Can I Afford This Apartment?
Rent plus utilities against your income: the 30% guideline, surplus and a simple score.
A common housing guideline is to keep rent (plus utilities) near or below 30% of income. This calculator shows your real percentage, what would be left each month, and a simple affordability score.
At a glance
- What you enter
- Monthly rent, Utilities & fees per month, Net monthly income, Other monthly payments
- What you get
- Housing share of income, Left each month, Affordability score (0–100)
- Formula shown
- Yes — every step, right below your results.
- Cost and privacy
- Free, no account needed, and nothing you type is stored.
See worked examples ↓ Read the FAQ ↓ Share this calculator ↓
Results are estimates for general information only — always verify with a professional or official source before acting on them.
How to use the Can I Afford This Apartment?
- 1 Enter Monthly rent
- 2 Enter Utilities & fees per month
- 3 Enter Net monthly income
- 4 Enter Other monthly payments — Loans and credit card minimums.
- 5 Press Calculate. You get Housing share of income, Left each month, Affordability score (0–100), and every intermediate step stays visible under “How is this calculated?”
- 6 Change one number at a time to see what moves the result — that is usually the most useful thing a calculator can tell you.
Worked examples
Real numbers run through this calculator. Open any example to load it into the form above and change it.
A studio at $1,250 a month
$150 of utilities on a $5,000 income with $250 of other monthly payments.
You enter
- Monthly rent
- $1,250.00
- Utilities & fees per month
- $150.00
- Net monthly income
- $5,000.00
- Other monthly payments
- $250.00
You get
- Housing share of income
- 28.0%
- Left each month
- $3,350.00
- Affordability score (0–100)
- 100
Housing comes to $1,400, or 28% of income — inside the 30% guideline, which is why the score is a full 100. After housing and other payments, $3,350 is left each month.
A two-bedroom at $1,900 a month
$220 of utilities on a $4,300 income with $450 of other monthly payments.
You enter
- Monthly rent
- $1,900.00
- Utilities & fees per month
- $220.00
- Net monthly income
- $4,300.00
- Other monthly payments
- $450.00
You get
- Housing share of income
- 49.3%
- Left each month
- $1,730.00
- Affordability score (0–100)
- 42
Housing is $2,120, or just over 49% of income — nearly twenty points above the guideline, which pulls the score down to about 42 even though $1,730 a month is still left over.
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Frequently asked questions
What should I include in “utilities and fees”?
Electricity, gas or heating, water, internet, and any building service charge, condo fee or mandatory parking charge that comes with the rental. Ask the landlord or agent for typical monthly amounts rather than guessing, and remember that a place with cheaper rent but high heating can cost more overall. If a bill is included in the rent, leave it out here.
How does the score treat the 30% guideline?
A housing share at or under 30% scores 100. Above that, the score loses 3 points for every percentage point over 30, so 40% scores 70 and 55% scores 25. If your housing cost plus your other monthly payments exceeds your income, the score drops to 0 regardless of the percentage.
Why does the 30% guideline not match what I see around me?
Because it is a rough benchmark that came out of one particular housing market, and rents in expensive cities routinely exceed it. It also treats housing in isolation: it says nothing about commuting costs, debts, or whether utilities are included. Use it as a reference point to argue with, and check what similar households in your area actually pay where that data exists.
What does the “left each month” figure leave out?
Food, transport, phone, insurance, savings, and irregular costs such as annual bills or medical expenses — only your other monthly payments are subtracted alongside housing. A healthy-looking surplus can disappear quickly once those are added, so compare the result with a full budget before signing anything.