Afford Rent Calculator
Afford rent calculator works out Maximum monthly rent and Maximum monthly housing cost including utilities from Gross annual household income, Other monthly income and Method. The default figures on this page give maximum monthly rent of 1,500.00; change any entry and the result, the working and the sources update together.
Your figures
Updates as you typeHow this is worked out
3 steps
- Gross monthly income = 60000 / 12 = 5000.
- Housing budget at 30% of gross = 1500 per month (HUD counts utilities inside this figure).
- Less 0 of utilities paid separately: rent line = 1500.
Its 5 worked examples are re-run on every release, last on 15 September 2026. What changed
Sources and references
3 sources
What the afford rent calculator calculates
Works out the maximum rent a household can carry using HUD's 30 percent of gross income standard, a debt-adjusted variant and a residual take-home-pay budget, and classifies a target rent as not burdened, cost burdened or severely cost burdened.
How to use this afford rent calculator
Enter Gross annual household income, Other monthly income, Method and Share of gross income for housing. Maximum monthly rent updates as you type, and “Use a worked example” loads checked figures you can adjust. Change one figure at a time to see what drives the result.
How the result is worked out
Open “How this is worked out” beside the result for the step-by-step calculation behind Maximum monthly rent, Maximum monthly housing cost including utilities and Gross monthly income.
The method follows HUD USER (PD&R Edge), "Rental Burdens: Rethinking Affordability Measures" - the 30 percent of gross income standard and the cost-burdened / severely cost-burdened thresholds, HUD Office of Policy Development and Research, Worst Case Housing Needs - defines severe rent burden as more than 50 percent of income and Board of Governors of the Federal Reserve System, FEDS Note "Assessing the Severity of Rent Burden on Low-Income Families".
HUD 30 percent standard on a $60,000 income example
With Gross annual household income: 60000, the calculator returns Gross monthly income: 5000, Maximum monthly housing cost including utilities: 1500, Maximum monthly rent: 1500. This example is checked against an independent source in the test suite.
What you can compare
Change one input at a time to see how it affects Maximum monthly rent, Maximum monthly housing cost including utilities and Gross monthly income. The inputs you can vary are Gross annual household income, Other monthly income, Method, Share of gross income for housing, Monthly utilities not included in rent and Monthly debt payments.
Understanding Maximum monthly rent, Maximum monthly housing cost including utilities and Gross monthly income
A budgeting guide, not financial advice or a lending decision. Landlords, lenders and housing programmes apply their own criteria.
Results are general information, not financial, tax, legal, medical or engineering advice. Check any decision that matters with a qualified professional.
See something wrong? Report a problem with this calculator
Frequently asked questions
Can I afford $1000 rent making $20 an hour?
Works out the maximum rent a household can carry using HUD's 30 percent of gross income standard, a debt-adjusted variant and a residual take-home-pay budget, and classifies a target rent as not burdened. On the figures this page opens with — gross annual household income 60,000 — the maximum monthly rent is 1,500. Put your own figures in their place and the working updates beside the result.
What salary do you need to afford $1200 rent?
Works out the maximum rent a household can carry using HUD's 30 percent of gross income standard, a debt-adjusted variant and a residual take-home-pay budget, and classifies a target rent as not burdened. On this page it is computed from Gross annual household income, Other monthly income and Method and shown as Maximum monthly rent, Maximum monthly housing cost including utilities and Gross monthly income.
What salary do I need to afford $1500 rent?
It needs Gross annual household income, Other monthly income, Method, Share of gross income for housing, Monthly utilities not included in rent and Monthly debt payments. Nothing else is required, and the figures stay in your browser.
What rent can I afford on a $70,000 salary?
The result gives Maximum monthly rent, Maximum monthly housing cost including utilities, Gross monthly income, Annual rent at that maximum, Maximum rent under the landlord 3x-rent screen and Maximum rent under the 40x annual income screen, each labelled with its unit so the figure can be read on its own.
What information do I need for the afford rent calculator?
You need Gross annual household income, Other monthly income, Method, Share of gross income for housing, Monthly utilities not included in rent, Monthly debt payments, Monthly take-home pay and Other monthly living costs. The page opens with default figures that give maximum monthly rent of 1,500.00, so you can see the scale before entering your own.
What does this afford rent calculator show?
It shows Maximum monthly rent, Maximum monthly housing cost including utilities, Gross monthly income, Annual rent at that maximum, Maximum rent under the landlord 3x-rent screen, Maximum rent under the 40x annual income screen, Target rent as a share of gross income and HUD cost-burden category for the target rent, with the working and any warnings for your entries.