How much should you spend on rent? It depends. One popular guideline is the 30% rent rule, which says to spend around 30% of your gross income on rent. So if you earn $3,200 per month before taxes, you could spend about $960 per month on rent.
A popular standard for budgeting rent is to follow the 30% rule, where you spend a maximum of 30% of your monthly income before taxes (your gross income) on your rent. This has been a rule of thumb since 1981, when the government found that people who spent over 30% of their income on housing were "cost-burdened."
Advice from financial planners can be helpful, but these guidelines don't always apply to everyone. Take rent for example. The traditional advice is simple: Spend no more than 30% of your before-tax income on housing costs. That means if you bring in $5,000 per month before taxes, your rent shouldn't exceed $1,500.
Finding rental housing that is right for you can be a challenge, especially when it comes to determining what you can afford. The old 30% of-your-income rule just isn't realistic for most people.
The simple answer to “How much rent can I afford?” Experts recommend renters spend no more than 25% to 30% of their monthly income on rent. So, for example, if you make $60,000 per year, your rent and renters insurance shouldn't go higher than $18,000—or $1,500 per month.
Need a quick and easy look into how much rent you can afford? Here's an idea of the ideal rent for various salaries, based on the 30% rule. On a $30,000 a year salary, your ideal rent price is $750. On a $40,000 a year salary, your ideal rent price is $1,000.
If you're looking at an apartment that costs $1,500 per month in rent, according to the 3x rule, you would need a gross monthly income of at least $4,500 (1500 x 3) to be considered a suitable tenant.
There are a few ways to ballpark how much you should spend on rent. The 30% rule says no more than 30% of your gross monthly income. The 50/30/20 rule says to allocate 50% of your income to necessary expenses, including rent. But you may need to apply a more holistic approach to reach a number you are comfortable with.
The 50% rule is a guideline used by real estate investors to estimate the profitability of a given rental unit. As the name suggests, the rule involves subtracting 50 percent of a property's monthly rental income when calculating its potential profits.
The 50-30-20 rule recommends putting 50% of your money toward needs, 30% toward wants, and 20% toward savings. The savings category also includes money you will need to realize your future goals. Let's take a closer look at each category.
To find your maximum rent using this rule, divide your household's annual gross by 40. For example, a household that earns $80,000 per year can afford a maximum monthly rent of $2,000 (80,000 ÷ 40 = 2,000).
According to this rule, if you make $4,000 a month, you should spend no more than $1,200 per month on rent. Sticking to the 30% rule helps ensure you have enough money left over to save or put toward other expenses.
Divide your salary or multiply your hourly wages
Then, multiply the result by 52, the total number of weeks in a year. Finally, divide the result by 12 to learn your monthly gross income.
Here's a final rule of thumb you can consider: at least 20% of your income should go towards savings. More is fine; less may mean saving longer.
Generally, $100,000 per year is a good goal for most people.
Of course, this is just a rule of thumb. If you live in a high-cost-of-living area like California or New York, you might need to make more than $100,000 to be comfortable. A lot more! And if you have a lot of debt, you'll need to make more to pay it off.
If you're in a city with a high cost of living, and especially if you're a young adult earning an entry-level salary, your rent could cost much more than the 30% rule recommends. You might find yourself choosing between spending 40% to 50% of your income on rent, or living with your parents to save money.
The 1% rule states that a rental property's income should be at least 1% of the purchase price. For example, if a rental property is purchased for $200,000, the monthly rental income should be at least $2,000.
Your rent payment, including renters insurance (more on that later), should be no more than 25% of your take-home pay.
It is actually good thing that they're using gross income because for most people rent is unaffordable. With these high rents, gross income will be necessary. The lower your income, the less rent you'll qualify for.
“I think it's almost not fair to split finances 50-50 without taking into account your partner's financial situation,” said Daigle, who is also a member of the CNBC Financial Advisor Council. “It's really important to get a better financial picture of what's going on with your significant other.”
This method entails dividing the monthly rent by 30, no matter how many days are in the month. A bankers month assumes that every month in the year has 30 days. To calculate the prorated rent using a bankers month: Divide the monthly rent of $2,000 by 30 days: $2,000 ÷ 30 = $66.66 daily rent.
How much should you spend on rent? It depends. One popular guideline is the 30% rent rule, which says to spend around 30% of your gross income on rent. So if you earn $3,200 per month before taxes, you could spend about $960 per month on rent.
You may still be able to get the apartment by increasing the security deposit, finding a guarantor, or demonstrating your financial responsibility even if you don't make three times the rent by providing your potential landlord with bank statements that show financial responsibility and sound decision-making regarding ...
The ideal sweet spot is spending around 30% of your income in rent to ensure you maximize your savings. As a rule of thumb, we suggest spending no more than 40% of your income on rent to be able to save enough money for all your living expenses.