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Rent affordability calculator
The 30% rule is a starting point, not the answer: it ignores what else you owe. See both the simple guideline and a debt-aware budget side by side.
The 30% rule alone says $1,800, but with $300/mo of other debt, staying under a 40% total debt-to-income leaves $2,100. The safer number is the lower of the two.
Two ways to size a rent budget
debt-aware rent = (gross monthly income × target DTI%) − other monthly debts
The 30 percent guideline is easy to remember and a reasonable default, but it treats every renter's finances as identical. Someone with a car payment and student loans has less real room than someone with none, even at the same income, which the flat rule can't see. The debt-aware figure fixes that by capping total monthly obligations, then backing out what's already spoken for, the same logic a lender uses to qualify a mortgage.
What a landlord will actually check
Most landlords and property managers screen on gross income multiples, commonly requiring income at least 2.5 to 3 times the rent, rather than a strict percentage. Knowing both your own comfortable budget and the multiple a landlord will check helps you shop in the right range from the start.
Rent affordability questions
How much rent can I afford?
A common guideline is to keep rent at or under 30 percent of gross monthly income. That's a starting point, not a rule. It ignores your other debts, which is why a debt-aware figure that also caps total obligations is usually a more honest answer for anyone carrying a car payment, student loans, or credit card debt.
Why is 30% the standard guideline?
It traces back to decades-old federal housing-assistance thresholds and has stuck as a general rule of thumb. It's a reasonable default in an average-cost market, but in high-cost coastal cities plenty of renters spend well above it out of necessity, not choice. Treat it as a sanity check, not a hard ceiling.
Do landlords use gross or net income to qualify applicants?
Almost always gross, pre-tax income, commonly requiring it to be 2.5 to 3 times the monthly rent. That's a stricter bar than the 30 percent guideline for someone in a low-tax situation, and a looser one for someone in a high-tax bracket, since it never looks at take-home pay.
Every calculator
Landlord, not tenant?
Faro underwrites what a rental property earns, not what a tenant can pay: paste a listing for the investor's side of this question.
Estimates for analysis and educational use only: not financial, investment, tax, or legal advice. Verify every number independently before making a purchase decision.