How much rent can you afford?
How much rent can I afford on my salary? The old rule says no more than 30% of your income should go to rent. Fill in the six lines on this rent worksheet: it stamps your maximum rent, the comfortable 25-to-30% band, and the monthly budget your rent has to fit inside.
Tool № 4 · Tuesday, September 22, 2026 · free, always
The rule is 30%. The comfort zone is 25.
Rent worksheet · form RA-4
Estimates only. These figures are rough estimates based on the 30% rule of thumb and are not financial advice. All figures are USD, before tax.
How the math works
The worksheet runs four lines of arithmetic on your numbers. First, your salary becomes monthly income:
monthly income = annual salary ÷ 12
Then the slider takes its share of that monthly income. That is your maximum rent:
max rent = monthly income × share of income
The comfortable band is fixed at 25% to 30% of monthly income, no matter where the slider sits:
comfortable band = 25% to 30% of monthly income
And whatever survives rent, debts, and utilities is what is left for everything else:
leftover = monthly income − max rent − debts − utilities
With the defaults: ($75,000 ÷ 12) × 30% = $1,875 max rent; comfortable band $1,563 to $1,875; leftover $6,250 − $1,875 − $0 − $200 = $4,175.
Common questions
How much rent can I afford on $75,000 a year?
At the 30% rule: $75,000 ÷ 12 = $6,250 a month, and 30% of that is $1,875 a month for rent. The comfortable band is 25% to 30%, so $1,563 to $1,875. Debts and utilities come out of the same paycheck, so fill in those two lines and the worksheet shows what is really left.
What is the 30% rule for rent?
It says your rent should be no more than 30% of your gross (before-tax) income. Landlords have used it for years as a quick screen, and so do most budget guides. It is a guardrail, not a guarantee: in expensive cities plenty of people pay more, and in cheap ones you may want to pay less.
Should utilities count toward the 30%?
The textbook rule counts rent only, but your paycheck does not care about textbooks. This worksheet keeps the rule on rent and lists utilities as their own line, so you see both: the rule answer and the real leftover.
What if the rent I want is more than 30% of my income?
Then the worksheet stamps it honestly: over the line. It does not mean you cannot sign the lease; it means less is left for everything else, and the leftover line shows exactly how much less. The comfortable band is there for the rent you can pay without thinking about it every month.
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