?)
Enter your gross income, take-home pay, and existing fixed expenses. The calculator applies three standard methodologies — the classic 30% of gross income rule (adjustable), the 50/30/20 needs-budget cap, and a cashflow stress-test — and shows all three results side by side so you can see where they agree and where they diverge. The most conservative answer is highlighted as your binding cap.
Your income
Fixed expenses & rule
Recommended max rent
$1,500/mo
The 30% gross rule is the most conservative of the three methods.
30% of Gross · binding
$1,500/mo
30.0% of gross
50/30/20 Needs Budget
$1,925/mo
38.5% of gross
Cashflow Test
$2,850/mo
57.0% of gross
Cap comparison
Full methodology breakdown
| Rule | Max rent | % of gross |
|---|---|---|
| 30% of Gross Rent ≤ 30% of pre-tax income — the classic landlord rule of thumb | $1,500.00 | 30.0% |
| 50/30/20 Needs Budget Upper bound of the 50% needs bucket (housing + food + transport + utilities) | $1,925.00 | 38.5% |
| Cashflow Test Take-home minus your current non-rent fixed expenses — what you can actually pay | $2,850.00 | 57.0% |
| Binding cap | $1,500.00 | 30.0% |
How it works
The 30% of gross income rule is the oldest and most widely cited guideline: keep rent at or below 30% of your pre-tax monthly income. Landlords often use this as a qualification threshold. It is quick but imprecise — it ignores taxes, your existing debt load, and what you actually spend. You can adjust the percentage (down to 28% to match lender front-end DTI, or up if your other costs are very low) to stress-test your number.
The 50/30/20 rule allocates 50% of your take-home pay to all 'needs' — rent, food, utilities, transport, and insurance combined. This cap is therefore an upper bound on rent, not a rent-specific target: if other needs are significant, your safe rent budget is lower than 50% of take-home. Comparing this against the gross-rule makes the gross-to-net gap visible; in a high-tax situation the 50/30/20 cap can be more restrictive than the 30% gross rule.
The cashflow stress-test is the most grounded of the three: it subtracts your current non-rent fixed expenses (car payments, subscriptions, insurance, food, utilities, and other recurring costs) from your take-home pay. Whatever remains is the maximum rent you could technically sustain. When the cashflow cap is lower than the income-rule caps, that signals that existing commitments — not just income — are the real constraint. Always consult a financial adviser before committing to a lease.
Frequently asked questions
Which cap should I actually use?+
Use the binding cap — the lowest of the three — as your upper limit and aim to land a rent somewhat below it. The 30% gross rule tells you what landlords expect to see; the cashflow test tells you what you can actually sustain given your current spending. If the cashflow cap is significantly lower than the gross rule, you likely have fixed expenses that would need to fall before you could afford a rent at the gross-rule limit. This calculator does not constitute financial advice.
Why does the 50/30/20 cap sometimes allow more rent than the 30% rule?+
Because the two rules use different income bases. The 30% rule works off gross (pre-tax) income, while 50/30/20 works off net take-home. When the effective tax rate is low — say, around 20% — 50% of net can be higher than 30% of gross. When the effective rate exceeds 40%, the reverse is true. The side-by-side display is designed to make this relationship immediately visible.
What should I include in 'monthly fixed expenses'?+
Include every non-rent recurring cost you cannot easily cut: car loan or lease payments, auto insurance, health insurance premiums (if not payroll-deducted), minimum debt repayments, phone and internet, gym memberships, streaming subscriptions, and a realistic grocery budget. Leave out rent itself — the calculator is solving for that. The more honestly you enter this figure, the more accurate the cashflow cap will be.