Rent Affordability Calculator

Work the 30% rule in reverse: gross income to a maximum rent, or a rent to the income needed. Utilities and parking come off the allowance.

All calculations happen locally in your browser. Your income and rent never leave your device.

Income period
Max rent (30% rule)
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Conservative range (25–30%)
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Rent allowance after extras
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The 30% rule ignores local cost of living: in many expensive markets renters routinely pay 40% or more of gross income. Treat the result as a benchmark, not a verdict.

The currency selector only changes the display symbol — no exchange-rate conversion is applied. To convert an amount, use the currency converter..

Estimates only — not financial advice.

How It Works

The tool applies the 30% affordability ratio in whichever direction is useful to you: from income down to a maximum rent, or from a rent up to a required income. Everything is gross-pay arithmetic on numbers you enter — no external data, no estimates about your city.

Where 30% comes from
The benchmark traces back to US housing legislation of the late 1960s, which set 30% of gross income as the threshold for considering a household cost-burdened in federal housing programs. The number was a policy line, not an economic law, but it spread into landlord screening and budgeting guides and became the default rule of thumb in much of the world.
The 50/30/20 context
If you want a fuller frame, the popular 50/30/20 budget splits net (take-home) pay into roughly 50% needs, 30% wants and 20% savings and debt repayment. Rent sits inside the 50% needs bucket along with groceries, transport and insurance — so a rent at 30% of gross often already consumes half of a modest take-home paycheck. The two rules use different bases and are not interchangeable.
What the calculator does
Income mode: max rent = gross monthly income × 30%, with a conservative band at 25–30%, and optional utilities and parking subtracted from the allowance. Rent mode: required gross income = (rent + extras) ÷ 0.30, reported monthly and annually. Annual income is divided by 12 before any of this happens.

Frequently Asked Questions

Is the 30% rule still realistic?

As a planning benchmark, yes — as a universal law, no. In many high-cost cities a large share of renters already spends 40% or more of gross income on rent, and no calculator can make that affordable. Use the 30% figure as the line below which housing is unlikely to crowd out your other goals, and treat anything above it as a trade-off you are consciously making.

Does the rule use gross or net pay?

Gross — the original convention measures rent against pre-tax income. This calculator follows that convention, so enter your gross pay. A net-pay version would be stricter: for the same take-home check you would qualify for less rent, since taxes and deductions never reach your wallet.

How do I handle roommates?

The rule applies to each household income against the whole rent. With roommates, run the calculator on your own income against only your share of the rent (after splitting utilities the same way) — the math is intentionally manual because sharing arrangements vary too much to automate honestly.

Is this financial advice?

No. It is one widely cited budgeting ratio applied to numbers you enter, with no knowledge of your debts, local costs, lease terms or income stability. Estimates only — decide with your own judgment.

Is anything uploaded to a server?

No. Every result is computed locally in your browser from the numbers you type. Your income, rent and extras never leave your device, and there is no account and no network request attached to a calculation.