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Rent affordability calculator by income
Estimate rent based on salary or monthly income using two common rules of thumb — the 30% guideline and the 3× income rule. These are budgeting guidelines, not requirements.
The short answer
Last updated: July 2026
How much rent can I afford from my salary?
Two common rules of thumb estimate affordable rent: keep rent at or under 30% of gross monthly income, and aim for income at least three times the rent. On $6,000 monthly income that’s about $1,800 (the 30% guideline) or $2,000 (the 3× rule). These are budgeting guidelines, not requirements or approval decisions.
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After the estimate:
See the tenant experienceRent affordability calculator
How much rent can you afford?
Enter your gross monthly income to see a comfortable rent range using two common rules of thumb — guidelines, not hard rules.
Gross monthly income (before taxes)
$
A rent you're considering (optional)
$
The 30% guideline and the 3× income rule are common budgeting rules of thumb — not requirements. What's comfortable also depends on your debts, savings, and other costs.
Input-driven result
Your inputs
Formula
Result below
Recommended max rent (30% rule)
$1,800
A common rule of thumb keeps rent at or under 30% of gross income.
3× income rule
$2,000
Another common view: keep rent at or under one-third of gross income (income ≥ 3× rent).
Estimate based on your inputs. Not a promise of results.
A budgeting aid for renters, not a promise of approval. Landlords who use an income threshold to screen applicants must apply it consistently to every applicant, per fair-housing law.
How it works
How this tool works.
Figuring out how much rent you can comfortably afford is mostly a budgeting question, and two rules of thumb come up again and again: keep rent at or under 30% of your gross income, and look for income that’s at least three times the rent.
Enter your gross monthly income and this calculator shows both views, plus — if you’re weighing a specific rent — where that number lands as a share of your income. These are guidelines to plan around, not hard cutoffs, and what’s comfortable depends on your full budget.
Make the result useful
Rent-affordability interpretation
Gross income is income before withholding, entered on a consistent monthly or annual basis.
Target ratio is a planning benchmark, not an approval rule or legal standard.
Monthly rent should include the recurring housing payment being compared, with treatment of utilities stated consistently.
Screening decisions require a lawful, consistently applied written policy beyond this ratio.
Calculation lens
target rent = gross income × selected ratio
Use the output as a documented scenario result, not a guarantee.
Does not assess debt, household stability, fair-housing rules, or legal screening criteria.
Questions landlords ask
Questions about this tool and its limits.
Built by a landlord who's done every one of these jobs by hand.
Aptoria was built by an owner-operator managing a Brooklyn portfolio — the 11pm calls, the awkward rent texts, the April receipt-pile — not by a software team guessing at the problem.
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