Rent Affordability Calculator
How much rent or mortgage can you afford? The 30% and 28/36 rules.
The Rent Affordability Calculator applies the standard housing rules of thumb to your income: the 30% rule for renters and the 28/36 ratios for buyers, giving concrete budgets for monthly housing cost and total home price.
Lenders and landlords use these numbers for a reason: spending more than about 30% of gross income on housing strains everything else. For buyers, the 28% front-end ratio caps the mortgage payment and the 36% back-end ratio accounts for your other debts — this tool applies both and shows the home price those payments support at your down payment and rate.
Rules of thumb are starting points: property tax, insurance and HOA fees belong in the real front-end ratio lenders use, and high-cost cities bend the rules for everyone. The estimate runs locally in your browser.
Rent budget (30% rule)
$1,500.00
of gross monthly income
Mortgage payment ceiling
$1,400.00
28% rule, debt-aware
Home you can afford (28%)
$241,495.15
incl. $20,000.00 down at 6.50%
Home you can afford (36%)
$257,316.23
front-end + debts
Rules of thumb only: the 30% rent rule and the 28/36 mortgage ratios ignore taxes, insurance, HOA fees and property tax that lenders add into your real front-end ratio. Pre-approval from a lender is the authoritative number.
How to use the Rent Affordability Calculator
- Enter your gross annual income.
- Enter monthly debt payments (car, student loans, cards).
- For buying: add your down payment, rate and term.
- Read the rent budget and mortgage ceilings.
- Compare with the home prices you are actually seeing.
Frequently asked questions
What is the 30% rule?
The guideline that rent should not exceed 30% of gross monthly income. At $60,000/year that is a $1,500 monthly rent ceiling — the figure many landlords and lenders treat as the affordability line.
What are the 28/36 mortgage ratios?
Lenders typically cap the mortgage payment at 28% of gross income (front-end) and all debts including the mortgage at 36% (back-end). The tool applies both and uses the tighter constraint.
Why does the calculator ignore property tax and insurance?
For simplicity — real front-end ratios include taxes, insurance and HOA fees, which vary hugely by location. Subtract them from the mortgage ceiling here to get a closer personal budget.
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