How Much Rent Can I Afford?

Name: How Much Rent Can I Afford?
Author: Acun Özdilek

How much rent can I afford on a $65,000 salary? About $1,295 a month if you are single and pay 4% state tax, because 30% of take-home pay is the strictest of the three rules here.

Example numbers

The answerfrom an example

You can afford about $1,295 a month in rent, set by the 30%-of-take-home rule.

Worked on $65,000 salary, single, 4% state tax, 30% of take-home. Change anything below to use yours.

30% of gross (HUD cost-burden line): $1,625
30% of take-home (rule of thumb): $1,295
40 times rent landlord screen (rule of thumb): $1,625

The figures behind it

30% of gross (HUD cost-burden line): $1,625; Rent plus utilities at 30% of $5,417 gross a month. HUD counts a renter above this as cost-burdened.
30% of take-home (rule of thumb): $1,295; 30% of $4,317 take-home a month, less utilities.
40 times rent landlord screen (rule of thumb): $1,625; Yearly gross divided by 40. Many landlords screen this way; it is not a law and varies by landlord.
Monthly take-home: $4,317; After 2026 federal income tax, Social Security, Medicare and the 4% state rate you entered. No local tax or pre-tax deductions.

Payment scheduleShow

Rule	Budget before utilities	Utilities	Max rent	Sets your limit?
30% of gross (HUD cost-burden line)	$1,625.00	$0.00	$1,625.00	No
30% of take-home (rule of thumb)	$1,295.18	$0.00	$1,295.18	Yes
40 times rent landlord screen (rule of thumb)	$1,625.00	Not counted	$1,625.00	No

What this result assumes

Add utilities you pay separately: HUD's 30% covers rent and utilities together, while a landlord screens rent alone.

HUD counts a renter as cost-burdened above 30% of gross income, which allows $1,625 for rent and utilities, and a landlord's 40 times rent screen allows the same $1,625.

Methodology

Reviewed October 6, 2026 by Acun Özdilek

Three rules, one ceiling

HUD counts a household as cost-burdened when it spends more than 30% of its income on rent and other housing costs. The Census Bureau measures this with gross rent, which is contract rent plus the utilities the renter pays, as a share of monthly household income: total yearly income divided by 12. So the first rule here is 30% of gross monthly pay, less the utilities you enter.

The second rule applies a share of take-home pay instead, 30% by default, again less utilities. It is a rule of thumb, not a HUD figure, and you can change the share.

The third is the landlord income screen: yearly gross of at least 40 times the monthly rent. It is also a rule of thumb, not a law, and it counts rent alone. The page shows the lowest of the three and names the rule that sets it.

Why 30% of gross and the 40 times screen agree

A twelfth of 30% of a year's pay is one fortieth of it, so with no utilities the HUD line and the landlord screen give the same rent at every salary. Utilities are what separate them: HUD counts them inside its 30%, a landlord looks at the rent only.

What take-home pay includes

Take-home is your salary after 2026 federal income tax at the standard deduction, Social Security, Medicare and the state rate you enter, worked out as in the take-home pay calculator. It leaves out local income tax, 401(k) contributions and health premiums, so if you have those, your real take-home is lower.

Assumptions

Income is one salary, gross before tax. HUD and the Census Bureau measure household income, so a second earner’s pay counts toward the HUD line; this page does not model that.
Take-home has no 401(k) or other pre-tax deductions, and state tax is only the rate you enter, with no local tax.
Utilities are a flat monthly figure.
The landlord screen uses one common multiple, 40. Others exist, and some landlords accept a co-signer or savings instead; neither is modelled.
HUD's rent for assisted housing is based on adjusted income, after certain deductions. This page uses gross income, as the cost-burden measure does.
Renters insurance, deposits and application fees are not counted.
To weigh renting against owning over time, the rent vs buy calculator compares the two.

Sources

Common questions

How much rent can I afford on $65,000 a year?

About $1,295 a month if you are single and pay 4% state tax: 30% of the $4,317 you take home each month. HUD's 30% of gross line and the landlord 40 times rent screen both allow $1,625, so the take-home rule is the one that sets your limit.

Should I take 30% of my paycheck or my salary for rent?

HUD's cost-burden line is measured against income before tax, so it starts from your salary. 30% of a paycheck is a smaller number because tax has already come out, and the calculator shows both.

Does the 30% include utilities?

Yes. The Census Bureau's gross rent adds the utilities and fuels the renter pays to the contract rent, so enter what you pay on top of rent and the calculator takes it out of both housing rules.

What is the 40 times rent rule?

Many landlords ask that your yearly gross income be at least 40 times the monthly rent. It is a screening habit, not a law, and the multiple varies by landlord.

Why is the take-home rule lower than the 30% rule?

Take-home is what is left after income tax, Social Security and Medicare, so it is below gross. At a share of 30% or less, the take-home rule comes out at or below the gross rule. We checked this across a wide range of salaries and filing statuses.

What does the take-home figure leave out?

Local income tax, 401(k) contributions, health premiums and other payroll deductions. The take-home pay calculator includes those and your pay frequency. If you are thinking about buying, the home affordability calculator works out a house price from what a lender allows instead.

All mortgage →

Result