Rent Calculator
Calculate how much rent you can afford based on your income, debts, and expenses
Calculate with Rent Calculator
Income & Debts
Car loans, student loans, credit cards, etc.
Housing Expenses
Electric, gas, water, internet
Affordability Rules Comparison
* The 30% rule is the most commonly used guideline. The 36% back-end ratio considers your existing debt payments.
Estimated Move-In Costs
Lease Renewal Scenarios
Use these simple scenarios to see whether a lease renewal would still fit your income and debt assumptions.
Monthly Budget Breakdown
Assumptions
Use Rent Calculator for housing-cost and ownership planning when you need a clear estimate, transparent inputs, and a result you can review before taking the next step.
Worked example
When To Use Rent Calculator
- Start with a representative scenario in Rent Calculator so rates, dates, balances, or other key assumptions match the question you are comparing.
- Review whether the estimate matches the planning scenario before you use it for a budget, plan, or discussion.
Sample Input And Output Checks
- Start with inputs that match the real scenario, not only a rounded placeholder.
- Review home price, rent growth, closing costs, property tax, insurance, and time horizon before trusting the output.
- Confirm lender quotes, tax bills, HOA terms, and local market assumptions before using an estimate for a real housing decision.
About This Tool
This rent calculator estimates affordable base rent from income, income frequency, existing monthly debts, utilities, renter insurance, security deposit, and a target rent-to-income percentage. It also compares common affordability rules and shows how lease renewal increases can affect annual rent.
Base Rent vs. Total Housing Cost
The main result is rent before utilities and renter insurance. The budget breakdown adds those costs back so you can judge the total monthly housing burden. If utilities are included in a listing, enter only the extra tenant-paid costs you expect to pay separately.
Move-In Cash Matters
A rental that fits monthly income can still strain cash at signing. Review first month rent, security deposit, and annual insurance in the move-in estimate, then add application fees, pet deposits, movers, furniture, and utility setup costs outside the calculator.
Check Renewal Scenarios
The renewal scenarios show simple 0%, 5%, and 10% rent changes. They are not predictions, but they help test whether a lease remains workable if rent rises before your income does.