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Rent Affordability Calculator: How Much Rent Can I Afford on My Net Income?

Add your net (take-home) income, savings goal, and an itemized list of monthly expenses (debt payments included) to see a max rent that fits your whole budget. Two benchmarks are shown side by side so you know which one is binding.

Your max rent

Awaiting income
$—/ mo

Add a net monthly income to see your recommended max rent. Savings target and itemized expenses sharpen the answer.

01 — Your numbers

What's coming in and going out.

Use the take-home figure that lands in your account. List every monthly expense, including debt payments, so the budget benchmark reflects your real situation.

Monthly expenses

Add every recurring spend: debt payments (student loan, car, credit cards), groceries, utilities, transit, phone, subscriptions. The clearer the breakdown, the more honest the budget number.

No expenses added yet.

Use "add common" for a starting list.

Or

Net income / mo

$0.00

take-home

Non-rent commitments

$0.00

savings + expenses

Free for rent

$0.00

after the above

02 — Stress test

Try a specific rent.

Plug a number you've seen on a listing and see how it squares with your budget.

Add your income above to enable the stress test.

Tip. Everything runs on net (take-home) income.

FAQ

Rent on your
own terms.

How the benchmarks work and which numbers to use for income.

  • 01What's the 30% rule for rent?

    The 30% rule is the heuristic that you shouldn't spend more than 30% of your monthly income on rent. The calculator applies it to your net (take-home) income, which is the number that lands in your account and the one you'll budget against. It's useful as a benchmark, but it doesn't account for your debts, savings goals, or other living expenses, which is why the calculator pairs it with a budget-driven max.

  • 02What counts as net monthly income?

    Net monthly income is your take-home pay after federal, state, and local taxes, plus retirement contributions, health insurance premiums, and any other automatic payroll deductions. On a US paycheck, it's the deposit amount per pay period. If you're paid biweekly, multiply that deposit by 2.17 (or by 26 and divide by 12) to get the monthly equivalent.

  • 03Which expenses should I add to the list?

    List every recurring monthly outflow that isn't rent. Debt payments belong here (student loan, car payment, credit card minimums) right alongside the typical living costs: groceries, utilities, transit or gas, phone, internet, streaming, gym, and any subscriptions. The clearer the breakdown, the more honest the budget benchmark becomes. Use 'add common' for a starter list and edit from there.

  • 04How is the recommended max chosen?

    The calculator computes two benchmarks (the 30% rule applied to net income, and your full budget after savings and itemized expenses), then recommends the lower of the two. The tightest one wins because each captures a different kind of risk: the 30% rule keeps your housing share conservative, and the budget rule keeps the rest of your life funded.

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