Affordable Rent Calculator
Enter an annual household income to see the most it can spend on housing at 30% of income — and what's left for rent after utilities.
How this is calculated
The 30% standard caps total housing costs — rent plus utilities, known as gross rent — at 30% of gross monthly income. Affordable rent is that budget minus the cost of any utilities the tenant pays separately.
Income-restricted programs such as the LIHTC set maximum rents the same way, but against a published income limit for the unit's size rather than a particular tenant's income, and they subtract a utility allowance rather than actual bills.
Related terms
- 30% Rule (Affordability Standard)
The widely used benchmark that housing is affordable when a household spends no more than 30% of its gross income on rent or mortgage costs plus utilities.
- Housing Cost Burden
The condition of a household that spends more than 30% of its gross income on housing costs, including rent or mortgage payments and utilities. Spending more than 50% is called a severe cost burden.
- Gross Rent
The full monthly cost of renting a home: the rent paid to the landlord plus the cost, or an allowance, for utilities the renter pays separately.
- Utility Allowance
An estimate, set by a housing agency or program rules, of what a household will reasonably spend each month on utilities it pays itself. Subsidized housing uses it to cap rents and calculate what tenants owe.
- Fair Market Rent (FMR)
HUD's annual estimate of what a modest, standard-quality rental home costs in a local market, including utilities, set at the 40th percentile of recent movers' rents.