Rent Cap Ledger

Rent affordability checker · runs in your browser

Can I afford my rent? Rent-to-income calculator

Enter your gross income and your rent, before and after an increase. You'll see the share of income that goes to rent, how that compares with the 30% line HUD uses for cost burden, and what the common landlord income rules would ask for.

Nothing you type is sent anywhere. The math runs on this page in your browser. We don't store, send or record your income or rent; our analytics only count that the checker was used and which broad band the result fell in. This is general information, not financial advice.

Household income before taxes and deductions, from everyone who pays toward the rent.

Leave blank to check your current rent only. Work out the legal maximum first →

HUD's cost-burden measure counts housing costs including utilities. Add an estimate if you pay them separately.

Enter your income and rent to see the result.

Rent share of income now–
After the increase–
HUD category (housing costs)–
Rent at 30% of income–
Change per month–
Change per year–

Common landlord income rules practice, not law

“40x rent” needs yearly income of–
“3x rent” needs monthly income of–

    Shares are of gross (pre-tax) income, rounded to one decimal. An estimate, not financial advice.

    What the numbers mean

    The 30% line and HUD's cost-burden definitions

    30% of income is the most widely used rule of thumb for rent. It isn't a law or a limit on what you can rent; it's a benchmark. HUD uses the same line to count households that are cost-burdened in its housing data:

    “Cost burden – Monthly housing costs (including utilities) exceeding 30% of monthly income.”
    “Severe cost burden – Monthly housing costs (including utilities) exceeding 50% of monthly income.”

    Source: U.S. Department of Housing and Urban Development, Office of Policy Development and Research (HUD USER), Consolidated Planning/CHAS Data: Background (definitions) ↗ · last checked Oct 18, 2026

    So in HUD's terms a household is cost-burdened when housing costs (rent plus utilities) are more than 30% of monthly income, and severely cost-burdened above 50%. The checker uses rent alone when you leave utilities blank, which understates housing costs if you pay utilities separately.

    The “40x” and “3x” income rules

    Many landlords and property managers screen applicants with a simple income test. Two common versions: a yearly gross income of at least 40 times the monthly rent, or a monthly gross income of at least 3 times the rent. These are business conventions, not legal requirements; landlords set their own criteria. We show them because they're what you're likely to meet when applying for a new place, not because they're a measure of what you can afford.

    40 times the monthly rent is the same as rent at 30% of yearly income. 3 times the rent puts rent at about 33% of monthly income.

    What this doesn't know

    Rent-to-income ratios ignore taxes, debts, childcare, savings and the cost of living where you are. Two households with the same ratio can be in very different positions. If a rent increase is a problem, the city or state page for your rental shows whether it's within the legal cap and how much notice the landlord has to give.

    Privacy

    Everything is calculated in your browser. Your income, rent, utilities and household size aren't sent to us or to anyone else, stored in cookies, or included in analytics. If you arrive from the rent increase calculator, the two rent amounts are passed in the page address so they can be filled in; we remove them from the address bar once the page has read them, and our analytics strip them from any page address we record.

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